Pat McArdle: Hey, Pat and Chris back for another episode of Shop Talk where today we are diving deep again on Ranger. So Chris, what are we going into today?
Chris Hendricks: Yeah, Pat, today we are going to talk about all of the updates that we have made to the Ranger XP 1000 lineup since we launched it back in 2018. So we recently launched a new episode that was focused on the new front end style and the changes that were specific for Model Year 25. This one we want to take you guys all the way back on everything we have improved on the best lineup in the industry and how we have made it even better over the years.
Pat McArdle: Yeah, so I think just in case people missed that last episode, quick highlights of the front end, right? Got some new plastic on the hood, the fenders, the grill. We got this beautiful new bumper, right? New winch hook, new fairlead, right? All this stuff in the front end that looks beautiful. But when we think about lighting, what has changed over the years?
Chris Hendricks: Yeah, so one part that is really essential to this new style is our LED headlights. We have had these all the way since 2021. Super bright, these were the industry first and there are a lot of OEMs out there that still are not offering these on utility vehicles.
Pat McArdle: Yeah, great, great when you are using this thing at night whether you are doing work or out hunting, right?
Chris Hendricks: Yep, the other thing Pat talked about is we made some styling updates on our winch this year. But that winch is still the best in the industry and it is one that we have added to more and more vehicles over the years. If you think about a Polaris winch versus what you get from some of the competition, we are offering synthetic rope instead of steel cable. We have got our magnetic auto-stop feature so you are not retracting your hook up into your fairlead. They also come with a wireless remote and a switch on the dash so you can operate your winch from your vehicle or outside of your vehicle using your wireless remote. They are also waterproof and submersible, so a lot of extra benefit you get with a Polaris winch. All we did for this year is just make them look a little bit cooler and integrate with that new front end style.
Pat McArdle: Yeah, for sure. So I think let us maybe come down to the front corner because there is quite a bit of change that has gone on here too, right? So when we think rim and tire upgrade, what has changed on the wheel end here when you think rim and tire?
Chris Hendricks: Yep, so when we first launched the Ranger XP 1000 back in 2018, it had 12-inch wheels and a maximum tire size of 27 inches. We heard from you guys pretty quickly that you wanted bigger and more like Pat likes to say, and so we went to a 14-inch wheel along with up to 29-inch tires to add more ground clearance. With that, we had to make some changes to the frame and suspension along the way.
Pat McArdle: Yeah, for sure. So I think when you look in at these A-arms, right? We actually beefed these up over the years and we have gone to bigger tubes and actually the joints have gone to bigger bolts as well. And we have got fully sealed bushings on them as well so you do not have to worry about getting in there with your greaser doing maintenance, it keeps all that dirt and moisture out so you can just keep operating and never worrying about a squeaky front end.
Pat McArdle: All right, so Chris, what do we need to talk about on the back of this Ranger?
Chris Hendricks: Well, the first one is just another little styling element, just a little bit of bling bling, but we added these Northstar badges to all the Northstar vehicles last year, just something to make the vehicle look a little bit more premium, a little bit nicer.
Pat McArdle: Yeah, and I think not only with that, right? But when you think about ease of operation, I mean this is a one-handed tailgate now, right? We upgraded the hook over the years here, the latch rod has actually been beefed up to make it a little stiffer over time, and it really just makes for this nice smooth one-handed, easy operation of that tailgate, right? The other thing I think we got to point out is where the box latches into the frame, right? So you guys can probably see it better, maybe you can explain it from your side.
Chris Hendricks: Yeah, so one thing we have experienced on this product itself is because our consumers are going over such variable terrain, often times your box would actually pivot separate from the vehicle and that would create a squeaking noise. What our engineers did to get around this is we developed a new roller system. So Eric, if you can come up in here, this is the new roller latch design that interfaces with the catch that is a little bit further down. What is new about this design is that the previous was all metal and so you had a metal-to-metal contact with your box latch. What is really nice about this new design is that this roller can actually move as the vehicle flexes and as it shifts along the metal of the catch, it does not create a squeak as you are going over that uneven terrain that interfaces with this bracket down here. Now with this new box that roller is going to interface with the bracket and when you go over bumps, it can just roll and it can move side to side so you do not get that annoying squeak that you could get if you are in off-road terrain. Are really shaken around. I think that is a good example of Polaris engineering and the amount of detail that goes into these designs and how we really work to make them perfect over the years.
