1
- 11 months ago
The 2026 Polaris Ranger 500 is currently the cheapest Ranger that Polaris offers, but what do you get for its $10k price tag? Let’s find out with a full overview, plus get a closer look at some available accessories!
Become a Channel Partner: https://octanemedia.co/home/become-an-advertiser/
Looking to buy? Get prequalifed
https://octane.co/vehicle-selection/?partner=A8PrQQB&a=298&flow=long-prequal&appTheme=3a49337c5724d18079602a4ca5a91626
Favorite Gear:
Packtalk Edge ORV: Code 'octane' for 10% off https://cardosystems.rfrl.co/z8qy5
For more stories, reviews, and first-looks check out https://www.utvdriver.com/
Want to see even more shenanigans from the UTV Driver team? Give us a like and follow:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UTVdriver/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/utvdrivermagazine/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/utvdriver/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@utvdriver
Become a Channel Partner: https://octanemedia.co/home/become-an-advertiser/
Looking to buy? Get prequalifed
https://octane.co/vehicle-selection/?partner=A8PrQQB&a=298&flow=long-prequal&appTheme=3a49337c5724d18079602a4ca5a91626
Favorite Gear:
Packtalk Edge ORV: Code 'octane' for 10% off https://cardosystems.rfrl.co/z8qy5
For more stories, reviews, and first-looks check out https://www.utvdriver.com/
Want to see even more shenanigans from the UTV Driver team? Give us a like and follow:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UTVdriver/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/utvdrivermagazine/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/utvdriver/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@utvdriver
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome back to UTV Driver. I am content editor Jackson Cooper and behind me is the 2026
00:05Polaris Ranger 500. Now this is all new for 2026 and Polaris says that it fits into something
00:10called the value segment. Now the value segment has been dominated by brands like Kawasaki with
00:15the Mule, CFMoto with the U-Force, and even Yamaha with the Viking for years. And after all this time
00:21of building expensive high power side-by-sides, Polaris wanted a piece of that pie too, which is
00:26why they made this. Now this comes in at a whopping $10,000. That's right, $9,999. Now Polaris was nice
00:33enough to send us one of these along with tons of accessories to go with it. Lucky for you, we
00:38recorded that entire process of putting those accessories on. Easy peasy. You can see how to
00:43put the windshield on, the mirrors, and the rear windshield. And when we're done doing that, we're
00:46going to give you a full overview of this rig. Then we're going to take it to a property just north of
00:50Knoxville, Tennessee and put it through its paces. So this is the 2026 Polaris Ranger 500. Let's do a
00:57quick overview. You have door nets, no enclosed cab. You'll notice a lot of these accessories and
01:02features on this rig aren't super luxury. That's for a reason. You get all of this for under $10,000.
01:09It's only a dollar under $10,000, but it's still under $10,000. So you get alloy wheels, you get a
01:14winch, and all that comes standard. So for the Polaris Ranger 500, there's not actually trims. What they do
01:20is they sell you this, exactly how it comes here, and let you design it yourself. So you can make it
01:26as expensive or as cheap as you want. You've got this dump bed. Holds 300 pounds. I know that's not
01:34a lot, but it's still something. Here's the interior. You have this nice clunky shifter like
01:40how the Polaris Ranger XD 1500 has. We've been complaining about the shifters forever. We gave
01:45them that exact recommendation to put that shifter in almost everything. And so far they have. They've put
01:50it in this. They've put it in the new XP1000. They're doing a really great job. You get a two-person
01:55bench seat, only two seatbelts. Tons and tons of storage. Dry storage is lacking, but I don't think
02:02you're going to take this thing into too many mud holes. You get that poly roof, these nice grab
02:07handles. And other than that, you know, it's just a Ranger. I mean, it doesn't have to do much else
02:13than that. Now we love this thing. We're going to put it through its paces. But first, we have
02:18something to show you, and it's this windshield. So yeah, we already unboxed it. We just got too
02:23excited to see what it was. But it looks like it's supposed to go on easy, so let's see. Get a
02:28closer look at this windshield. So you have these large plastic clasps right here. Now, if you're
02:33installing this yourself, this little indented part goes at the bottom, and the flat part goes at the
02:38top. These just pop right in and out. Super easy. Completely tool-less. It's poly, not glass.
02:45Easy to clean. And yeah, let's move on to the next accessory. So for the rear glass, I definitely
02:50recommend that you get someone else to help you put this on, just because, like with the front glass,
02:56it's just kind of like leaning against this. But this is just straight up. You have these nice
03:01seals on the bottom. Nice seals on the top. It looks like it's the same from top and bottom, but I could
03:06be wrong. Looks like the tops are just a little bit longer, this little scoop right here. Either way,
03:12you can do it by yourself, but get some money to help you. It's just a little bit easier. You've
03:17got these nice, satisfying clasps right here from the bottom and the top. Very easy to put on. You
03:25got protection in the front, protection in the back. And look at that. It is looking like a proper
03:31ring now. I think we have one more accessory, so let's get that on. So here's the rearview mirror
03:36and all of its parts. Now, it's very easy. It does not come with tools, so you'll need your own
03:41tools. Here's the bag of hardware. Here's a bracket for it. And there's the mirror. Now, let me get
03:46the tools and we'll get started. What do we got here? We got a T27 bit. We have a T15 bit. We have
03:52a 4 mil socket and a number 5 hex. I recommend keeping this box just so you can keep all this
03:59in, because they have a lot of small parts and they can get lost. Let's put this little bracket on first.
