Power Couples

By Tom Kaiser  |   Submitted On August 10, 2009

Excluding cobra bites, speeding tickets and root canals, many things are best experienced in combinations of two. Think margaritas with salt, beer brats and sauerkraut or a day off in the outdoors with your spouse, children or a good friend. Duality is one of life's enduring themes.
Let's be bold and add riding ATVs to that list. Some might say 2-up ATVs have been made obsolete by two-person side-by-sides, but we strongly beg to differ. UTVs have their advantages, and are very fun, but two-passenger ATVs are allowed on more trails, take up less space, usually cost less and can provide a more physically engaging ride, which is important to enthusiasts like us.
It's worth noting that 2-ups account for about 6.7 percent of the ATV industry - a profitable segment that's grown in recent years, hence the expanding proliferation of choices now available.
We recently honored the Polaris Sportsman Touring 800 EFI as our 2008 ATV of the Year, but some new competition from Can-Am's freshened Outlander Max and Arctic Cat's innovative Cruiser models set the stage for a full-on 2-up comparison test.
Our test team included three couples - one set of friends, some soon-to-be relatives (marriage pending) and a wedded couple that's logged many miles aboard their 2-up over the past three and a half years. It was a wide array of ATV experience - the perfect crew to dissect and review three unique machines.

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