Hi, I'm in the market for a side by side and have narrowed my search down to the Kawasaki Mule SX 4x4 XC FI or the Polaris Ranger 500. Each have their pros & cons. The Mule seems more rugged and the Ranger is faster with a softer ride. Just looking for something to ride around my neigorhood, light work around my property, and take on an occasional trail; nothing extreme. Which would be your choice and why?

Of the 2 I like the Mule better and the local dealer says the Polaris break more often.
I have 2 buddies with Mules and they work them hard and have not had much trouble out of them.

What made you rule out the Yamaha? I have a Yamaha Kodiak ATV that has been bulletproof. I am dabbling in the world of getting a UTV since the in-laws are buying the boy a Ranger 150 if we can ever find one.

Yamaha is leading for me (because the Kodiak has done so well for me), then Kawasaki, and Polaris and CanAm are probably tied for last.

My dad got rid of a Honda 4 wheeler & bought a gas Mule.

It's about as far from sporty as you can get but works great for utility & down at the ranch for deer season.

Not sure what kind of neighborhood you live in, but a Mule would be a bit big for our neighborhood.
Lots of golf carts running around here & a few Razor looking SxS.

I had the Polaris Ranger. Zero problems. Sold it when I moved.

SIL has a diesel Kubota “mule”. Was used by her 3 teenaged sons and a yard man for 20 years and still is going strong. (The sons are grown men now )

If looking at the Polaris I would bump up to the 570 model.

My neighbor has a dealership for both brands. According to him, Kawasaki is more reliable.

I have a Kawasaki Mule that I purchased new in 2007. I added a couple of LED lights and a winch, other than that it is bone stock. I have had ZERO problems or issues with it.
The Mule is not fast (about 25 mph) like some of the other models out there, but mine has been 100% reliable. I would buy another one without any hesitation.

Good luck!

We’ve had both. The mule isn’t as fast, but is quieter, more comfortable, and has required less work.

quote:

Originally posted by flaman:
Hi, I'm in the market for a side by side and have narrowed my search down to the Kawasaki Mule SX 4x4 XC FI or the Polaris Ranger 500. Each have their pros & cons. The Mule seems more rugged and the Ranger is faster with a softer ride. Just looking for something to ride around my neigorhood, light work around my property, and take on an occasional trail; nothing extreme. Which would be your choice and why?

I have owned both the ones your consideringMy my first side-by-side was a Mule 610 (now named Mule SX). It was very well built and gave me zero problems. It utilizes a high and low range with an excellent 4wd system with 2wd open differential for normal use, 4wd just like a 4wd pick-up or Wrangler. In addition you can select rear differential lock if you somehow get it stuck or encounter pretty extreme conditions, I only needed this a couple times. In low range it can climb anything (slowly) to the point it'll run out of traction before running out of power.
What I didn't like: Top speed in high range is only 22-24 mph but this is only on level, up a slight grade it'll slow down considerably. Suspension doesn't have much travel so it rides rough. The clutch will allow the transmission to disengage so it will free-wheel down hill, in other words no engine braking it's all up to the brakes to slow down. And they aren't that great so it requires a lot of pressure on the pedal.

Some of my riding is on roads and I felt only being able to go maybe 10-12 mph up hill to be not just an inconvenience but a safety issue. So after 5 years I sold the Mule and bought a Ranger 500FI mid-size. With almost 40 HP power and speed were no longer a problem and sporting long travel, independent suspension it rode FAR nicer than the little Mule. But I soon discovered the build quality wasn't up to the Kawasaki, things like a cable not secured and laying on the muffler, greasible suspension joints without grease zerks having been fitted started squeaking. But my real gripe was Polaris' horrible 4wd system, I guess it's more like AWD. It took me a while to figure out what it was doing.

Basically the front and rear wheels weren't driven at the same speed. I first noticed it when going up the same steep, leaf covered trail that I always did on the Mule. Looking at the trail after going up in the Mule (or ATV) it was undisturbed but after the Ranger went up I could see where tires had been slipping, not "feel" mind you but see the disturbed trail. In researching how the Polaris 4WD functions, in 4WD the front engages only when the rear tires are spinning, once both front and rear are turning the same speed, the front disengages. I believe the rear wheels need to spin 20% faster than the front before the fronts engage, so at that point on a slippery surface the fronts are turning at ground speed while the rears are turning faster. What was occurring going up the wet, leaf strewn trail in 4WD was the rears started slipping slightly and once they were spinning 20% faster than the front, the front began pulling but all the while the rears kept spinning faster than ground speed which is why the trail was getting chewed up. Also on the rocker switch for 4wd, first position locks the rear dif, the second position leaves the rear locked plus engages "4WD", so no 4WD with open rear dif. So when making a rather tight turn near the end of the little hill I described, in 4WD with the rear differential locked caused further skidding just like many ATV's would do. The Mule didn't because on it you can engage 4wd (with both axles turning the same speed) without locking the rear dif. Rear dif lock on Mules have its own separate switch.