04:04And to do that, we're going to use these little itty-bitty screws that require the T15 bit.
04:12So this fits up right up here. There's a hole at the top. I'm going to go and thread this in and
04:16then I'll show y'all. Okay, so this little bracket lines up to this hole right here. You've got these
04:22two little holes on the back. That's where those tiny screws go into. This is where your mirror
04:26mounts up. So this larger screw goes to that top hole of the bracket. There's a little spot you can
04:31slide your hand in up here to put that nut on. So you're going to take that 4 mil socket.
04:37All right, this first screw's on. So I actually forgot a tool and it says 10 mil wrench. And
04:42that's going to go on this bigger nut up top on this bracket. Wrench goes up the top. 227 on the bottom.
04:51Just like that. Bracket's stable. Look at that. I'm shaking the whole rig.
04:55So last but certainly not least, this is very straightforward. I really just put it right
05:01there. You have these tiny brackets and these just fit right over there. Same thing with the
05:08other side. I'm going to take your allen key. I'm just going to drive that in. Just like that,
05:14you go to rear view mirror. I'm looking at the camera right now. Look, very sturdy. This bracket is
05:19not going anywhere. Like I said, when you move it, you rock the entire rig. I will say it does
05:25impede vision a little bit. It's a little in your face. Could be a little bit higher, but I'm not
05:30complaining about that. Moves everywhere. It's fully adjustable. All right, onto the side mirrors.
05:35So we've got these mirrors in box. What's actually cool about these is that they have two different
05:39brackets to go on two different kinds of frames. So the first one are these circle brackets, which is
05:44probably what we're going to use. You also have these. If you have a square frame, clip in,
05:49go around it. You're all good and go. Bob's your uncle. Well, you've got a windshield on there.
05:52How are you going to get, you know, it's pretty flush against there. How are you going to get
05:55mirrors on? There's a reason they didn't seal this side, and that's so, you can see that little
06:00crack right there. That's so you can get these mirrors around them. That's what we're going to do.
06:04So I went ahead and take these lockers off just so I have a little bit more room. There's some padding
06:09on the inside. You can use that or not. I'm going to try to use it. So that just goes right there.
06:15But you can see how we've got this little mirror on. Bolts are threaded through.
06:18So you actually only need your Allen key because these bolts fit into like this little recess
06:24right here. I'm going to turn it with your Allen key. I'm going to do this off camera because I
06:27need both hands. I'll be right back. We're officially on. I did lie. You actually do need
06:33that little rubber piece. If you don't have it, it just doesn't lock tight enough to not move on this
06:38railing. Still very easy to put on. Now I will say, let me show you this right here, the rubber piece.
06:43It's a little too long. So it perfectly fits the interior of one of these, right? And when you
06:49close it, it'll close like that. The problem with that is that it's just a little bit too long. And
06:54when you actually close it all the way, it just presses up against this piece. It doesn't allow
07:00it to fully close. So what I did, I just took some scissors and trimmed maybe a quarter inch off.
07:06It works perfect. If you don't do that, it doesn't close tight enough for these bolts to go all the way
07:10through. And you have issues like for that and you can't put them on. So originally the mirror was
07:14kind of like that. And obviously you can tell from a driver's seat, that's not going to work. So if
07:19you come down here and look, there's a little bolt right there. And all you got to do is loosen that a
07:23little bit. And so this locks, so it doesn't actually like move when it's tightened down.
07:27You can click it a few different ways. Maybe right there. See, look at that. Perfect. So you just take
07:33your 10 mil, tighten it down again. Probably easier with a socket. It looks like there's enough room to get a
07:38socket in there. Then you're sturdy. The one thing I noticed when I was putting this windshield back
07:42on is make sure that these bolts are on the outside of the windshield, because if they're on
07:46the inside, you won't be able to shut it. But as long as they're on the outside, you're fine. Your
07:51windshield can shut. You still get your mirrors. All right. So I'm going to spare you the pain
07:54of me going through putting the other mirror on. So let's just do a little overview of this thing and
08:00what it is. So if you're at all familiar with a Polaris, this is going to look familiar to you.
08:05It's a four inch LCD display. Controls, simple. One interesting thing about this is that it's
08:10all wheel drive, which means you don't get to control whether or not you're in four wheel or
08:14not. All you have is a rear diff lock right there, which works as a turf mode. Like that's your turf
08:22mode. That's your standard. It's got an auto lock front diff. This shifter, we love this thing.
