Should You Buy a Polaris General in 2025?

UTV Driver

Polaris’ lineup runs deep, and trying to find the model that has the performance you need and fits within your budget can be like finding a needle in a haystack. You might be drawn towards a flashy new Xpedition, but what if the right rig is the one that has stayed unchanged for five years? Is the General Polaris’ best-kept secret?  Looking to buy? Get prequalifed https://octane.co/vehicle-selection/?partner=A8PrQQB&a=298&flow=long-prequal&appTheme=3a49337c5724d18079602a4ca5a91626  Favorite Gear:  Packtalk Edge ORV: Code 'octane' for 10% off https://cardosystems.rfrl.co/z8qy5   For more stories, reviews, and first-looks check out https://www.utvdriver.com/   Want to see even more shenanigans from the UTV Driver team? Give us a like and follow:  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UTVdriver/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/utvdrivermagazine/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/utvdriver/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@utvdriver

Transcript

00:00This behind me is a 2025 Polaris General XP1000 Ultimate, and it looks… well, it looks a lot

00:08like a 2019 Polaris General XP1000 Ultimate because that's the last time Polaris significantly

00:14updated their RecUte machine. In the time since the General was released, Polaris has done the

00:20following. They've reset the sport side-by-side market with the Polaris Razer Pro-R and the

00:24Polaris Razer Pro-R factory, invented the UTV overlanding market with the Polaris Expedition,

00:30and they brought out the world's first luxury three-quarter ton UTV with the Polaris Ranger

00:35XD1500. Not only that, they gave the Ranger XP1000, their ever stalwart utility rig,

00:43a facelift this past year for 2025, so even that has gotten an update. While the rest of the Polaris

00:49lineup has been getting faster and stronger and prettier, while the General has been the

00:54proverbial good soldier, pulling more than its fair share of the weight without an update or a

00:58complaint. But with so many other machines in Polaris's stable, is it really worth buying a General

01:04in 2025? We think it is, and we're going to tell you why we think you should buy one. So this is the

01:09General XP1000 Ultimate, and it comes with Ride Command, with Stage 3 Rockford Fosgate audio, with a

01:18backup camera, with a 4500-pound winch, with on-demand four-wheel drive with turf mode, 14 inches of

01:24suspension travel, and a rear-view mirror. Sure, there's no enclosed cab, but the General has most of

01:30the big-ticket creature comfort items and most of the overlanding chops of the Polaris Expedition, and

01:35it lists for just $28,999 in ultimate spec. So for some context, the cheapest 2025 Polaris Expedition

01:43starts at $38,999, and for 2025 Polaris has ditched the open cab Expedition models. So when you buy that

01:52rig, you're automatically getting electric windows, HVAC, and other niceties, but $10,000 is $10,000.

01:59If you need four doors and lockable storage in the ADV model, you're going to be looking at north of

02:04$40,000. By comparison, a four-seat General XP1000 Ultimate is just $31,999. That pricing is really hard to

02:13argue with, especially in this day and age, and it leads us nicely into the second reason that we

02:18think a General is worth buying in 2025. Sure, the Polaris Expedition may have invented the UTV

02:24overlanding segment, but the Polaris General is a super deft and capable camping machine. You give up

02:29enclosed, lockable storage and niceties like a flat roof that will accept a roof rack and a rooftop tent.

02:34But the Polaris accessory catalog is deep, and the General is capacious and capable enough to get you

02:41and your family deep into the sticks and support you while you're there. Further making that point,

02:45Polaris's decision to ditch the open cab Expeditions for 2025 seems to back up our point. If you want an

02:51Overlander at a bargain price, the General is your Huckleberry. So let's take a look at what your $28,999

02:58gets you. So just a cursory look over the interior makes clear that the General is very much an old

03:04school side-by-side. It looks dated in here, and the plastics aren't up to the standards of more modern

03:09UTVs, and the ergonomics just aren't quite as dialed as we've gotten used to. But here's the thing,

03:14I don't care. The last couple years have spoiled me on nicer interiors and better layouts, but the

03:19General has everything you need, nothing you don't, and quite a lot of stuff you want. So I'll start

03:24with the simple things. Even in this two-door model, there is plenty of storage here, here, and here for

03:30your phone, your snacks, your drinks, and even an extra layer or two. And the bed has enough space and

03:36capacity to carry all the tools and camping gear you'll need. And if you're carrying around some

03:40firewood, the 600-pound capacity bed has hydraulic assist dumping. Moving back inside, these seats are

03:48excellent. They're big enough to fit any body type, they're nicely bolstered without getting in the way,

