For years, the Polaris Ranger stood atop the utility side-by-side pile as the undisputed champion. It was the most popular UTV among property owners and farmers by far, and a solid choice for recreation too. But in 2015, Can-Am unveiled the Defender and suddenly we had a real competition.
Now with years of refinements and improvements for both machines, does the Defender MAX beat the Ranger Crew?
We’re looking at each of them to find out who comes out on top in the battle of the Can-Am Defender MAX versus the Polaris Ranger Crew.
The two biggest brutes in the business are here to battle it out—we’re pitting the Can-Am Defender HD10 MAX against the Polaris Ranger XP 1000 Crew. Which one is better suited to carry you and five passengers through whatever terrain you tackle?
Of course, there’s no one feature of either machine we can point at and say, “this is better, so get this one.” Instead, we’re going to cover everything from comfort to accessory availability.
With every major aspect of the machine explained, you’ll know which one’s right for you by the end. Don’t worry—we’ll tell you what we think too.
When we say comfort, we’re talking about what it’s like to sit in the cab. Is it roomy? Is it claustrophobic? Are the seats nice?
In all aspects, the Can-Am Defender comes out on top.
The seats are more comfortable and we have no problem riding for hours at a time while harnessed in.
The cab feels more spacious too. In reality, it’s not that much bigger than the Ranger’s, but the angles of the cage make it feel much bigger. It’s stretched out a little bit in all the right ways. It just feels good.
And finally, the fit and finish of Can-Am’s premier workhorse is superb. From higher quality materials to precision seams on the dash, the Defender has the Ranger beat.
Even the Defender’s engine is a little bit quieter. When it comes to comfort, Can-Am is king.
👍 Can-Am Defender MAX
👎 Polaris Ranger Crew
Handling is where the battle starts to get a little more complicated.
The Defender is easier to drive on its face. The turning radius is excellent and you won’t struggle to stay in control at high speeds.
But there’s one big downside: the Visco-Lok front differential.
Can-Am’s limited slip differential leaves a lot to be desired. It does, in fact, slip quite a bit before it locks and gets you your traction back. Every Defender model comes with it except for the Defender MAX X MR.
Can-Am’s mud model gets the excellent Smart-Lok front differential instead.
On the other hand, the Polaris Ranger XP 1000 Crew’s handling is almost as good as the Defender, and every model has Polaris’ awesome front diff that doesn’t really slip at all before it locks.
So when it comes to how easy each machine is to drive, it’s a bit of a toss up.
If you ride where you need your front diff locked a lot of the time, the Ranger wins.
If you ride where you don’t need a bunch of diff locking, the Defender wins.
Of course, you could just upgrade your Defender with SuperATV’s Pin Locker Front Differential and get the best of both worlds.
👍 Can-Am Defender MAX
👍 Polaris Ranger Crew
Good suspension translates to smoother rides, and smoother rides affect your comfort and your ability to drive in rough terrain.
So who takes this one?
Well, it’s another toss-up that depends on how you drive.
They both have the same 11 inches of suspension travel and basically the same ground clearance: 13 inches for the Ranger and 12.5 for the Defender.
But when you take each of them for a test drive, you’ll notice that the Defender provides a smoother experience… most of the time.
The Ranger comes out ahead at lower speeds while the Defender feels better at higher speeds. This comes down to the difference in dampening and rebound rates of the shocks, and we just prefer the feel of the Defender most of the time.
But it’s so close that it’s hard to call the Defender the clear winner.
👍 Can-Am Defender MAX
👍 Polaris Ranger Crew
Oh boy, here we go. Reliability is a very hot topic full of lots of examples from both sides on which vehicle they have to get serviced more often.
But from our experience, the Defender is currently the more reliable of the two.
Both get time in the shop—trust us, we don’t baby either of them—but the issues we have with the Ranger tend to be things that aren’t entirely in our control. Sometimes that’s burning up a belt when you don’t think you should have and other times it’s popping a reverse chain.
On the Defender, those issues crop up less.
👍 Can-Am Defender MAX
👎 Polaris Ranger Crew
We didn’t want the spec sheets to define the Can-Am Defender MAX versus Polaris Ranger Crew showdown, which is why we put them all the way down here. Frankly, they’re boring. Check out the comparison and you’ll see why:
| Can-Am Defender MAX DPS HD10 | Polaris Ranger Crew XP 1000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Engine | Rotax 976 cc, V-twin, liquid cooled | 999 cc, 4-stroke twin cylinder DOHC, liquid cooled |
| Horsepower | 82 hp | 82 hp |
| Ground clearance | 12.5 in. | 13 in. |
| Suspension travel | 11 in. | 11 in. |
| Wheelbase | 114.4 in. | 113 in. |
| Overall Dimensions (LxWxH) | 153.4 x 64 x 77.5 in. | 152 x 62.5 x 77 |
| Cargo Box Dimension (LxWxH) | 38 x 54.5 x 12 in. | 36.75 x 54.25 x 12.5 |
| Cargo Box Capacity | 1,000 lb. | 1,000 lb. |
| Towing capacity | 2,500 lb. | 2,500 lb. |
| Payload capacity | 1,750 lb. | 1,690 lb. |
| Front tires | Maxxis Bighorn 2.0 (27 x 9 x 14 in.) | Pro Armor X-Terrain (27 x 9 x 14) |
| Rear tires | Maxxis Bighorn 2.0 (27 x 11 x 14 in.) | Pro Armor X-Terrain (27 x 11 x 14) |
| Power steering | Dynamic Power Steering | Electronic Power Steering |
| Drivetrain | Selectable turf mode/2WD/4WD with Visco-Lok QE auto locking front differential | High Performance On-Demand True AWD/2WD/VersaTrac Turf Mode |
| MSRP | $19,699 | $21,799 |
We couldn’t finish without talking about the best of the best of the best. When it comes to the Can-Am Defender MAX versus the Polaris Ranger Crew, you can’t forget about the Limited versus the NorthStar.
