Thanks for your honest review. From my experience, I agree with most everything you typed.



I've always said Polaris has the best engineering in the business.
Its too bad they suffer from poor quality control and use subpar parts in many applications.


I've owned kawasaki, honda, yamaha, suzuki, ktm, can am and several other polaris vehicles
over the years. I've spent more time wrenching on a polaris per ride hour than any of the others.
KTM a close second in wrenching time. The big four Japanese manufactures about even with
far, far less wrenching and replacing parts.



That said, I own two Polaris vehicles simply because they offer the best performance for the type of
riding/use I want at this time. As silly as it is to many, I prefer performance over reliability at this time.


I hope some day Polaris will step up their game and build a more reliable vehicle. Not holding my breathe as
the parts business is BIG business.

 

Thanks for your honest review. From my experience, I agree with most everything you typed.

Same here. I can't really compare the ride comfort on the trails because my Commander was a 2 seater vs my General which is a 4 seater.

The one area that I don't see that you touched on was the ease of which you can work on the machines. In this case the General wins hands down and pulling away. I don't have to remove a seat to check the oil or a seat and half the interior plastic to change a belt.

And yes the fit and finish are much better on the Commander, the General from what I have seen is far above the RZR. We actually went to get a RZR4 and the wife saw the General and it was over at that point. But I haven't notice outright poor quality, but then again it is just the wife and I riding trails and not abusing the machine. So hopefully I will have many years of trouble free operation.

 

Can't argue with anything posted here. My cousin has a Commander so I'm very familiar with them as well, and Rockpainter is right on. My cousin has had zero issues, while in the 2.5years I've owned my General, it's had multiple recalls performed, but other than that, I've had no problems.


No doubt the General is better in the technical stuff, which is what I like. Although, that becomes a problem, when your riding buddy can't keep up. It has been the source of some good nature crap talking though.


Bottom line, he has enjoyed his machine, and I've really enjoyed mine, and to me, that's all that matters.

 

Pretty much cover it and i also concur!

 

I've owned many off road machines from dirt bikes to three wheelers, 4 wheelers Quads, UTV, & Side x Sides from many different manufactures, Honda, Yamaha, KTM, Husquarvana, Polaris, Can-Am, and even Indian (yes Indian Motor Cycles had dirt bikes in the 1970's my fist Motor Cycle was an 1974 Indian dirt bike 75cc engine) I agree Can-Am BRP makes a fine product and the rotax engines are hard to beat. I've had several Sea-Doo products and that was my first experience with the Rotax engines. I had a 2011 Commander X, It was the first one to come into our local dealer. it had Fox Shocks and was a great machine power steering wasn't available on them yet, but it was a Power House compared to the Yamaha Rhino that I had been riding for the 2 years prior and the suspension was by far superior to the Rhino. I loved the gated shifter as well, and the seats were incredible.It was quality no doubt but as mention in some of the other post they are a little harder to work on and Accessories were limited or they were at that time anyway, It was loud in the cockpit from engine noise and gear noise form the rear diff, although they have quieted the gear noise down on the later models my Brother in law has an 2015 model and it doesn't have the gear noise, as for the heat in the cab we removed the plastic from the interior and put the sticky foil back insulation liner like used in automotive insulation on the backside of the plastic and reinstalled them and it made a ton of difference. I went from my Commander to the RZR XP4 because i wanted to be able to haul more passengers, but after riding it for a couple years I missed having the dump bed and storage so last year about this time my wife & I actually went to purchase an Ranger Crew HighLifter edition and we saw the G4 and immediately changed our minds, way more comfortable than the Ranger, better suspension, more horse power and doors and as everyone knows there are tons of Accessories from Polaris as well as the Aftermarket for these machines. To close the comparison between the Commander and the General is the only fair comparison (Apples to Apples) when comparing either of these machine to something else is Apples to Oranges because the are in a class to themselves

 

I completely agree with you. I was really struggling to decide which machine to go with. Can am makes some quality machines

 

Interesting comments on the heat in the canam. My brother was just about ready to buy the canam but friends told him of extreme heat in the unit. Think he is going with a rzr. Think he should go with the general but he wants something different than what I drive.

 

FWIW
Friends have a '15 Can Am 1000 and are interested in the General so we switched vehicles on a ride last week.
We found the Can Am to be annoyingly hot in the cab, especially my right leg next to the console area.
They loved the General and are looking for one now.

