Trails Of Water
We rode along big, wide open trails that had become mini rivers in places on our ride, in the deep woods on tight trails with sharp turns that were lakes in places and some stretches of trail that had monster ruts that were getting bigger by the hour as the rain fell. All those conditions threw various challenges at the Stampede X and this side-by-side handled it all.
There were times of need (the deep ruts in particular) when we called on the 80-horsepower engine to get us out of a situation and it responded quickly and efficiently. You could stomp on the throttle and the Stampede X reacted instantly. That was appreciated—and needed at times. The engine, production of which is being moved from Textron’s German-based engine factory to Arctic Cat’s engine facility in St. Cloud, MN, is an 846cc SOHC twin-cylinder that is liquid-cooled and features EFI. TOV claims it has 59 ft. lbs. of torque and the company is quite proud of the engine’s dry sump oil system and forged (rather than cast) internals. There are eight ports—four intake and four exhaust—in the engine, giving each cylinder four ports. More oxygen to each cylinder means more power, which is how TOV gets to its 80 hp figure.
TOV uses a variable electronic assist in its electronic power steering (EPS) system and you could tell in the different trail conditions (read: depth of mud and water holes on the trail) we experienced that in certain conditions the Stampede X required a little more driver input. In other conditions the steering was light. TOV’s EPS has an electronic control unit that measures steering input force in relation to vehicle speed and tire resistance in order to provide the right amount of assist to the system.
The extended cab is a nice touch. Think of it as a space between the seat backs and the cargo box. We kept our camera case and helmet (when not riding) in that space and (thanks to the roof) it stayed somewhat out of the elements as we didn’t have to leave it in the cargo box. This area isn’t like the Kawasaki Teryx two-seater which has bins with lids where you can put things but rather a flat space that runs the width of the Stampede and has drop-down access doors on either side. It’s a nifty little area. In all, there is 24 cubic feet of storage space in the Stampede X.
Full Doors Are Awesome
The full-size doors were much appreciated on our day in the Stampede X. Without them, the interior of the vehicle as well as us would have been a muddy mess rather than just soaked (from standing out taking pictures). Seriously, those doors meant the difference between a mud bath and just rain-soaked. Doors come stock on the Stampede lineup. According to TOV, the doors offer a 10-square-foot opening to get in and out of the vehicle.
More time in the Stampede X—which we’re hoping comes sooner rather than later—would have allowed us to flesh out more features on the vehicle, such as really testing the suspension, cushioned by Tenneco shocks, and utilizing the On-Demand AWD system (we stayed mostly in 4WD because of the conditions).
Starting MSRP for the Stampede X is $14,799 while its claimed (by TOV) main competitor, the Polaris Ranger XP 900 EPS (with its Polaris-claimed 68 hp) starts at $13,299.
The Stampede X seems well suited to challenge for a spot in the utility side-by-side segment. With our limited seat time, we’re not sure yet where it sits in the pecking order but it certainly seems like it’s a vehicle to be reckoned with.