03:53and they are absolutely all-day comfortable. Sticking with the seats, you get three-point inertia reel

03:59seatbelts. Now, sure, a set of harnesses would be more secure, but most general buyers aren't doing

04:04hardcore off-roading. And outside of a racing context, fixed harnesses are going to be more

04:09bother than they're worth. And then there's this. Yes, we are once again talking about Polaris Ride

04:16Command. This system is excellent. We say it all the time. It is an industry-standard infotainment and

04:22navigation system. In here, there are one million miles of mapped trails. It will do rig-to-rig communication

04:28so you can keep your group together at all times. And not only that, it controls the excellent

04:33Rockford Fosgate Stage 3 Stereo. As if that wasn't enough, Polaris Ride Command has app connectivity,

04:40so even if your friend doesn't have a Polaris UTV, if they've got a smartphone, they can get the app.

04:45It's super simple to use, and that way everybody is connected, regardless of whether they're in a

04:50Polaris or a competitor's rig. So other than that, there's really not much going on in here, and that's

04:55as it should be. Because without side windows and without windshields, you're going to get a lot of mud

05:00and dust in here. But because it's so rugged, you can just hit it with a pressure washer and be on

05:04your way with a clean rig. And speaking of throwing mud, the General is capable enough to get over just

05:11about anything you aim it at. Partially, that's because it's a side-by-side and, well, they just

05:16do that. And partially, that's because Polaris started by designing a super capable platform and

05:21then sort of built a side-by-side on top of it. Let me show you what I mean. Regardless of trim level,

05:26the General XP1000 gets 30-inch Pro Armor tires, front and rear, wrapped around 14-inch alloy wheels.

05:34It's also got 14 inches of suspension travel, front and rear, thanks to a set of Walker Evans

05:39Velocity Series shocks that come on every trim level. Now, there is no electronic suspension available

05:45on any General, but that's not really a big issue on a rig that's built for simplicity and fun.

05:51Don't get it twisted, electronic suspension is excellent, but it is more complicated than the

05:55manual stuff, and one day it will need fixing. And if you want something better than the standard

06:00stuff, the General is an excellent platform to build out exactly what you need. Trust us,

06:05we've bashed around in Generals from the tight East Coast trails at Windrock, all the way to the

06:10Canyons of Utah, and we have never pointed a General at an obstacle that it failed to get over. And

06:14speaking of Utah, that leads us nicely to... The Winch! All Polaris General XP1000s come with a Polaris-branded

06:234,500-pound winch. Let me tell you a little story about this winch. Two years ago, we were in Utah,

06:29and former Editor-in-Chief Zach Bowman rolled a Can-Am down a mountain backwards.

06:40He ended up on the Defender's roof at a precarious angle, and we didn't really know what to do. But we

06:45had a Polaris General XP4-1000 with us, and we angled it down the hill towards the Can-Am, and we stretched

06:51out the winch to the end of its rope, strapped it to the Can-Am, and winced the thing back onto its

06:56wheels up a hill. We wouldn't recommend trying that at home, seriously, but it made believers out of us

07:01that this Polaris winch is everything you'll ever need, and the General comes with it standard. We're

07:06gonna pause the video right there for just a second and ask you to do us a favor. We need you to hit that

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07:21subscribers by the 4th of July, and we need your help, and we will get right back to the video as

07:26soon as you've done that. So, are there things we don't like? Well, sure, nothing's perfect, and this

07:31rig is old, and it shows its age. It's less refined, it's less pretty, and it feels cheaper than newer

07:37machines. It's starting to feel like a relic of side-by-sides past, and newer UTVs are almost

07:42universally quicker and peppier. But even with those negatives, we cannot stress enough what a

07:47bargain the General is, especially as UTVs get more and more expensive. This is the overlanding

07:53rig for the everyman. It's cheap enough to be affordable for people whose bank accounts contain

07:58fewer than six figures, and it's rugged and capable enough for 90% of the population, 90% of the time.

08:04So, should you buy a Polaris General in 2025? Like we said earlier, we think you absolutely should,

08:10especially if you're not concerned with creature comforts, but you are concerned with affordability,

08:15practicality, reliability, and capability. Thank you guys so much for watching. Leave us a comment

08:20down below. Are we wrong about the 2025 Polaris General? And while you're at it, why don't you

08:24let us know what you'd like to see on the next generation General, which we are sure Polaris is

08:29working on. And when you've done that, head over to utvdriver.com where we've got news,

08:34reviews, reviews, and buyer's guides five days a week. We will catch you there.

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