Pat McArdle: All right, so now that we went through some of the style features, let us jump into some of the driveline durability upgrades that have been done over the years. So the first thing we are going to start with is these half shafts. So we have actually upgraded the strength on these. We have gone to actually a higher material on the boot along with some better grease and overall stronger shafts. As we come back on the clutches, you can see I have got a driven clutch here and we have actually added this plate over time. We have gone to way more cooling fins, there is a bushing here on the inside so you get much smoother driveway in operation from that driven. This is the clutch that goes on the transmission. The drive here is the one that goes on the engine. So again, we have redesigned and upgraded this over the years as well, so kind of all new clutch system on the Ranger.
Pat McArdle: If you look at front drives, you can see this is what we used to use where it hard bolted to the chassis whereas the new one has these nice rubber dampers. So this actually isolates this from the frame. Beauty of that is twofold. Number one, it is actually a stronger front drive, but it also isolates some of the vibration and noise. You do not hear that strumming and drumming especially if you have got a cab unit on a crew where that was something that people would complain about back in the day. And then we went through this in detail on a previous episode, but this buttery smooth shifting on these new transmissions is just absolutely fantastic. So when you think kind of back to front, there has been tons of driveline and durability upgrades on these Ranger XPs over the years.
Chris Hendricks: All right, so Pat just walked you guys through a lot of the under the skin updates that we have made to the XP 1000. He was pretty quick as he was talking about the transmission, the half shafts, the clutches, but don't forget we have got some Shop Talk videos that go very in-depth on those. So if you want to learn more about any of those parts, just check out those videos.
Pat McArdle: Yeah, so I think the next thing we got to dive into is what we have done for some of the sealing aspects on this cab over the years, right?
Chris Hendricks: Right, so when you think upgraded and updated windshield seals, we actually now go in and actually fill in the joints between the cage and the main frame. We have got sealing panels in all four corners, so down here, up above. And I think if you scroll over, Chris, you are probably a little closer, maybe talk about the roof and the doors.
Pat McArdle: Yep, so we also redesigned the crew roof for Model Year 25. So we reversed the direction of the shingling of the two roof panels, improved that seal a little bit and then also added some more fasteners to make it a little bit more robust.
Chris Hendricks: All right, snow getting into doors, there have been a few updates over the years on those, right?
Pat McArdle: Yep, so we have completely redesigned the door seals. I think especially focused on some of these areas where we are going around angles. You can see these are actually engineered now and they fit the way they should every time. The other update we made to the doors is we completely redid the inner door panel. So we went from a bunch of parts that all fit together to one piece. Makes it look a little bit better, it also seals a little bit better. Kept a lot of storage in the doors while we were doing so.
Chris Hendricks: Nice.
Pat McArdle: I think the other thing, you know, I noticed looking up at the top of this roof too, right? We got a nice headliner in there to cut down on some of the noise, also makes it look good, right? So that has gotten added in over time. But you know, Chris, when we think about all this ceiling, the hood liner, why, why do we have to do all that? Why do we care?
Chris Hendricks: As we have sold more and more Northstars to you guys, we have gotten a lot of feedback and so that is why we have been really focused on sealing up the cab. So we are trying to keep water out, keep dust out. The next thing we will talk about here is after you get the cab all sealed up, you want to be able to cool it down and heat it up really well.
Pat McArdle: Yeah, absolutely. And you know, over time there has been a couple key upgrades that have gone on there. We have actually upgraded some of the sealing on the lines over time and we moved to a variable rate compressor. So that compressor does not always have to spin at the same speed as the engine so we can actually get better cooling performance when you are idling or when you are driving around at slow or even high speeds. So that has been a big upgrade that has really extended the riding season on these Rangers too.