08:28This style of shifter debuted in the Ranger XD 1500. At the time, like we said earlier, we mentioned that
08:34Polaris should put this in almost everything they have. And as for utility rigs, they've been doing
08:39that and we could not be happier. You always know what year you're in. You don't miss gears. You get
08:44that satisfying clunk instead of, you know, a shifter that feels like you're mixing a bucket of
08:48marbles. Other than that, those are your controls. You got a steering wheel tilt and that's it. That's
08:54what this rig was made to be. Simplicity. Forgive my tools from the install, but like we said,
09:00you got this crazy amount of storage up here. No dry storage. More storage down here. You get
09:05these little cubbies. You got a little cubby right here for your wallet, keys, whatever. And two cup
09:11holders down here. Again, ignore the rest of these parts. But the bed is another interesting part
09:15because this tailgate doesn't have a traditional center latch. It has these.
09:23They're just a little annoying. They're very simple. These kinds of latches have been used for
09:27centuries. So, you know, they're not going to break on you. A center pull down would have been
09:33a little, little nice. Another interesting thing about it, it's only got bed dump controls on one
09:37side. The other side does not have that handle. I'm not going to dump it now because, you know,
09:41I've got all those parts back there. But it's not a hate or a love. It's just something that's
09:47interesting about this rig. Now let's move towards the winch, the last capacity. Now that is rated
09:52for 2,500 pounds. Look at that winch. It's a Polaris branded. It's not a Warren. It's not anything
09:57fancy like that. But a winch straight from the factory without having to pay extra for it on a
10:02rig that's less than $10,000? That's a win in our book. We really like winches. It's the first mod
10:07anybody puts on a side-by-side. And it's even better when they come stock. All right, we are just north of
10:12Knoxville, Tennessee at a small one-acre property. And that's just about what this machine is for. Now,
10:17before we put it through its paces, I want to talk a little bit about what it is. Now,
10:20we know exactly who and what this rig was built for. It's not going to see any trails, any mud
10:25holes, and it definitely won't see any baby heads. What it will see is tons of thankless work. It's
10:31designed to work tirelessly for people who maybe don't have $40,000 to spend on a side-by-side.
10:36It's no Ranger XP1000. It's no Ranger XD1500. And it's definitely no Can-Am Defender Limited. So we
10:42said earlier that this rig comes in at just $10,000. So what all do you get for that? Let's start with
10:47power. The 2026 Ranger 500 makes just 28 horsepower through a single-cylinder ProStar engine. Now,
10:54that's the same mill that's in the Ranger SP570. And I know what you're thinking. The SP570 makes
11:0044 horsepower, right? And this makes just 28? Yeah, you're right. Polaris just down-tuned it. We get it.
11:0628 horsepower seems underpowered, and it is. But take a look at some of the most popular utility side-by-sides
11:12on the market. The Kawasaki Mule. The Kubota RTV. Both of those rigs make even less than that. And
11:17you'll be hard-pressed to find a job site without either one of them. So why do we mention Kawasaki
11:21and Kubota? It's because Polaris is taking aim at their portion of the market. And that portion is
11:26the value segment, like we talked about earlier. It's a growing segment with healthy year-over-year
11:30growth. And Polaris would be dumb to leave it alone for any longer. So let's get to work and talk a
11:35little bit more about this. Since we're talking about work, we should talk about how much the bed can hold.
11:40Now, industry standard for side-by-sides is around 1,000 pounds. Sometimes they go down to 700,
11:46sometimes they're even down to 200 or 100. This one sits about 300 pounds. And for a pure utility
11:51side-by-side, that's a little disappointing. We get it. It's a small frame, a small wheelbase. It
11:57doesn't have as much support from the frame. For something you buy to work and do nothing else,
12:03we expect more. To put that into perspective, almost every Polaris razor, the sport-focused side-by-side
12:09from Polaris has a bed capacity of 300 pounds. That means your sport side-by-side can work just
12:15as hard as this thing. Jokes aside, we really just would have loved more out of the bed. Polaris
12:19vice president of product portfolio, Brandon Kramer says, similar to all of our vehicle designs,
12:24we start with the question, what does this customer care about? And what do they need from
12:28their vehicle? And the answer is a little bit more than 300 pounds. So now that we got all the numbers
12:34and all the specs out of the way, who's this rig for? We believe that this is Polaris' attempt at
12:39nudging into a piece of the market that it had previously neglected. It's a utility side-by-side for
12:44someone who has an acre or two and doesn't want a dedicated farm truck. Simple jobs like hauling bricks
12:49or hauling mulch is the name of the game for the Polaris 500. So that's the 2026 Polaris Ranger 500.
12:54Thank you so much for watching. I am Jackson Cooper with UTV Driver. If you like this, do us a favor,
12:59go down below, drop a like, drop a comment, and subscribe if you feel like it. When you're done doing that,
13:03head over to utvdriver.com where we have news, reviews, and buyer's guides five days a week.
13:08And when you're done doing that, head over to our socials. We're on Instagram,
13:12Facebook, TikTok, and of course, here on YouTube. We will see you there.