2019 ATV.com UTV of the Year
It has been a great year for UTVs. The machines we have to choose from are the best we’ve ever had, and there are more models and variations than ever. So when tasked with picking the UTV of the Year for 2019, the decision was difficult to say the least. We could have picked a monster, turbo-charged beast, or an ultra-quiet utility machine that will make tasks easier. There were so many choices, but in the end, it came down to a versatile, affordable machine that everyone could enjoy. For 2019, the ATV.com UTV of the Year is the Can-Am Maverick Sport DPS 1000R.
What Makes the Maverick Sport So Good?
Can-Am started out its new direction with the Maverick Trail, the 50-inch wide machine that is great fun to drive in narrow trails. The Maverick Sport soon followed. It is 60 inches wide and the 1000R benefits from a 976cc Rotax V-Twin. In the 1000R, the motor produces 100 horsepower thanks to the air intake systems borrowed from the X3 turbo machines. There is a standard Sport 1000 that produces 75 horses and is a great machine as well.
The Sport has a 90.6-inch wheelbase making it a longer machine, so it is incredibly stable. The added width of the Sport makes it carve corners and the chassis design makes it very precise in the handling department. Fox Podium 2.0 shocks and fully independent suspension with near prefect geometry makes it ride smooth. We were trail riding in one and came upon a competitor brand sport machine. We were riding fast through some chatter bumps and the Maverick Sport tracked true and smooth, while the competition started swapping all over the trail and had to get on the brakes. It is easily one of the best-handling sport machines we’ve ever driven and a big reason why it is our UTV of the Year for the 2019 model year.
Which is Better, the Maverick Sport, Or the Polaris RZR?
2019 Can-Am Maverick Sport DPS 1000R
That is a question we get a lot. The only way to decide, honestly, is for you to look into them both and make the call yourself. Both are great machines. Why the Maverick wins out as our UTV of the Year is due to its ride quality and versatility. It shows how much work Can-Am’s engineers have been putting into development and new ideas. It is a completely different direction for the Maverick line and shows just how much influence the extremely popular X3 super sport machines has had across the entire Can-Am line. The interior is similar, using Can-Am’s Ergo-Lok cockpit design that puts you in a comfortable position for optimal control. The 1000R gets increased air intake volume for the motor and clutch from the X3 and that gives it the horsepower boost.
The overall platform of the Maverick Sport is proving to be extremely versatile, too. The Sport X RC and Sport X MR are two special editions models that have been a huge hit. Can-Am took the X RC to the grueling King of the Hammers race and used it to cart around media and VIPs. The X MR model is winning mudders over very quickly as well. It shows that the platform is outstanding and very capable regardless of the situation.
The comfort, versatility and amazing handling all combine to make the Can-Am Maverick Sport our pick for the 2019 ATV.com UTV of the Year. It is a machine that we gravitate toward when it comes time to pick a machine for trail-riding adventures. It is a lot of fun to drive and very comfortable to ride in. The current direction for Can-Am’s UTV line is very promising and the Maverick Sport is simply a great machine that anyone would enjoy.
Honorable Mention – Honda Talon
Yes, we know the Honda is just now coming out, and most people haven’t even driven it yet. Fortunately, we at ATV.com have and are really impressed with what Honda has created. Both the 1000R and the 1000X share Honda’s 100+ horsepower version of its 999cc twin with the DCT transmission and paddle shifting. It is the suspension systems that differentiates the two, and both are really good. Besides being a great machine, it’s a Honda Sport UTV! That alone is really exciting news. The loyal, happy Honda owners out there are going to be lined up at dealerships to snap these up as soon as they come in, too.
Honorable Mention – The Mystery Machine
Not going to lie, we love speculating about what new machine is just around the corner. We know that Yamaha and Kawasaki are working on some cool new stuff based off of patent filings. The rumor mills is spinning round and round with ideas of what will come out this year still. We decided to give an honorable mention to the machine that comes out this year still and will totally blow our minds. We don’t know what it is, but when we look at all the great machines out there already, it has to be something sweet. That’s the thing – we could honestly list just about any machine out there right now as an honorable mention for UTV of the Year. Each of them is a great machine and the manufacturers and the teams that designed these machines should be very proud. It’s a great time to be an ATV and UTV enthusiast.
Derrek's love for all things ATV started when he was a mere 11 years old, growing up on his family farm. His mom gave him and his sister a choice - get a horse, or a three-wheeler. The sister wanted the horse, and Derrek wanted the ATV. Luckily he won out, and was soon burning up the trails on a Yamaha Tri-Moto 200. By the time he was 14, he had saved enough of his own money by working on the farm and in his folks restaurant to buy a new 4-wheeler. That happened the day he and his mom were driving past the dealership and saw 1987 Banshee. His mom had no idea what he was buying, and he never looked back. He's been riding ever since, and been writing professionally for many years. He has ridden all over North America and been behind the controls of just about every machine out there. And yes, he still has his 1987 Yamaha Banshee.
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