 

That heat is nice in the winter, horrible in the summer.

 

My cousin has a console cover that is vinyl on top, heat barrier underneath, that he bought from a guy that sells them on a Can Am forum. He said it made a world of difference.

 

Yep, that would be Troy.

 

Drove a Commander. Own a General. More room. Better suspension. No heat issues. Easier to do general maintenance. Less cab noise. Better camo!!!I'll stick with Polaris.......>

 

Thanks for the review. The heat and noise were deal breakers for us when we cross-shopped both. The better suspension, more performance and additional cab storage are just added benefits. We liked the box on the commander more but that was about it.

 

I don't think I can disagree with the original assessment more. My first side by side was a 12 Commander. At the time it was the only machine in its class. I loved the yellow and black and the additional storage in the box. That is where the love affair ended. My next machine was a 14 Commander but I'll briefly start on the 12.


The seats are absolutely horrible. Cheap material that easily tears. Plastic that easily breaks from getting in and out. Less cushion than the General. No Change between the 12 and 14.


Absolutely the worst clutch in the industry. Who builds a clutch that is designed to slip. Thankfully someone came up with a clutch locking devise since BRP refused to admit it was a terrible design.


The 12 had the screaming front diff. They finally changed it in the 14 but would not fix the problem in earlier models.


The mid engine design...what were they thinking. Didn't the designers ever ride in one. I live in North Dakota and the heat was no help in the winter. on the 14 I bought one of Troy's covers and it helped a lot.


No way of doing routine maintenance without tearing the inside of the machine apart. And the bar that holds you in is a rib buster.


I think the power is pretty equal between the General and at least the early Commanders. They both have a governor and they both hit their top speed. At least when new. I have a 17 General and don't know how it would compare to a 17 or 18 Commander. The General had some issue like drive shaft noise and separating doors but Polaris fixed it for nothing. And I didn't have to wait years for them to admit there was a problem. The seats in the General are amazing compared to the Commander, in my opinion. Maintenance is a breeze and the lock and ride cab system is superior by far. I wish they would have made the oil filter a little more accessible. And doors, wow.


My 14 Commander was an XP which was equal to the Blue General as far as suspension goes. The Deluxe General is far superior to either model.

 

I don't think I can disagree with the original assessment more. My first side by side was a 12 Commander. At the time it was the only machine in its class. I loved the yellow and black and the additional storage in the box. That is where the love affair ended. My next machine was a 14 Commander but I'll briefly start on the 12.


The seats are absolutely horrible. Cheap material that easily tears. Plastic that easily breaks from getting in and out. Less cushion than the General. No Change between the 12 and 14.


Absolutely the worst clutch in the industry. Who builds a clutch that is designed to slip. Thankfully someone came up with a clutch locking devise since BRP refused to admit it was a terrible design.


The 12 had the screaming front diff. They finally changed it in the 14 but would not fix the problem in earlier models.


The mid engine design...what were they thinking. Didn't the designers ever ride in one. I live in North Dakota and the heat was no help in the winter. on the 14 I bought one of Troy's covers and it helped a lot.


No way of doing routine maintenance without tearing the inside of the machine apart. And the bar that holds you in is a rib buster.


I think the power is pretty equal between the General and at least the early Commanders. They both have a governor and they both hit their top speed. At least when new. I have a 17 General and don't know how it would compare to a 17 or 18 Commander. The General had some issue like drive shaft noise and separating doors but Polaris fixed it for nothing. And I didn't have to wait years for them to admit there was a problem. The seats in the General are amazing compared to the Commander, in my opinion. Maintenance is a breeze and the lock and ride cab system is superior by far. I wish they would have made the oil filter a little more accessible. And doors, wow.


My 14 Commander was an XP which was equal to the Blue General as far as suspension goes. The Deluxe General is far superior to either model.

Starkey, I found if you remove the CVT Discharge tube you have easy access to the engine oil filter on the General!

 

Starky,
I did not experience any clutch problems, front diff noise, or seats that came apart. If I had it certainly would have lowered my opinion of the Commander. I am glad you are happy with the General, I like mine also. I think the build, QC, and over all quality of the Commander is better, just as the over all performance is better on the General. There is not another machine at this time that would replace the General for me. However I am not going to pretend that Polaris has blown me away with their craftsmanship. Nor did Can AM blow me away with their engineering on the Commander/Maverick.

