2024 Polaris Ranger XD 1500

It may look like a Polaris Ranger, but this is a totally different animal, 25 percent larger, purpose-built for heavy-duty farm work, and improved in just about every way. The bed can haul 1,500 pounds. Towing capacity is a whopping 3,500 pounds. Opt for a model with the enclosed and sealed cab, the interior is almost as comfortable and quiet as a car. The engine is an all-new 1.5-liter three-cylinder with good power and buckets of torque. The new steel-belt, automotive-style CVT is smooth, adaptive, and practical.

We don’t have room here for the rest of our raves—Polaris simply took a Ranger, changed everything, made the thing strong like a bull, and wiped out every single complaint we had.

Believe it or not, we can’t find any. Sound crazy? That’s how good this rig is. Whether in numbers or feel, the competition doesn’t come close.

Like nothing else in the market, and the closest we’ve met to a perfect utility rig. Polaris spent five years talking to ranchers, farmers, big-game hunters, and property owners with large acreage, asking those folks what they wanted and needed in a side-by-side. Then the engineers simply sat down and made that list a reality. This little beast was designed to do as much of the work of a real truck as you can pack into a machine the size of a large side-by-side. Remarkably, it actually pulls off that stuff, no excuses.

Go big here, it’s worth it—the most you can afford, no questions, just pull the trigger. The 1500 Premium is a bare-bones workhorse, 29-inch tires, strong and simple, but it doesn’t really show the glory of the breed. The NorthStar Premium brings a fully enclosed and comfortable cab with a glass windshield, automotive-style multi-mode HVAC, lockable doors, power windows, an electronically controlled power tilt bed, and 30″ tires.

The Polaris Ranger 1500 XD is a new model for 2024.

2024 Polaris Ranger XD 1500 Premium: $29,999

2024 Polaris Ranger XD 1500 Northstar Premium: $39,999

2024 Polaris Ranger XD 1500 Northstar Ultimate: $44,999

Go big here, it’s worth it—the most you can afford, no questions, just pull the trigger. The 1500 Premium is a bare-bones workhorse, 29-inch tires, strong and simple, but it doesn’t really show the glory of the breed. The Northstar Premium brings a fully enclosed and comfortable cab with a glass windshield, automotive-style multimode HVAC, lockable doors, power windows, an electronically controlled power tilt bed, and 30-inch tires.

The NorthStar Premium is the sweet spot, but we’d reach into the couch cushions and try to spend that little bit more. If you can swing another five grand, the NorthStar Ultimate is basically a NorthStar Premium plus heated seats and Polaris’ excellent Ride Command infotainment system.

The 1500 XD is powered by a fuel-injected 1.5-liter dual-overhead-cam liquid-cooled three-cylinder with a true displacement of 1,498cc. This engine is all-new, essentially the four-cylinder from a Polaris RZR Pro R minus one cylinder and tilted over 50 degrees in order to help lower the height of the cargo box above it. Its true displacement is 1,498cc. It was purpose-built for the XD and produces 110 hp at 6,000 rpm and 105 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,800 rpm.

The engine is thrummy and guttural and has a good deal of character. But it’s also relatively quiet, never intruding too much into the cabin. Unlike the engines of most side-by-sides, it’s never clattery or annoying. It simply starts delivering its torque low in the rev range, like a diesel, right where you want it for towing, and continues to spit grunt across a relatively flat rpm curve.

The transmission is a responsive, steel-belt CVT that Polaris has branded Steeldrive. This fully sealed unit is transmission and belt-drive system in one, its belt contained internally, oil-cooled, and good for the life of the gearbox. (No belt changes!) It was sourced from an automotive supplier and mirrors automotive CVT applications in construction and layout. This thing is a marvel—you can shift it with a finger, it’s smooth, and it takes up drive with far less slack than a typical rubber-belt CVT.

The XD even has hill-descent and hill-hold features, for loading or hitching up while on an incline.

The XD’s chassis is unique to the model and constructed of high-strength steel. Polaris says it possesses 160 percent more torsional stiffness than the chassis of the ordinary Ranger. The suspension is a version of that rig’s dual-A-arm setup front and rear, redesigned and retuned for the purpose. Front and rear travel are equal, both 12 inches. The standard 29-inch tires fitted to the Premium model are 9-14 (front) and 11-14 (rear) Pro Armor X Terrains; NorthStar models come fitted with 30-inch Kenda Cross Trails, and 32-inch Kendas are available. Five-lug alloy wheels are standard. (The ordinary Ranger gets four-lug wheels.)

The ride quality here is a step above where utility rigs have always sat. The XD doesn’t beat you up or ride like a buckboard—it’s simply compliant and comfy without giving up traction and stability.

Power-assisted hydraulic discs front and rear.

Interior fit, finish, and ergonomics are all a step beyond those of the smaller Polaris Ranger. Comfort takes a significant bump too. Heated seats and HVAC are available. The seating position is excellent, similar to what you’d get in a car, with none of the awkward “church-pew” position you sometimes see in utility rigs.

The seats are sportier and more supportive than in the smaller Ranger, with substantial bolsters. Storage space is everywhere. The front-row center armrest features a cupholder in its middle and folds up to reveal a third seat. All told, the XD is simply more refined, with more headroom and legroom, than just about any other utility side-by-side on the market.

The XD has a 1,500-pound cargo-box capacity and a 3,500-pound towing capacity. This is substantial. For perspective, the smaller Ranger XP has only 1,000 pounds of cargo capacity and 2,500 pounds of towing ability. Heck, a 2024 Toyota Tacoma with a 6-foot bed has a cargo cap of only 1,685 pounds!

Where to begin? For a utility rig, the XD has a lot in common with a modern road car. That adaptive transmission can learn from your choices at the wheel and adapt its shift patterns to suit your driving style. The four-wheel-drive system is a neat piece, electronically controlled from a dash knob and two small switches, for torque distribution, to the left of the steering wheel.

Turning that knob gives you access to four drive modes: Standard, Comfort, Sport, and Tow/Haul. They vary throttle and “shift” mapping, changing gearing and engine response on the fly. They also control the XD’s low-range gearing, as it has no traditional low-range shift lever. If you need extra-low gearing, you simply shift into Tow/Haul and go about your business, the Polaris’ computer figuring out the rest.

A six-month, unlimited-mile warranty is standard. Oil changes are recommended every 2,000 miles.

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