Arctic Cat

Whether you’re a lover or a hater of Arctic Cat products there’s no mistaking their all-new WILDCAT 1000i H.O. for a bulky, lumbering farm wagon of a Side x Side best suited to chasing cows and hauling bales. The new Arctic Cat is designed for hauling a$$ and running down every other Side x Side on the planet over the roughest terrain you can find.

Arctic Cat is known for building vehicles with incredible performance, but with their Prowler HDX 700, they showed their skill at designing for the hard working, utility crowd as well. The HDX 700 comes equipped with an extremely smooth running, 695cc, liquid cooled, SOHC, 4-stroke, 4-valve engine. Electronic Fuel Injection insures excellent starts and crisp throttle response at any temperature or elevation and the engine is both quick and powerful. Cat designed the HDX to appeal to sportsman and work crews.

New model introductions usually amount to the announcement that a manufacturer has one-upped the competition (and sometimes themselves) with a new ATV, and high horsepower premium machines have become the norm. When we arrived at the 2011 Arctic Cat media release event, we weren't really sure what to expect. With over-the-top products like the 1000cc Thundercat and Mud Pro 4x4 ATVs and the lightning fast, versatile Prowler HDX and XTZ line, what would Arctic Cat have under the covers to surprise us? As it turned out, they had a plethora (Jefe...

When one of the design parameters is that the vehicle must be able to carry a round bale almost as big as the vehicle itself, you know it’s going to be one tough, hard working UTV. Arctic Cat’s new Prowler HDX 700 can carry the bale, 3 passengers, and with a dump box seemingly half as big as a football field, practically the whole barn! We spent several days and 400 miles picking our way through the rocks, canyons, and desert to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and back, and the HDX 700 was as reliable as a trusty dog or sure footed horse. Driving the HDX is much more comfortable, though.

Whenever we test any all-new ATV or UTV, whether from Arctic Cat, Yamaha, Honda, Polaris, or any of the OEMS, we usually don’t stray too far from the truck on our first day. After all, we don’t know exactly what to expect from the new model, and we might need to make adjustments or even repairs. Not this time however. Our initial ride on Arctic Cats new heavy duty 700 HDX, and 700 XTX wouldn’t be a casual ride through familiar woods, farm, or trail, but a go-for-broke, no turning back trek spread over 3 days and 400 miles of some of the most remote and toughest terrain in North America.