 

Ya, I know taking the tube off makes it easier to get to. I just wish I didn't have to remove anything. On my last oil change I was able to get my hand back there from the passenger side and remove/replace it without much trouble. I just have to remember not to tork it on.


I also wanted to add that the Commander had and still has overheating issues, the cooling system leaks because of the pinch clamps and there were many who's fuel pumps failed.


Rockpainter, don't know what year Commander you had but the earlier models all had the same clutch and clutch problems. AT least up to 2014. They may have changed it by now. The problem was that the outer sheave is designed to slip. This causes excessive heat and heat destroys belts. A lot of people bought aftermarket clutches. Finally someone designed a part that you screwed onto the clutch that locked the sheaves and he only charged $200. I sold my aftermarket clutch and installed the lock-up devise and it worked better than the aftermarket clutch.


Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed the crap out of our Commanders but once we rode in the General there was no comparison.

 

We also had a 12 Commander 1000 XT. Like mentioned in 2012 the Commander was the only
racked back bucket seat platform very comfortable ride to me. Heat, unbearable! If it got above 84 degrees we parked it. The heat on the gas pedal foot was crazy. Noise in the cab was so bad you couldn't hear the rider unless looking at each other and don't put a cold beverage in the cup holder. Fuel gauge went to zero at half tank which you got used to watching the trip-o-meter for remaining gas. The mph was a plus in Sport Mode, hang on to your shorts. Mpg was another + as we got a solid 20 mpg as the General is about 15 mpg, it is a G4 though.
When we were looking at the 4 seater we looked at the Commander Max but just couldn't get past the cab heat situation.
The G4 has started to see a sticky float in the gas tank, jumps from full to 1/2, any ideas on that? 3 recalls if you count the windshield. Is there a heat shield over the water hoses running up to the radiator as it gets a little warm after 85 degrees but still bearable.

 

Welcome Textron to the class !
Looks to be a good contender, but I believe arctic cat (tractor) fans are a rarity, which will ultimately hurt sales.

 

Whew!!

But off road machines and RVs are something for the mechanically inclined.

Both have their shortcomings and you have to know what you're doing, and read on this forum, to address them. Fortunately Polaris isn't as bad as the RV industry these days. In that world, Quality Workmanship is a suggestion...at the very best.

If working on and working to improve your machine is something you enjoy...the Polaris machines are great. Factory parts ain't cheap. But available on line. The aftermarket for Polaris seems, at least to me, to be far larger for Polaris machines.

Gotta have a passion in life...and right now it's my General!!

Pirate

 

I cannot speak to the Can Am UTV side, but all my friends ride ATVs, mixed between Hondas, Can Ams, Polaris, and Yamahas. A couple of them have Can Am Outlanders, and although they have a lot of power and torque, they do not like them, and tell me they take them to the shop a lot. From what I gather, the motor and transmission are great, but the suspension and related components are not too good. The front bearings, rear brake pads, and rear seals went out on my friends Can Am after 200 hours. (He is not an aggressive driver) He got fed up with it and traded it in for a Polaris Sportsman, taking a slight loss on the machine. He really likes the quality of the ride and components of the Polaris over the Can Am.

 

I honestly don't like the seating position on the Commander, I feel like I am sitting way too upright and if you wanna push the Commander you'll feel like it's top heavy. By the way why on earth the rear end of the Commander bucks SO FREAKING HARD?? Seriously it feels like it wants to throw you off the **** thing.

With that said I LOVE the two level bed storage, tons of storage and I bet I can fit most if not all of the tools I have on my bin.

 

I honestly don't like the seating position on the Commander, I feel like I am sitting way too upright and if you wanna push the Commander you'll feel like it's top heavy. By the way why on earth the rear end of the Commander bucks SO FREAKING HARD?? Seriously it feels like it wants to throw you off the **** thing.

With that said I LOVE the two level bed storage, tons of storage and I bet I can fit most if not all of the tools I have on my bin.

It was a rental RZR in AZ that made me realize my Commander rode like dung (and the wife agreed). Came home and made the mistake of taking her to look at a RZR. Planned on buying at least an XP4 but probably an XP4T. But no, she sat in a General and it was all over as the interior was so much nicer.