Chris Hendricks: Oh yeah. All right, so we got these things sealed up. Then we improved the air conditioning quite a bit and what that led to is you guys are spending a lot more time in these vehicles. So you are riding them year-round, riding them for more hours a day. Next logical thing was we needed to make the seats even better on this vehicle. So we wanted to maintain some of the really signature Ranger DNA by having a bench seat you can slide in and out of, but we made the foam more comfortable up top. We added bolsters to the seat backs and changed the seat back angle a little bit. This makes the seat more comfortable to sit in for a long time. These bolsters also grip your sides as you are going over uneven off-road terrain and make the vehicle more comfortable. And that is both when you first get in it as well as after a day of spending five or six hours in your Ranger.
Pat McArdle: Yeah, for sure. So I think right as it cools better, you get more seasoned, you got more comfortable seats, the sealing is better. What is the next logical thing to be thinking about?
Chris Hendricks: Next logical thing is the experience you get in the cab related to sound and entertainment. So as we have sealed these things up, we started to get more feedback from you guys that you wanted to really improve the in-cab experience and so we started focusing on what we call NVH or Noise, Vibration and Harshness. And every change that we have made to our vehicle since has incorporated our mission to make these vehicles quieter. You will notice that in everything from the front drives to the way the clutches are designed as well as some stuff inside the vehicle that Pat can show you.
Pat McArdle: Yeah, absolutely. So you think about things like headliner, not only does it look good but it also absorbs some of that sound. We have got additional sealing under the seat, helps keep some of the dust and noise out. On the rear panel, we have also got some acoustic treatment similar to the headliner that you can see back here on a crew, again, it helps dampen some of that engine and driveline noise down. I do not know if you guys can maybe get in and see some of this down between the seats or up behind the seat back here. But overall, it helps quiet that cab down so you hear the noises you want and you do not hear the ones you do not.
Pat McArdle: So Chris, is there anything else we got to cover off on when you think about the evolution of the Ranger XP?
Chris Hendricks: Yep, I have got one more, but you actually missed one, Pat. So after we added all these sound editing panels, we also added one in the rear seat of a crew vehicle. This really just cleans up the rear end, but it is another one of those what we call like a sound abatement panel inside of the cab is something that can absorb some of that sound and that noise just making for an overall quieter experience.
Pat McArdle: I think the one thing we got to not forget is this awesome Ride Command experience as well, right? We have got off-road navigation that is capable. When you shift this thing into reverse, you will get the reverse camera automatically which is pretty nice. And you can pair up your phone, so if you want to stream audio right off your favorite streaming service, you can do that really easily. But I think there is one other thing that has been added in for Ranger, right, that we do not have on RZRs that I am used to looking at when you think about Ride Command.
Chris Hendricks: Yeah, yeah, one that I am excited about as a hunter is we added a new feature that not everybody knows about yet and that is our game cam viewer. So you can actually plug your card readers right into the USB on your Ranger and then you can pull up this game viewer app to be able to view the photos that you have.
Pat McArdle: Yeah, you will have to ignore all my GPS points on this from being out in Glamis, but let us get down to some of your examples here.
Chris Hendricks: Yeah, so we just pulled down a couple examples of some game cameras, but as you can see, you know, you can scroll through, you can see what you have got on your card. You can also get rid of them, you know, if you get a picture of a squirrel or something you do not care about. So it allows you to just manage what is on your card right from your Ranger out at your trail cam, put it back and get on the way. So just a little bit more convenient feature for us hunters.
Chris Hendricks: Awesome. The last thing we did is after we got these things sealed up, got the air conditioning colder, worked on the noise that was translated into the cabs, is we had to top it off with a really awesome audio system. So you guys will remember that we launched the new JBL Trail Pro audio on the Polaris Expedition and the XD 500. This year, we are really excited about that and we have now adopted that same audio system on the Ranger XP 1000 and 1000 models. So from the factory, you can get a Northstar Ultimate with Ride Command as well as that JBL audio. We just walked you through most of the big improvements that we have made to the Ranger XP 1000 over the years. Thanks for your time.
Pat McArdle: Hey, make sure you like, comment, subscribe and let us know what you want to see on future episodes of Shop Talk.
