This category was hardest for me to choose a winner:
The Arctic Cat Wildcat 700 has been this category’s winner for the pas 5 years. It’s disappearance from the Cat’s lineup this year without a replacement left deep shoes to fill. I could have chosen a 500 cc class machine but, many of the members of our online communities that buy these smaller displacement UTVs don’t keep them for more than a year or two, trade them in for larger displacement machines and take serious hit on the trade-in value. In eastern Canada, where there are large federated trail systems, you need a multi cylinder machine if you do not want to constantly run out of steam so, I picked the other uber-popular UTV ’round these parts.
CFMOTO ZFORCE 800 EX
The ZForce 800 EX has been around since 2015. This UTV is the one that redeemed the CFMOTO brand in Canada. Think of it as a modern more powerful RZR 800. Featuring an 800cc vtwin engine that produces 62 hp that is driven by a Canadian made CVTech CVT through a wet clutch system similar to Japanese ATVs.
The ZFORCE 800 is a value-driven unit.
Starting in the 2016 model year, most of the nags and build quality issues were ironed out and from 2018 and up, they have been known for their dependability (who would have thought I’d be saying this today…). Don’t get me wrong here, they aren’t perfect, but they have been selling like hot cakes.
For a basic entry level UTV, you would be hard pressed to find something in this price range with a winch, mirror and flashers. Trust me I’ve checked. There are literally thousands of these in eastern Canada’s trail systems. It’s impossible to go out for a ride without seeing one.
For $16,099 with a one year, full coverage warranty and 5 years/5000 km powertrain warranty, I dare you to find a better deal that can rivals the level of performance of this UTV.