Why is Polaris' New Suspension so Important?

UTV Driver

Polaris just released something special for the new Pro R: automatic disconnecting sway bars. But why is that such a big deal? And does it warrant the hefty price tag on the Pro R Ultra? To find out, we ran through some tests with a special side-by-side.  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  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

Transcript

00:00Welcome back to UTV Driver. I am content editor Jackson Cooper, joined today by editor Anders Carlson.

00:05That's Anders T. Carlson.

00:07Anders.

00:07The T stands for true story.

00:09The cat is out of the bag.

00:11Polaris has beat everyone else in the industry to active sway bars.

00:15Or, as some people say, anti-roll bars, stabilizer bars, whatever you call it, this is big news.

00:21Polaris announced that it's bringing the industry's first factory-installed, electronically-controlled sway bar disconnects.

00:28The new technology will be featured on the new 2026 Polaris Pro-R Ultra Edition.

00:34Are you excited?

00:34This thing's gonna be rad.

00:36If you follow the off-road scene, you've probably seen electronic sway bar disconnects on vehicles like the Bronco Raptor

00:41or the Wrangler Rubicon.

00:42This is on a whole nother level.

00:44Unlike the on-off push-button systems currently employed by the auto giants, the new Polaris system is semi-active,

00:51meaning it can lock and unlock four separate sway bar links up to 200 times per second.

00:56It does all that automatically as conditions change.

00:59That's kind of like the Fox Live Valve system, right?

01:02Exactly.

01:03Except it's with sway bar links instead of shocks.

01:05Now, we love Fox Live Valve.

01:07It's on all of our favorite rigs.

01:09The Pro-R, the Kawasaki H2.

01:11The Fox Live Valve is great.

01:13Honestly, all you do is point it at danger and hit the gas.

01:16And everything you roll over, nothing really seems to matter.

01:19Exactly.

01:19And this just makes it even better.

01:21So the goal here, according to Polaris, is to get the smoothest ride possible over any type of terrain.

01:26The system automatically unlocks on the rocks for maximum flex, then locks on the cornering for maximum stability,

01:31and stays fluid over rough terrain to keep all four wheels grabbing and clawing at the dirt or whatever it

01:36is that you're rolling through.

01:37You've seen the photos of it online by this point.

01:39You've seen how it acts like a spider, and that's what it's meant to do.

01:42It's supposed to keep all four wheels on the ground at all times while keeping the cab extremely steady.

01:48Yeah, that's the science-y way of saying that if a tire is not connected to the ground, it doesn't

01:53grip anything.

01:54Yeah, you don't say, really.

01:56That's science.

01:56That's news to me.

01:57That's science.

01:58It's all part of the Dynamics DVS system, which Polaris has been testing all throughout the 2025 racing season.

02:04Dynamics DVS utilizes 12 separate suspension control channels, all of which integrate into existing ride modes,

02:09to deliver a best-of-both-world mix of comfort and performance and stability, and am I forgetting anything?

02:15I think that's about it.

02:16Okay.

02:16Not only does it automatically optimize your rig suspension and put it exactly where it needs to be at all

02:21times, but it also saves time.

02:23Anyone familiar with rock crawling knows that disconnecting your sway bar links is a must.

02:28Oh, yeah.

02:28That's like when you look and see an old Bronco, and it's going over rocks, and the wheels are pointed

02:33in, like, opposite directions.

02:34Exactly.

02:34I started off-roading with 90s Jeeps, and I remember detaching my sway bars with a Canon WD-40 and

02:40a 17mm socket.

02:41Now, instead of getting out of your rig, pulling out the toolbox, and manually disconnecting your sway bar links, all

02:47you have to do is push a button.

02:48Or just leave it in semi-active mode and let the little wizards inside the Dynamics DVS system work their

02:53magic.

02:53Are they really wizards?

02:54They are.

02:55There's 200 little wizards in there, and they're all casting spells on the Dynamics DVS system.

03:00Wizards cost extra, though.

03:01But here's the kicker. The Dynamics DVS system will only be available in the new 2026 Polaris Pro-R Ultra

03:07Edition, which will see a limited run of 500 units worldwide for both the two-seat and the four-seat

03:13version.

