pushingthelimits.com

If you loved the look of the SuperFour all-terrain wheelchair or Woodstar ATV that are both designed specifically for people in wheelchairs but the $30,000 price tag scared you to death, take a look at the new 2008 Polaris Ranger RZR ATV.

Not intentionally aimed at the disabled adventurer market, the RZR can, and is, easily adapted for use by a wheelchair user by simply adding hand controls just like any other vehicle with a steering wheel. The relatively low seats means that transfers from an average manual wheelchair only requires a height increase of about 2 to 3 inches. Starting at $10,300 it’s a bit lighter on the pocket too.

You can strap your wheelchair to the rear cargo bay and tear up the trails in hardcore fashion with 800cc’s of power and a top speed of 55 mph. The RZR’s rear-mounted engine gives a low center of gravity for better handling, and the roll cage gives better protection than most ATV’s out there. Independent rear suspension and 10-inches of ground clearance make the ride smooth, and the ability to switch between 2 or 4 wheel drive easily means you’ll have a hard job of getting this thing stuck anywhere.

The 800cc RZR is the top model in the Ranger line, with the 500cc model coming in at around $8,000. So there are more options if you are looking for an off-road powered wheelchair or ATV, the polaris range offers more comfort and size, plus better stability for those with poor balance and a roll cage. We want at least 5 so we set up office championships.

With almost all readily available vehicle hand controls able to be fitted to the polaris, and the fact that it’s side by side seating make trips into the wilderness more sociable than other atv types, we think the RZR fitted with hand controls is pretty near perfect.



Polaris Ranger RZR