Polaris

One of my favorite things about the electric vehicle industry is just how much diversity there is in the designs and types of EVs hitting the market. Part of that is due to the way electric drivetrains help break the mold of aging design constraints, but it’s also due to a new wave of forward-thinking engineers boldly pushing products in new and exciting directions.

As Electrek‘s resident tester of all things not-cars, I was fortunate enough to get behind, on top, and inside of some interesting and far-out forms of electric transportation. Here are the top five wildest and most awesome personal electric vehicles I tested in 2022.

I was recently invited on an eye-opening trip to visit the sprawling Polaris proving grounds in Wyoming, Minnesota. There, over 600 acres feature 17 miles of trails carved from the earth to test Polaris’ off-road vehicles through a range of heavy duty scenarios. And with the company’s exciting new all-electric RANGER XP Kinetic set to roll out to customers next year, I was stoked for the chance to get an early test on the new utility side-by-side.

Polaris isn’t simply paying lip service when it talks about the future of electrification in powersports. The Minnesota-based leader in powersports vehicles has already unveiled its first next-gen electric UTV and now has shown off several test vehicles for electric Polaris ATVs, side-by-sides, and snowmobiles.

In a management buyout from Polaris that closed December 31, the newly established Waev, Inc. will take over the manufacturing and operations of both the GEM neighborhood EV and Taylor-Dunn commercial vehicles, officially moving both brands’ headquarters to Anaheim, California. What does this mean for the two EV brands?

The Polaris RANGER XP Kinetic UTV was just launched this morning, marking the most powerful, highest torque, and quite likely the most capable utility vehicle on the market today. 

Oh, and it just happens to be electric.

Polaris is gearing up to release an all-new Electric Ranger UTV this December, which they confidently claim will be the “best RANGER ever.” The new electric utility vehicle could help Polaris leapfrog several years forward to the top of the electric power-sports market, but it never would have happened without a strategic partnership with Zero Motorcycles.

As the official launch of the new all-electric Polaris RANGER EV draws nearer, we’re getting our best look so far at the UTV’s performance.

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.

The hype around the new electric Polaris RANGER is growing with each fresh look at the upcoming UTV. Now a new video is giving us a better idea of how well the vehicle works off-road, which is of course key to the utility of a UTV. At the same time, the Polaris team is also discussing how the electric UTV will outperform gas-powered UTVs.

As we’ve previously reported, Polaris is set to release a new version of the company’s electric Ranger UTV this year. Now a new teaser video is giving us a look at the prototype’s powerful towing capabilities.

In a recent press release, Optimus Ride announced a partnership with Polaris to manufacture custom-designed GEM vehicles. Under the joint agreement, an exclusive line of Polaris GEM electric low-speed vehicles (LSVs) will be re-engineered to integrate Optimus Ride’s autonomous software and hardware suite direct from the factory.

Polaris has an all-new 100% electric RANGER slated to enter the market later this year, and is now releasing the first-ever video showing it in action.

According to Polaris CEO Scott Wine, the company may be returning to the electric motorcycle space.

Polaris already had its eye on developing a series of off-road electric vehicles spanning its many product classes. And now that goal looks all but certain after a new partnership between Polaris and Zero Motorcycles to co-develop electric off-road vehicles was announced this morning.

Victory Motorcycle announced a surprise participation at the Isle of Man TT with the newly unveiled all-electric motorcycle: Victory RR. The Victory RR is another child of Victory Motorcycle’s union with electric bike maker Brammo through their parent company Polaris.
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Earlier this year, Polaris bought the electric motorcycle maker Brammo. A few weeks ago, we wrote about Vicotry, which is a Polaris brand, unveiling the Empulse TT. As we explained, the TT is pretty much just a rebranding of Brammo’s own Empulse R, but rebranding aside, last week, Polaris unveiled the first all-new electric vehicle resulting from the acquisition of Brammo : the RANGER EV Li-Ion Polaris Pursuit Camo.
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