03:14So, apparently, out of 8 billion people on the entire planet, not just Americans.

03:18Even the overseas people, the people in Saudi Arabia who like to run the Dakar Rally, like everybody in the

03:23world, there's only 500 units.

03:25The downside for now is that not every snowman with an extra 50k can afford this exciting new technology.

03:30The pricing also isn't super affordable, could you have guessed?

03:35The two-seater will set you back $46,999. That's $46,999.

03:41That seems like a lot, but, you know, like, I'm rich, so...

03:45But I can see for other people, it's an issue.

03:47And the four-door starts at $50,999. That's 51 grand for one of these.

03:53In other words, a $3,000 premium over the current Dynamics DV Fox Live valve system that's found on the

03:59standard Pro-R.

04:00But, in the future, this might trickle down to other models, do you think?

04:03Maybe, but for now, you're lucky enough to even see one of these in person, let alone own one.

04:08Yeah, if you see them out in the wild, take a picture.

04:10So, this is all great and everything, but for anybody out there who might not know, why would you want

04:16to disconnect your sway bar?

04:17So glad you asked, Anders.

04:18We actually have a piece of equipment outside that tells you exactly why that's a big deal.

04:23Oh, this is really great, because normally, like, there's just words in the air.

04:27I'm a visual person. I need to see things.

04:29Yeah, and it's called the RTI ramp.

04:32So, this is the RTI ramp.

04:34I'm sure most of you have seen videos online of the RTI ramp.

04:38Mostly videos of model crawler Jeeps failing on the ramp, but we use it to record actual data.

04:45Now, how does that data work?

04:46Well, the RTI ramp measures flex in a rig.

04:48We drive the rig up the ramp, see how far it gets up, record that number, then divide it by

04:54the rig's wheelbase.

04:55After we do that, we multiply it by 1,000.

04:57That spits out a number that kind of gives us an idea of how flexy a rig is.

05:01Now, a decent RTI score is around 400, but we've had stock rigs get all the way up to 700,

05:08namely Yamaha R-Max.

05:10Now, this video is about the Polaris Pro R, but we don't really have a Pro R with us right

05:16now, but we do have something similar.

05:18Now, we've tested tons of rigs on this ramp, but one that stood out was our 2020 Maverick X3.

05:24And the reason for that was because we tested it with the sway bar and without the sway bar.

05:29Now, with the sway bar, the rig actually measured a 455 RTI score.

05:35Now, that's not bad.

05:36That's actually pretty good for a Maverick X3 and what a Maverick X3 was made to do.

05:40But when we disconnected the sway bar, something incredible happened.

05:43It actually maxed out that ramp.

05:46It went all the way to the top, and it didn't actually lift another wheel off the ground.

05:50Now, since it didn't actually lift a wheel, we just measured it from the top of the ramp.

05:54And with the vehicle's wheelbase, that spit out a score of 843, which is one of the best things we've

06:01ever recorded on our RTI ramp.

06:03So, we're going to do a test.

06:04We're going to show you what's the difference between a vehicle with sway bars and without sway bars.

06:11All right.

06:12Wow.

06:12That is impressive.

06:15Look at that thing.

06:16Now, I don't actually know if we're going to be able to get a better score, but you see how

06:21the rig in the back, the sway bar back here.

06:24Sway bar is right there.

06:25It limits how much the body can actually move and how much the rear suspension can actually act independently.

06:31When we remove the sway bar, you should see the body kind of level out a little bit, and we're

06:36going to get a quick measurement right here, and then we're going to see how it holds up without the

06:40sway bars.

06:41Here's our little spreadsheet.

06:43The H2 measured 77 and a half inches up the ramp.

06:48So, that's going to give us a score of 615.08, which is already incredible.

06:55But, we're going to see how it holds up without the sway bars.

06:59It's important to note that this thing is going to max out the ramp, but it's more important for you

07:05guys to see just how much it increases the level of control in the rig as you're going up the

07:12gnarly stuff.

07:13Sway bars are off.

07:14If you wanted to know, the sway bars are down there.

