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TESTED | POLARIS RZR TRAIL S 1000 PREMIUM | Launch Report | Tested

We managed to get a hold of Polaris’s latest trail-spec RZR, the Trail S 1000 Premium and spent a few months testing it.

The trailriding scene in Australia is massive… for dirtbikes. There are thousands of kilometres of endless four-wheel-drive track and singletrail for motorcycle enthusiasts to twist the throttle on but for us side-by-side users, our options for trailriding are limited. So where could I drive a vehicle like the Polaris Trail S 1000 Premium?

Some states like West Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and some parts of Queensland don’t seem to care where you ride but for the rest of us it’s slim pickings. There are a few ride parks you can spend a weekend at but for the most part, if you don’t have access to private property trailriding your side-by-side is easier said than done.

However, mobs like Polaris are working diligently to change that. They’ve made some progress in making state governments aware of the increase in demand and growing popularity of the recreational side of our sport and the right conversations are starting to happen.

When those government officials do finally listen, machines like the Polaris RZR Trail S 1000 Premium will be hot property. The Trail S 1000 Premium is essentially a shrunk down version of the Polaris RZR XP 1000 that’s narrower and shorter than an XP and better suited to tight forest trails than a race track.

WHAT’S IN THE AUSSIE VERSION?

Engine: The Trail s 1000 Premium runs a 999cc, liquid-cooled, four-stroke DOHC twin cylinder engine that produces about 100hp. It has on-demand AWD and 2WD, fuel injection and all the regular gearing like P/R/N/L/H.

Dimensions: It has a 136kg box carrying capacity a payload of 336kg, and a tow capscity of 680kg. It’s got a dry weight of 617kg, fuel capacity of 36L, nearly 32cm and a vehicle size (L x W x H) of 282 x 152.4 x 176 cm. The wheelbase is 200cm.

Running gear: Braking is taken care of by a 4-wheel hydraulic disc with dual-bore front and rear calipers. There is no park brake, the park gear is all that is needed. It has cast aluminium wheels and 27 x 9-12; Trailmaster A/T tyres up front and 27 x 11-12; Trailmaster A/T tyres out the back.

Suspension: Front and back is taken care of by the 2-inch Walker Evans needle shocks with 16-position adjustable clickers while a dual A-arm with stabilizer bar and 31.1 cm of wheel travel runs the front end and the same setup but with 33.5cm rund the back end.

Other bits: It has full doors as standard, power steering, a 3.2cm hitch receiver, a poly roof, adjustable tilt steering, bolstered bucket seats with toolless driver seat slider and standard passenger seat slider. It has a speedometer, tachometer, odometer, tripmeter, clock, hour meter, gear indicator, fuel gauge, coolant temperature, voltmeter, service indicator and codes, seat belt reminder light, gear indicator, dc outlet + 12v power plug.

HOW IS IT DIFFERENT TO THE XP?

Engine: Exactly the same except the XP produces 110hp while the Trail S only produces 100hp.

Dimensions: This is where it differs most. The box is a different shape but Polaris claim it can carry the same amount. The XP weighs 662kg while the Trail S 1000 is 617kg. Fuels is the same capacity and so is payload but ground clearance is less in the Trail with 31.8cm as opposed to 35.6 in the XP, the vehicle dimensions (L x W x H) are bigger in the XP at 302.2 x 162.6 x 187.3 cm, that’s 10 cm wider, 20cm longer and 11cm taller and the wheelbase is a full 28cm longer.

Running gear: Brakes are the same but tyres are different (Radials) and bigger on the XP at 29 inches .

Suspension: Suspension is the same gear except the XP has about 10cm of extra travel and the rear shocks are 2.5 Walker Evans Needle Shocks instead of 2.0.

WHAT DID WE THINK?

We drove this vehicle through everything from mud bog holes to rocky outcrops and we even raced it around our very own grass track. We spent most of our time trailriding it as that is the intention of this vehicle. While it doesn’t have the same width as the XP or the suspension travel it is still pretty capable on a motocross track or a grass track. Despite being so narrow it still felt planted. We felt more comfortable tackling corners with speed in the XP but we only back off the Trail S 1000 Premium about 20%.

We love the Walker Evans suspension. It’s the same gear that you get in the XP but with less suspension travel making the XP feel softer. We also really liked the wider stance on the 1000 as opposed to the 900. It felt a little more stable with the longer a-arms.

As for the naturally aspirated motor, it is a beast. It has plenty of grunt and plenty of torque when crawling in low range or racing around a motocross track in high range. There won’t be many scenarios where an XP will be quicker than this 999cc Trail S 1000.

We also really like the roll cage. You got a full on RZR spec roll cage with the Trail models so if you do happen to go over you’ve got more protection than you would in a Ranger and even General.

The Trail Master tyre on the Trail S 1000 is a 27 incher meaning it is bigger than most of the tyres found on the Ranger and General and bigger than the Trail S 900. The advantage of this is you get better traction and better crawling ability over rocks, logs and other obstacles. They were however 2 inches smaller than the standard XP tyres. We think the 27-inch tyre is sufficient for that regular recreational trailriding stuff.

We liked the running bars down the side. They are tough and protected the vehicle from damage from rocks we dragged it over and logs that flicked up when flogging through the grass. They did not bend or fault. We had a big bar fitted to the front which was good for pushing through the bush and scrub and to even push through some gates.

This Trail S 1000 that we tested also had a windscreen and wiper fitted from the Polaris Accessories catalogue. The wiper had a water squirter built onto the blade which we found did a better job at wetting the windscreen than the ones that are built onto the bonnet.

It also runs the RZR bucket seats which are far more comfortable. You can spend all day in these seats. They hug your torso so you’re not moving around and bouncing out of the seat when you hit rocks.

We also loved the steering because it felt quite heavy which is good. It is heavier than most of the Rangers. The good thing about the heavy steering is it doesn’t float when you get up to speed. At 80km/h the steering didn’t get light on us.

While my favourite feature was the width of the wheel track with those new a-arms when compared with the Trail S 900, the downside was that they made the tyres stick out past the body and the mudguards which flicked mud and water up into the cab. While the Trail S 1000 has extra flared guards even that wasn’t enough to stop the water getting onto your arm. It’s a very minor thing but it was kind of annoying and maybe a big set of mudflaps would prevent that.

The Polaris RZR Trail S 1000 Premium would suit people with large blocks of land who are mainly going to use this vehicle for trailriding. People who want to try and climb hills with their mates or do big long loops of their property that are more like a tough 4WD track or dirtbike track. It will do this stuff easier than an XP because it is narrower and a little less touchy on the throttle. Not only that but it will leave you with some spare change to fit some awesome accessories, coming in at $21 990.

That being said, you can use it for a bit of agriculture. We used it to muster and it enabled us to get in and out of gullies and creeks that we couldn’t do in our Ranger because of the better clearance and stability in the Trail S 1000. But it doesn’t have the massive box carrying capacity so you can’t do big loads or big work. I can see it at home on any of the big properties in the north of Australia that are looking to replace their old dirtbikes and ATV’s with a side-by-side that can do all the same things.