Industry News UTV Product Reviews

Maverick Sport vs RZR S vs Wildcat Sport

Maverick Sport vs. Polaris RZR S

By Seth Fargher

It turns out big horsepower and lots of suspension travel aren’t the only things consumers are interested in these days. Over the last few years, we’ve seen OEMs shift their primary focus from attempting to stay atop the pure sport category and instead, become readily concerned with meeting the specific and varying demands of the market at large. In it’s latest bid to nab away market share from Polaris, our friends from the north have unveiled an all new sport class side by side.

To begin with, if the Maverick Trail and the Maverick X3 had a lovechild, the Maverick Sport would be it. It’s obvious from the appearance that the Maverick Sport borrows much of its design from the Maverick Trail, including the front fascia, it’s 90.6 inch wheelbase and premium half doors. From the Maverick X3, the Maverick Sport gets the same larger air box (on the 1000R model) as well as the CVT driven pulley and other styling elements.

Can-Am Maverick Sport

Can-Am Maverick Sport

Since the machine is 60 inches wide, it doesn’t meet the technical classifications of a trail machine (50 inch max width) so we thought we’d put together what we’re calling a mid level Sport Class comparison between the Polaris RZR S, the Textron Offroad Wildcat Sport and the newcomer to the group, the Maverick Sport.

Polaris RZR S 900

Polaris RZR S 900

To meet varying needs and budgets, the Maverick Sport and the RZR S models both come with with two different engine configurations, each capable of producing 75 horsepower and 100 horsepower. The Maverick Sport features two versions of the same 976cc V-twin engine while the RZR S utilizes separate 875cc and 999cc versions of the same ProStar inline-twin engine. The Wildcat Sport is slightly underpowered compared to these two models with its 700cc inline-twin putting out around 60+ horsepower.

Textron Offroad Wildcat Sport

Textron Offroad Wildcat Sport

One of the downfalls of most trail specific models is the lack of suspension travel. Understandably, there’s only so much you can do when engineers are limited to a 50 inch overall width. Trail enthusiasts will appreciate the added inches of shock travel as each of the three models offers more than an inch of suspension travel over their younger trail ready siblings. The RZR S comes out on top with 12.25 inches of front suspension travel and 13.2 inches in the rear followed by the Wildcat Sport with 12.2 inches in the front and 12.6 inches in the rear. The Maverick Sport offers 11.5 inches in the front and 12 inches in the rear. All three machines utilize dual A-arm suspension on the front and rear with the exception of Can-Am’s Torsional Trailing Arm suspension on the rear of the Maverick Sport.

FOX 2.0 Podium shocks are used on all Maverick Sport models as well as the RZR S 900 base model. The RZR S 900 EPS and 1000 EPS models receive upgraded 2 in Walker Evans Needle shocks. JRi ECX1 Compression adjustable shocks are used on the Wildcat Sport though the Wildcat Sport LTD model comes with Elka Stage 5 shocks featuring dual speed compression and rebound adjustment.

As far as overall size, all the vehicles share the same 60” width which means they’re great middle of the road machines, capable of navigating trails without rubbing every tree in sight but wide enough to be stable at high speeds. The Maverick Sport is the longest machine at 119 inches, followed by the Wildcat Sport (110.5 inches) and RZR S (106 inches). At 90.6 inches, the wheelbase of the Maverick Sport is nearly a full foot longer than that of the RZR S at 79 inches with the Wildcat Sport landing right between the two at 84.6 inches.

Carlisle 26 inch tires can be found on the Wildcat Sport and despite having the shortest tires of the bunch, the Wildcat offers the most ground clearance at 13 inches. Both the Maverick Sport and the RZR S utilize 27 inch tires with 12 inches of ground clearance on the Maverick and 12.5 inches on the RZR.

The Wildcat Sport is also the lightest at 1071 pounds dry. That’s more than 300 pounds lighter than the Maverick Sport at 1377 pounds and 164 pounds lighter than the RZR S at 1235 pounds. Less weight certainly improves the power to weight ratio since the Wildcat Sport is significantly down on power when compared to the 100 horsepower models of the other two machines. The smaller fuel tank (7.3 gal compared to 9.5 gal on the RZR S and 10 gal on the Maverick Sport) also helps shave off a few extra pounds but it might be the difference between riding all day and having to come back to the rig and refuel.

