Can-Am vs. Polaris: The Complete Overview

“This wouldn’t’ve happened if you bought a RZR 1000.”

“Buy them cheap, bury them deep.”

“What do you expect from a POOlaris? I’ve never had that problem with my Commander.”

Do you ever hear people say things like this? We sure do. Every day. It seems like side-by-side fans all over the world are stuck in an eternal battle for vehicular supremacy. If you’re a fan of UTVs, then you’ve got to pick a side and jab at your buddies for picking the obviously inferior Polaris, Can-Am, Kawasaki, Arctic Cat, Yamaha or Honda. It doesn’t really matter what they have—you just know yours is better.

We’re not immune to it here at SuperATV either. If you walk around the office, you’ll find plenty of people claiming perfect handling, amazing speed, and zero breakdowns all on different machines. I mean, someone’s gotta be better, right?

At the forefront of this beef are Polaris and Can-Am. All the other guys jump in the fight too, but you never hear more shade being thrown than the verbal beatdowns between Polaris and Can-Am riders.

But where did this all come from? Are Polaris and Can-Am themselves egging on their customers? Is it the inherent competition of the off-road race scene? The one-upmanship of the aftermarket upgrade scene? Or maybe it’s simply machismo making it out onto the trails.

Most importantly, who’s right?

One thing’s for sure—if you read the comments section on anything Polaris or Can-Am related anywhere on the internet, you’re bound to get an eyeful of “POOlaris” and “Can’t-Am”.

Let’s take a look at these two companies. We’ll see where they started, talk about how they interacted, and maybe find out who’s on top now.

Who Makes Can-Am Side-by-Sides?

Polaris and Can-Am share a common starting point. They both opened shop as snowmobile companies. Can-Am’s founder, J. Armand Bombardier, built the first propeller-driven sled as a teenager in 1922 and the world’s first track-based snowmobile in 1937. He later founded Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) in 1942.

Can-Am itself wouldn’t appear until the 1970s, when BRP created the Can-Am name as a motorcycle brand. Initially, the Can-Am name was only tied to high-performance motocross dirt bikes. They were successful in this sector, becoming the first company to sweep the American Motorcycle Association 250cc Motocross National Championship in 1974.

Despite the success, BRP had set its sights on other ventures by the 1980s, and ‘87 was the last production year for Can-Am motorcycles. They turned their attention instead to ATVs, once again operating under the Bombardier name. A prototype version of the BRP Traxter, a utility-based ATV, was released in February 1998.

Just one year later, ATV Magazine named the new BRP Traxter “ATV of the Year.” What followed was a succession of ATV releases—with focus on both sport and utility focus—and even more success in the racing scene.

In May 2006, BRP once again began operating under the Can-Am name. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Polaris Side-by-Sides—Who Makes Them?

Polaris didn’t enter the game until 1954, when they created their first snowmobile. This snowmobile was small and designed for only one or two people. It was the first modern-style snowmobile.

From the start, the two companies were competing. Bombardier innovated with its standalone, wind-powered snowmobile and Polaris refined it with a smaller, sleeker, and more broadly-appealing vehicle.

Snowmobiles kept the guys at Polaris busy for quite some time, releasing and testing several different models over the next few decades. It wasn’t until 1985 that they ventured away from the snowmobile scene and released the Scrambler ATC and TrailBoss, which are considered the very first American-made four wheelers.

70 Years of Competition

But let’s fast forward—past the creation of the personal watercraft, past their jumps into the motorcycle markets and Bombardier’s creation of Can-Am, past one of Polaris’ founders leaving and starting his own company (later to become Arctic Cat)—and get to the good stuff of the last 20 years. That’s when both companies ventured to the off-road vehicle.

Both companies got into the four-wheeler market late. Honda and other Japanese manufacturers already completely dominated the sphere. You may also be surprised to know that neither Can-Am nor Polaris was first to the UTV industry, either.

Polaris released the Ranger in 1998, following the Kawasaki Mule’s lead. Although the Ranger was popular, Polaris didn’t really take control of the UTV market until it released the Ranger RZR ten years later.

What really paved the way for the Ranger RZR was the Yamaha Rhino. The Rhino took the increasingly popular utility vehicle and made it sportier. It was half work machine, half play machine, and was hugely successful when it released in 2004. The Ranger RZR released in 2008 and was laser focused on being the best recreational sport vehicle available. In that respect, it was a first for the industry and blew the Rhino away. Finally, a machine built for fun with no compromises.