 

twodogs, had asked during my introduction regarding the heat and noise with my Commander, I have to say with the engine between the seats, the cab area and especially the center console would get very hot! Plus you had the radiator blowing all the hot air from it into the engine area as well. A cold drink didn't last long as the cup holders got real hot. Along with that you also had the noise from the engine, so after researching the Can-Am site, I saw everyone was buying insulating materials to line the center console. So I did the same and double lined the center console and purchased a console outer cover, installed a fan in the console to help move the heat out the back. All that did make a big improvement, however with the electronics under the dash (voltage regulator) on the drivers side put off quite a bit of heat, and the exhaust pipe heat at the floorboard, in the end my feet and legs would still got pretty warm. The other downside I did not like is you have to remove the passenger seat to check the engine oil, change the oil you had to remove the seat, the floorboard panel under the seat and the top and passenger side of the console, to get to the oil filter. If you needed to change a belt you had to remove the drivers seat, the floorboard under the seat, and the top and side of the console. After removing the cover bolts inside the cab, you had to crawl under the machine to remove the four remaining bolts through slots in the skid plate. The floorboard area also had several openings so definitely dealt with dust. Overall the machine did what they all do but was just a poor design as far as the heat and noise go. I did not really do any research prior to buying, but if I had I would not have bought it. In the end I have to say after five days of riding in the Young, AZ area, I do feel the General is quieter, the cab cooler, and the machine is user friendly to service.

 

Lots of good information here, Thanks!

 

New to the side x side area but I like many of you have owned many different off road vehicles and it's funny. I bought my first Polaris sport Quad many years ago, it was not a good machine. Before it I had been riding an ATC (yes 3 wheels) Honda 350x, very durable and simple to work on because there was nothing to it. Now to move on, I purchase a Polaris scrambler somewhere in there, after owning Yamaha, Kaw, and Honda. Again, like someone said above more wrench time than all the others combined, but to this day that was one of the most fun quads I ever owned. It had all the performance but the 4wd to get up any hill, snow, mud, etc.

Last machine I purchased before this General was a 2006 Can-am outlander 800, still have it, that sumbuck is bad to the bone for a utility quad and will still run with the 850 and 1000's and can still scare the heck out of you with the power and response.

So, here I am today, 52 and trying to get back into the hobby/sport a little bit, I bought this General since it has some performance, 2 seats, and room for my two best buds, my hounds. They have adapted quickly, when it's in the garage they will not get out of it and just give me guilty looks for not taking them on an adventure.

Here is the funny thing, I've assembled tool kits, extra belt, special tools for a few things, etc. I've not done that for a long time, but I've not had an Polaris in the stable for a long time. I hope I'm disappointed in a good way and do not need my tools some much as I did with my old Polaris machines.

All that being said, if the Yamaha Wolverine X2 had 30 more HP, it would be setting brand new in my garage and not a Polaris Gen.
Again, I really hope for 18k this Polaris is not a POS, I don't mind working on them...…… But...…. 18k is a lot of $$$$$ for something you can't rely on.

Oh, one other note, first ride day one, streets and mowed grass pasture (I break my stuff in by the book, no exceptions) I hear something funny on the rear, the rear sway bar bolt is gone, not sure if missing from the factory, busted off, or was loose and came out, but I was not impressed. I really nasty text went out to my salesman, more than he deserved and the feeling of oh no.... here we go again!!

 

one Of the first things I did was remove the sway bars. I learned that when mine broke on my old RZR. It improved the ride quite a bit- never been happier that something broke😁

 

Was your Gen new when you took off the sway bar? And when you say off, your completely removed it, brackets and all?
I'm a little leery with it being new and maybe voiding the warranty, but after my year is up I certainly would.
Is it just me or does the sway bar seem to be under a lot of pressure just sitting still?

 

Was your Gen new when you took off the sway bar? And when you say off, your completely removed it, brackets and all?
I'm a little leery with it being new and maybe voiding the warranty, but after my year is up I certainly would.
Is it just me or does the sway bar seem to be under a lot of pressure just sitting still?

Sway bar was gone before it went on its first real ride. Left the brackets.

 

Removing the sway bar shouldn't cause any warranty issue. They would have to prove that removing it caused a failure in whatever you're trying to get fixed under warranty. The factory warranty is 6 months, unless they have extended it. I removed my sway bar after about a month of ownership. I was 2 days shy of owning the machine for a year when my turf mode failed. Polaris good faith warrantied the transmission. Replaced it with a new 19 transmission. No one mentioned my sway bar.