The Wildcat Sport comes standard with power steering where the base models of both the Maverick Sport and RZR S do not. It’s available on the RZR S 900 and 1000 EPS models as well as the Maverick Sport DPS models. Engine breaking is available on the Maverick and RZR models (called Electronic Hill Descent Control on the Maverick) but is not offered on the Wildcat.

If you’ve had your eye on any one of these models, the good news is you won’t have to let price be a determining factor. All three base models are within $400 of each other, starting at $14,599 for the Wildcat Sport, $14,699 for the Maverick Sport and $14,999 for the RZR S 900. If you’re sold on either the Maverick or the RZR but power steering is something you just can’t live without, you’ll be happy to know the Maverick Sport DPS 1000 and the RZR S 900 EPS are both available for $16,499. Lastly, MSRP on the Maverick Sport DPS 1000R and RZR S 1000 EPS is, you guessed it, the same for both vehicles at $17,999.

More Resources:

60-inch sport UTV Specification Comparison

 

Can-Am Maverick Sport

Polaris RZR S

Textron Offroad Wildcat Sport

Price

$14,699.00

$14,999.00

$14,599.00

Engine Displacement

Rotax 976cc V-Twin

875cc/999cc ProStar

Inline-twin 700cc

Horsepower

75 hp or 100 hp

75 hp or 100 hp

60+ hp

Fuel Delivery

Intelligent Throttle Control (iTC) w/EFI

EFI

Close loop fuel injection

Power Steering

Available on DPS model

Available on EPS and S 1000 model

Yes

Transmission

Selectable 2WD/FWD w/ Visco-Lok

High Performance True On-Demand AWD/2WD

Electric 2/4WD with 4WD lock

Drive Train

CVT

PVT

CVT

Engine Braking

Yes

Yes

No

Suspension Front

Dual A-arm w/Sway bar 11.5” of travel

Dual A-arm w/stabilizer bar 12.25” of travel

Dual A-arm w/Sway bar 12.2” of travel

Suspension Rear

TTA w/Sway bar 12” of travel

Dual A-arm w/stabilizer bar 13.2” of travel

Dual A-arm w/Sway bar 12.6” of travel

Shocks

FOX 2.0 Podium Shocks

FOX 2.0 Podium Shocks (2 in Walker Evans Needle Shocks on 1000 S model)

JRi ECX 1 Compression Adj Shocks

Tires Front

27x9x12 Maxxis Bighorn 2.0

27x9x12 GBC Dirt Commander

26 x 8 x 12 Carlisle Trail Pro

Tires Rear

27x11x12 Maxxis Bighorn 2.0

27x11x12 GBC Dirt Commander

26 x 10 x 12 Carlisle Trail Pro

LxWxH

119” x 60” x 71.1”

106” x 60” x 71.5”

110.5” x 60” x 64.3”

Wheelbase

90.6”

79”

84.6”

Dry Weight

1377 lbs

1235 lbs

1071 lbs

Ground Clearance

12”

12.5”

13”

Fuel Capacity/Economy

10 gal

9.5 gal

7.4 gal

Brakes

Dual 220 mm ventilated discs with hydraulic twin-piston calipers

4-Wheel Hydraulic Disc with Dual-Bore Front and Rear Calipers

Four wheel hydraulic Disc with dual front piston calipers

Lighting

Two 55 W reflectors & LED tail lights

Halogen 55W low/60W high headlights & LED tail lights

Halogen Front, Dual LED brake/tail lights

Instrumentation

Multifunctional Digital Gauge

Single Analog Dial with 2″ LCD Rider Information Center

Multifunctional Digital Gauge

Towing Capacity

1500 lbs

1500 lbs

1500 lbs

Storage

5.3 gallons in cab

Glove box

Glove box

Bed Dimensions L x W x H

n/a

20.7” x 37” x 7.9”

16” x 34” x 9”

Rack/Bed Capacity

300 lbs

300 lbs

300 lbs

Warranty

6 months

6 months

6 months

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