We already know, based on Polaris’ own teasers, that the all-new electric Ranger will be the best Ranger that Polaris has ever offered. The company has confirmed that it will have an overall power-to-weight ratio that is dramatically higher than any current utility side-by-side. But now, we’re getting a look at how the new electric Ranger won’t just offer better performance — it will also be significantly quieter.
And believe it or not, that’s a huge deal.
Unlike certain areas of automotive culture where loud vehicles earn bragging rights, utility vehicle owners use their rides to get serious work done.
Such users have long been urging manufacturers to find a way to build quieter vehicles.
Chris Hurd, the RANGER Product Planning Director explained further:
“When we went through our research experience we found out that noise was a challenge for all consumers, regardless of what they were doing. There was always that push of ‘I’d like things to be quieter.’ And the great thing about electric is it delivers that.”
A lower operating volume is critical across a wide range of uses. As Chris continued, “whether you’re a hunter trying to get closer to your stand, a farmer working in close proximity to livestock, or just holding a conversation while trail riding, less engine noise and vibration is a good thing.”
Chris gave the interview with an electric Ranger operating on a dyno next to him at 30 mph (48 km/h), and I didn’t even realize the motor was running until he pointed it out.
Take a listen in the video below to see just how quiet the electric Ranger is while operating.
When you’re out on the trails, a quiet electric motor makes a world of difference.
Earlier this summer, CEO of Volcon Motors Andy Leisner explained to Electrek that riding the company’s electric fat tire motorcycle significantly increased the amount of wildlife he saw on trails:
“In just three months of riding the Grunt, I’ve seen more wildlife than in a lifetime of riding gas dirt bikes. It’s amazing what silence does for you.”
I’d expect the new electric Ranger to deliver a similar experience of operating deep in the woods without disturbing the wilderness or its wildlife.
But the electric drive isn’t just useful for reducing the operating noise. It also reduces the maintenance and cost of running the vehicle.
As Chris continued:
“Research has really told us on all kinds of vehicles that less maintenance and more uptime is a key thing that consumers are looking for. That’s the great thing about the new electric Ranger, when you think about the new componentry in there, you don’t have air filters, you don’t have oil, you don’t have oil changes. Combine those savings with the fact that it costs less per mile to fill up with electricity than gas, and the all-new electric Ranger gives you the lowest cost of ownership ever found on a utility side-by-side.”
“To me, the new electric Ranger is going to surprise people in the fact that it’s still a fantastic Ranger, it’s still core to the hardest-working and smoothest-riding proposition, it gives them everything that they’re used to, but then it gives them so much more because it’s electric.
The electric Ranger may stand alone in the industry, but it does so by standing on the shoulders of an electric giant, Zero Motorcycles. Polaris and Zero inked a deal to see the off-road powersports company employ Zero’s electric powertrain in its vehicles. The electric Ranger is just the first in a series of Zero-powered Polaris vehicles, with others including an electric snowmobile expected to follow.
There’s no word yet on pricing for the electric Ranger, but we do know to expect it by December of this year.
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Author: Micah Toll
Source: Electrek