While Polaris gets a point from us for bringing such a game changer to the industry, Can-Am gets another point right back with its release of the Commander two years later, just in time for Polaris to release the RZR 900.

Polaris: 1 | Can-Am: 1

The Commander brought the first 1000cc engine to the burgeoning side-by-side industry. The Commander wasn’t as laser focused on fun as the RZR was, but Can-Am still earns a point from us for giving riders more opportunities to get wild with that 1000cc engine behind their throttle.

Polaris: 1 | Can-Am: 2

Neither company sat still though, with each eyeing the other’s advancements and inspiring their rival’s R&D team. They fought for horsepower for years. Polaris eventually released their RZR 1000 in 2014, coming in at 107 HP, but then Can-Am responded with a 121 HP Maverick Turbo in the same year. Naturally, Polaris followed up by releasing the RZR Turbo two years later, which upped the ante to 144 HP.

Polaris: 3 | Can-Am: 3

In 2016, both Can-Am and Polaris took pages out of each other’s books. Polaris released the General 1000 to compete directly with the Commander 1000 (those names are a bit too similar, don’t you think?), and Can-Am released the Defender to compete with the Ranger.

Polaris: 4 | Can-Am: 4

Also in 2016, Can-Am unveiled their most striking UTV yet—the Maverick X3. It was Can-Am’s best chance yet to gain major ground on Polaris in terms of both appearance and performance. The X3 definitely earns a point in Can-Am’s favor.

Polaris: 4 | Can-Am: 5

Don’t get too comfortable yet! Just when you think you have your answer, Polaris does something to shake things up. They’re not playing the HP game this year (although their turbo model is still within a few HP of the top X3 model). Instead, they’re revolutionizing suspension with the RZR Turbo DYNAMIX Edition.

Polaris: 5 | Can-Am: 5

It’s safe to say that both Can-Am and Polaris are swinging for the fences, which means the rivalry will only continue. Whether it’s intelligent shocks, crazy horsepower, or the new Smart-Lok differential, they’re both willing to take big risks to make the best machine on the market.

Can-Am or Polaris: Which Vehicle Is the Best?

So who wins? It looks like a tied ball game at the moment. Individual owners might take umbrage with different aspects of each companies’ design philosophy, which will inform their ride ally of choice. Looking at the X3, one might see the overabundance of plastic bodywork as a negative aspect. Others might look past that and appreciate that the plastic provides lightweight yet alluring curves and angles.

Some might look at the RZR and still see a stubby, puerile buggy borrowing too heavily from older off-road vehicles and missing a sleek modern look. Others might think the RZR has the quintessential sport UTV look, and that to deviate from its style is to make something that doesn’t look like a UTV.

As you move away from the cosmetic, you have different handling and throttle feel to deal with. The Maverick X3 is powerful but bulky. The RZR Turbo is smaller, easier to handle, but not quite as powerful. And now that Can-Am is making the X3 more powerful, Polaris is making the Turbo handle even better, which in turn makes this article difficult to write because we said we’d give you a winner.

And the Winner Is…

So, again, who wins? At the risk of sounding entirely too earnest, you do!

That’s right! Good ol’ capitalism at its best means you, the consumer, win every time. As these companies duke it out for your favor, their vehicles are getting better and cheaper. Both companies offer insanely powerful vehicles for under $20,000, and their diverging philosophies mean that no matter what kind of riding you’re interested in, there’s a top-of-the-line vehicle out there for you.

Not to mention companies like Yamaha have made a move into the sport UTV market as well, with the YXZ. Honda finally released their Pioneer 1000 and Kawasaki is still killing it with the Teryx. And Arctic Cat (ahem, Textron) has finally graced us with the Wildcat XX.

So feel good about having a POOlaris or a Can’t-Am—or a Yamaha, Arctic Cat, CFMOTO, Honda, or Kawasaki. And feel free to stick it to the other guy for buying the piece of junk that he did. From what we’ve learned, that’s just how you play the game. You just might want to be prepared to prove your claims. You wouldn’t want to have to admit that your ride isn’t as perfect as you said it was, or even worse—that your buddy’s ride is better.

So what’s the final score? You: Infinity. Everyone wins! No matter what type of ride you’ve got, we’re all really just looking for some fun with our buddies.

The bigger the rivalry, the better the vehicles. The better the vehicles, the more fun we all have and the bigger the hobby gets. So don’t forget to have fun no matter whose seat your in. SuperATV will always be here to give you awesome accessories, no matter what ride you choose.

Updated by Tyler Smith-Lichlyter on 2/14/2020.