TESTED | CAN-AM DEFENDER PRO DPS HD10 | First Impression | Tested
Want a side-by-side for serious work? Can-Am have you covered with the Defender Pro DPS HD10 that’s will work harder than a one-armed brick layer.
Can-Am’s Defender Pro DPS HD10 is a serious bit of kit. It is one of the most spec’d up agricultural side-by-sides on the market with a monster tray (180.3 x 138.4 x 25.4 cm) while carrying nearly half a tonne of cargo! Oh and it tips too.
A vehicle with such a high work rate needs a decent motor to haul it and Can-AM fitted their kick-arse 82 hp/69 lb-ft, Rotax 976 cc, V-twin, liquid cooled donk. It’s incredibly torquey and can pull over a tonne in a trailer. It’s got all the regular running gear we’ve seen on the Defender before with a PRO-TORQ transmission, Intelligent Throttle Control and selectable drive train (turf mode, 2WD and 4WD). It’s got Electronic Hill Descent Control and a few other Eco based features designed to give you more fuel economy.
It’s a work horse so it doesn’t come with race-spec FOX suspension but the ride is incredibly comfortably and it didn’t sag when fully loaded. It’s got a set of 220mm discs front and rear, tips the scales at about 830kg, runs a massive 391cm long and 162cm wide, has a wheelbase of 294cm and a ground clearance of 33cm.
Here’s what we liked about it and what we would warn you to be wary of:
WE LIKED
TRAY – The tipper tray in the Defender Pro DPS HD10 is massive. It looks bigger than a dual cab ute and would be closer in size to a single cab ute just slightly narrower. It will fit all your fencing gear including star pickets, picket driver and a wire wheel. There isn’t much you won’t fit. The tipper function is easy operate and could be lifted by a teenager.
MOTOR – Can-AM figured you were probably going to carry some serious weight or tow a large load so they fitted the Defender Pro DPS HD10 with their monster 976cc Rotax engine and it hauls. It’s got torque and top speed, pickup and grunt. I’ve always felt an engine this size is overkill for agricultural vehicles if you tow some of the loads we did you need the big motor. We pulled a 4WD trailer with a 1000L water storage container with no problem.
COMFORT – The bench seat is comfortable and easy to move around in. The steering wheel and pedal position was plenty spacious enough for my 188cm frame. The suspension was incredibly plush but didn’t sag under load.
ACCESSORIES – The Defender Pro DPS HD10 comes with flash 11.4cm display that’s easy to read and looks the goods. It tells you your speed, revs, odometer, trip and hour meters, fuel, gear position, work modes, seat belt and 4 x 4 indicator, front and rear diff. lock indicators, diagnostics, clock, battery voltage and engine temperature. It has a 2-inch tow hitch receiver as standard, skid plates for protection, LED lights and a DC outlet in the dash. There is nothing you would need to do to this beast to start working.
EFFICIENT – For a vehicle this big with a 976cc motor you’d expect fuel economy to be down but the 40-litre fuel tank was surprisingly efficient. We put at least 16 hours of work through it before refuelling and it wasn’t empty.
WINDSCREEN – The windscreen can be opened out so you can shoot out of it too and let the air flow through during summer.
GLOVE BOX SPACE – The Defender had a few extra little cargo-carrying glove boxes under the tray to store stuff we didn’t use that often that e didn’t wan to get wet. Big enough to fit a footy and a few other bits and pieces.
BE CAREFUL
TOW BALL DRAG – With such a long vehicle we noticed the tow ball dragging through gullies. Just be careful of the rear in sharp gullies.
TURNING CIRCLE – Again, a vehicle this long is going to take more space to turn around than a short wheel base Defender.
VERDICT
This vehicle is designed to work and work hard. Some of the shorter Defenders can be used for a little more play and are a touch more versatile but the extra length of this tray meant we were far more efficient with loads of wood and fencing because we could simply carry more. It has a fantastic motor with loads of torque and a the ride comfort and dash setup make working all day in it a breeze. This is the ultimate hard-working rig!
For more detail on the Can-AM Defender Pro DPS HD10 click here.