07:17Anders is being nice enough to get in the driver's seat again.

07:21We're going to direct him up to the ramp.

07:32That's maxed out, dude.

07:34It maxed out the ramp.

07:35You can see the other tire down there.

07:37It's on the ground.

07:38Now, let's go look at the back.

07:39Look how much extra flex we got out of that.

07:42The back wheels are basically sideways.

07:46Anders, how are you feeling in there?

07:47Oh, just fine.

07:48Yeah.

07:49Minus the 30-degree weather, obviously.

07:51Yeah, but, you know, you'll get that on the Tennessee winter jobs.

07:54Let's go ahead and measure since we're up there.

07:57So we measure from the bottom.

07:59Let's clip it right here.

08:01Go up the side.

08:02You track down from the center.

08:04You're supposed to do this with a straight edge, but this is for our purposes, so we're not.

08:09You go straight down.

08:1186 inches.

08:12So, let's take that back over to our spreadsheet.

08:15The same wheelbase, which is 126 inches.

08:1886.

08:19And that gives us a score of 682.

08:22Now, that isn't that much better just because, well, first of all, we maxed out the ramp, and it was

08:27already really far up the ramp anyway.

08:29But that just goes to show you the difference between a sway bar and a no sway bar.

08:35You get so much more flex.

08:37It really helps on the rocks.

08:38And this new Polaris is going to be incredible, especially with this active suspension.

08:43So, does a side-by-side actually need a sway bar?

08:46The answer is yes and no.

08:49Some actual famous models, models that we adore, like the Yamaha Armax, don't really have a rear sway bar.

08:56They have a front sway bar because you have to keep the wheels that steer the vehicle straight and steady.

09:00But the rear, that's another question, especially when you don't have trailing arms.

09:04Now, trailing arms connect sort of in the middle of the rig instead of near the back where a normal

09:09A-arm suspension would be.

09:10And because of that, they like to sway a lot.

09:13There's a lot of leverage on a trailing arm, and you need something to keep that steady.

09:17Enter the sway bar.

09:18So, the TLDR, though, with sway bars is that in cars, you adjust them for all sorts of things that

09:24we don't need to worry about.

09:25We don't need to worry about understeer and oversteer so much.

09:27We just want to have them either working or not working.

09:30And in the case of Polaris' new suspension system, it actually can adjust it, which is actually kind of a

09:35game-changer sort of thing.

09:36You can sit in your rig and comfortably roll over whatever it is that you're rolling over.

09:40And because of the 200 times sort of oversampling, it's going to basically detect and adjust on the fly multiple

09:46times per second.

09:47So, you don't have to get out of the rig.

09:48You don't have to get out your tools.

09:50It saves a ton of time.

09:51It's kind of like the George Foreman grills of sway bars.

09:55Set it and forget it.

09:55There's very little in terms of, like, user input needed.

09:58And that seems to be kind of like where we're heading in terms of, like, active suspension and so forth.

10:02And it's already been proven in the 2025 race season, so we know it works.

10:07If it's good enough for Polaris' racers, it's good enough for us.

10:11So, that took us about, you know, 15 minutes to get the sway bars on and off.

10:15And the Polaris Pro-R Ultra can do that 200 times per second.

10:20It's truly groundbreaking.

10:21And if we see this technology on rigs like this, who knows what's in store.

10:27The future is bright for side-by-sides, and this just makes us more excited.

10:31We hope that we gave you a little bit more insight on how big this new Pro-R is going

10:35to be.

10:36We cannot wait to get our hands on one of them, go through all the testing, try to figure out

10:41what that rig is about,

10:42and how big the Dynamics DVS suspension will actually be.

10:46As always, thank you so much for watching.

10:48If you like this video, go down below, hit like, subscribe, comment if you feel like it.

10:52Tell us if you're excited about this new Pro-R, or if you're excited about the Kawasaki H2.

10:57And when you're done doing that, head over to utvdriver.com, where we have news reviews, buyer's guides,

11:02five days a week, and on all of our socials.

11:04We're on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, seven days a week.

11:07We will see you out on the trail.

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