UTVs are just the most badass vehicles out there. It’s a shame that they’re not street-legal in most parts of the world, as they’re clearly the perfect combination of crazy fun and super practical.
Surely, if UTVs were street-legal in my neck of the woods, you could bet that I’d be rocking one as my daily driver. And so you can probably guess that I’m super jealous of RideApart executive editor Jonathon Klein who rides around in a Can-Am Maverick on a daily basis.
With all that being said, there are tons of new innovations in the UTV scene, all of which look to make these things even more capable for both work and play. Polaris, for instance, has just filed a new patent for a new UTV. And it’s pretty damn wild.
One glance at the patent drawings makes it clear that this thing is more utility-focused than many other UTVs out there. It features an exposed cabin with a roll cage and a massive bed at the back that looks like it’s ready to accommodate all sorts of cargo.
The bed is flat, and features slots for you to strap down or bolt on all sorts of accessories—both for work and recreation.
It’s also a four-seater, so you and your buddies can all hop on for a long day of hunting, camping, or getting tons of work done at the jobsite.
But while all that seems pretty common in a workhorse UTV, Polaris’ patented UTV has something pretty special. According to the patent, the UTV features a “hydraulic assembly operably coupled to the powertrain assembly and the suspension assembly, and the hydraulic assembly is configured to selectively adjust a height of the suspension assembly relative to a ground surface.”
So yes, this UTV gets hydraulically adjustable suspension to raise and lower the ride height. It seems that all this can be done with the push of a button, as it “includes a pump driven by the prime mover and operably coupled to the suspension assembly.”
Even more interestingly, the UTV’s front and rear suspension height can be adjusted independently, allowing you to lower or raise just the front or back at any given time.
Naturally, having such adjustability is super practical, as it makes loading heavy cargo and equipment onto the back of the vehicle much easier. It also allows you to raise and lower the height depending on the terrain. If you’re tackling smooth and flowy gravel roads, you can drop it down and attack corners like a rally car. Meanwhile, when tackling rocky terrain full of roots, ruts, boulders, and maybe even river crossings, you can max out the UTV’s ride height for maximum ground clearance.
Now, other than the hydraulic ride height adjustability, Polaris’ patent doesn’t really highlight any other details about the UTV. Is it gas or electrically-powered? We don’t really know. How much power will it put out? It isn’t mentioned either.
What we do know, however, is that Polaris is working on this rugged UTV geared up for maximum practicality and utility. Of course, the hydraulically adjustable ride height is a really cool feature too, and it’d be cool to see it in more of Polaris’ UTVs in the near future.