The 2022 models both come fully equipped with a cab enclosure and HVAC, but there are some minor differences.
Both come with flip windshields, wipers, power windows, and heating and air conditioning.
But when it comes to the quality of the doors, the Polaris Ranger NorthStar takes the cake. They get you as close to an automotive-style door—including the way it seals—as you can get on a UTV.
The Defender cab enclosure is good, but it doesn’t quite seal as well and doesn’t match the quality even though they’re identical feature-wise.
Polaris also offers an Ultimate trim that adds bigger tires and their awesome Ride Command system. So at the end of the day, the Ranger’s very best is a tad better than the Defender’s very best.
👎 Can-Am Defender MAX Limited
👍 Polaris Ranger Crew NorthStar
In the past, the Polaris Ranger would have won this fight without breaking a sweat. But with the ever-growing popularity of the Defender comes an expanding selection of accessories.
Right now you can get plenty of Polaris Ranger CREW parts and accessories and just as many Can-Am Defender MAX parts and accessories.
If you’re not convinced that you can customize either machine exactly the way you want, check out these monster builds. They’re both made almost completely with off-the-shelf SuperATV parts.
First up, our Project X build shows off our RIDE System Rear Steering Kit installed on Full Steer, our custom Polaris Ranger XP 1000.
Then check out Stark and Jarvis to see what a Defender looks when it’s fully kitted out with GDP Portals, a 6” lift kit, massive Terminator MAX Tires, and more. And before you ask: no, we don’t sell 50 cals.
We couldn’t finish without talking about the best of the best of the best. When it comes to the Can-Am Defender MAX versus the Polaris Ranger CREW, you can’t forget about the Limited versus the NorthStar.
These come fully equipped with a cab enclosure and HVAC, but there are some minor differences.
Both come with flip windshields, wipers, power windows, and heating and air conditioning.
But when it comes to the quality of the doors, the Polaris Ranger NorthStar takes the cake. They get you as close to an automotive-style door—including the way it seals—as you can get on a UTV.
The Defender cab enclosure is good, but it doesn’t quite seal as well and doesn’t match the quality even though they’re identical feature-wise.
Polaris also offers and Ultimate trim that adds bigger tires and their awesome ride command system. So at the end of the day, the Ranger’s very best is a tad better than the Defender’s very best.
👎 Can-Am Defender MAX Limited
👍 Polaris Ranger Crew NorthStar
There are tons of opinions out there arguing for both sides of this fight, so you don’t just have to take our word for it. Here are some of the arguments we saw on the forums.
MoparToYou on Can-AmForum.com doesn’t think Polaris’ front diff is all that much better than Visco-Lok:
“I am not a fan of the Polaris four-wheel drive system that requires the rear tires to slip in order for the front tires to pull and keep slipping in order for the front tires to continue to pull.”
Frangeech on RangerForums.net thought the better cab enclosure on the NorthStar was worth the cost:
“Both are great machines. For me, it came down to bang for buck. Since I was looking at an enclosed model, the Polaris Ranger NorthStar Ultimate topped the Can-Am HD10 Limited when it came down to value for the dollar. Probably overkill in regards to certain features. However, when going all-in why not go ALL-IN?”
TX3400XL turned on their RangerForums.net buddies to recommend the Defender MAX:
“I can’t talk ya out of the Can Am Defender MAX. My brother got two of the 2021s and they’re nice machines. We also noted how well laid out they are with storage. They have power to spare and give you a smooth ride.”
Stormking on Can-AmForum.com is not a fan of the Ranger Crew NorthStar:
“My friend has 2019 Crew NorthStar. Here is list of broken stuff: Front diff. Drivelines/carrier. Rear transaxle rebuild with RZR turf delete and reduction. Many belts. EPS acting up. Now the front diff is failing and clutching needs work as stated above. Shifting is harder and harder. Oh springs replaced too. Other then that it is a nice ride when fixed. They love it and hate to use it cause it breaks over and over.”
It looks like the new kid on the block is the cool kid on the block. It’s hard to argue that the Defender doesn’t deliver the overall better package. The only potential deal breaker is the Visco-Lok front diff (which, again, we can fix).
So whether you’re looking to get some work done or you want to head out on a new adventure, you won’t regret owning either machine. But we’d be willing to bet you’ll like your Can-Am Defender just a little bit more.
2 Comments
Can-Am Defender Max all the way.
we have 2 Defenders, 2021 and 2022. Both have damage Visco Loc and many axles broke + not warranty from dealers, very bad for a almost new UTV that cost over 25K. Hope Polaris do not have those situations. I really look forward to sell our UTV and get other brand.