This AWD system also made Ranger made kind of squirrelly in certain scenarios such as running on a road covered in 6" of snow. It didn't have enough traction in 2wd so I had to select 4WD which also locked the rear dif. With a locked rear dif and the rear wheels both spinning faster than the front wheels, the rear would wiggle side to side which was horrible. The Mule (or my 4WD pick up for that matter) in 4WD with open diff and all four wheels turning the same speed tracked perfectly. Even giving a lot of throttle which could cause one front and one rear to spin a little, it still left one wheel on each axle traveling at ground speed which kept it tracking straight.

I guess the benefit of Polaris's system is you can leave 4WD engaged even on high traction surfaces like a paved road, something you wouldn't want to do on conventional 4WD but IMO it might be ok on something like a riding lawn mower but it doesn't belong on a UTV.

I tolerated the Ranger for a couple years but when I saw Kawasaki's then new Mule Pro MX a couple years ago I sold the Ranger. The Pro MX is more in the size and class of a Ranger mid-size 500/570 but with the nice build quality of the little Mule SX. The Pro MX has the power, speed, and suspension of the Polaris 570. But with a traditional 4WD system incorporating open rear diff that can be locked by a switch in either 2wd or 4wd which is also selected separately. The liquid cooled, single cylinder, 700cc engine is smooth and puts out over 40hp. Top speed is governed to 45mph which it'll do even up a slight hill. It has a 9 gallon tank and comes standard with power steering as well as hard doors (which I removed). It does not free wheel like the little Mule so it's more controllable going slowly down steep hills.

If you're looking at a Polaris 500 I would urge you give a close look at Kawasaki's Mule Pro MX.

My best friend is a mechanic at a dealership that sells both. When I was shopping, it wasn't like a discussion of this or that may or not be good or better it was simply get the mule. Which I did and its been mint x2. I think Polaris has been aggressive on features, but in my environment reliability means everything and they are not in the hunt.

Get the Mule. Unless you like spending more time at the shop.

I have the Mule. A 2018 Pro FXR. I've been working it hard with no complaints. It isn't fast. That's good, because neither am I.

I've no input to offer on the other'n.

I e been looking too. I have friends that have Polaris and they like them. Also have a friend that is in a group that rides every weekend. He told me that a lot of folks were selling their Polaris and buying can-am.

After reading this thread, I’m going to look at the Kawasaki.

Of the two, it would be the Mule hands down.
At my age longevity isn't as important as it used to be so I've been looking at the Tracker sxs at Basspro. They haven't been around long enough to see how they hold up over time. They are made by Artic Cat.

Have you considered the Kawasaki Teryx? It's in between the Mule and the Polaris in terms of utility and sportiness. My neighbor who owns the dealership I previously mentioned thinks a great all around vehicle. We've been looking at it and the Teryx KRX which is very sporty.

https://www.kawasaki.com/en-us/side-x-side/teryx

I have a 10 year old diesel mule 4010. Disadvantages as noted are; relatively small diameter wheels, limited suspension travel, speed governed to 25.

Benefits are; tough, reliable, adaptable, great 4wd with locking diff, 1500 lb. carrying capacity, 1500 lb. towing capacity, high and low range 2 or 4 person capability, which is easily converted without removing and storing any parts.

We use ours as a work vehicle on a farm, and as an overland vehicle hunting/managing land. We aren't ever in need of speeds over 25, and seldom go that fast, so this vehicle works very well for us.

Generally speaking:

Kawasaki's rarely break, if ever.

Polaris routinely break. To a practical joke level.

(I'm in the powersports business)

We have a Ranger Crew and my in-laws have a smaller Mule. Neither has broken. The Polaris is more capable, imo, but it is also the bigger of the two. I haven't seen anything it won't do yet. It is a bit noisy...

I guess I am in the minority but our Ranger XP900 has been flawless and I am not easy on it in the least. I drove both before buying and I found the Mule lacking power compared to the Ranger. We are sitting on about 30 acres here and my wife, 4 year old daughter and our 16 month boy old ride about everyday through trails we have made, creeks, rocks,mud etc. The only thing I wish I had done when I bought ours was get the XP1000 it had just came out and there are a lot more plug and play options on it.