Is the HD11 the BEST Defender?

UTV Driver

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Transcript

00:00Can-Am gave the Defender a huge update for 2026. Not only did Can-Am refresh the look of the

00:05Defender, but it also brought in a brand new engine, the Rotax HD11. Now back in 2025, we

00:12reviewed this exact same model, except it was the four-seater, and we gave you five things we love

00:16and five things we hate about it. Some of those things include lacking power, some confusing HVAC

00:21controls, and a few other things. So in 2026, did Can-Am fix all of those issues and give us

00:26a better

00:26product? Help you find out. We're putting together another five things we love and five things we

00:30hate about the 2026 Can-Am Defender HD11 Limited. I'm content editor Jackson Cooper. This is UTV

00:37Driver. Now let's get straight into the things we love. So the first thing we love is this engine.

00:41Now we talked already how Can-Am threw in a new engine for the HD11, but we haven't talked about

00:45what it actually makes. So this 999cc Rotax triple puts out 95 horsepower and 70 pound-feet of torque.

00:52Now it's up from 82 horsepower and 69 pound-feet of torque out of the HD10, and you definitely can

00:58feel that power. Last year when we reviewed the HD10, we notably said that it feels lacking when

01:03you're on the throttle, especially when it's loaded down. We had up to three people in it and a fully

01:08loaded bed, and it was a slog. That is not the case with this engine. This engine loves to eat,

01:13loves a good trail ride, and it can probably even keep up with some wreck use. Another thing we love

01:18about it is the throttle response. Now we put this up against the Polaris Ranger XD1500, and notably

01:23the throttle response of the HD11 was leagues ahead of the XD1500. Very predictable. You get throttle as

01:29soon as you press on the gas pedal, and it's just really what you want out of any side-by

01:33-side.

01:34That's why the engine is the first thing we love about the 2026 Can-Am Defender HD11.

01:38Second thing we love about the 2026 Can-Am HD11 is this suspension. Now I'm going to preface this by

01:44saying it's nothing special. There's not Fox shocks under here, there's not Walker Evans or anything

01:48like that. All you get is basic Can-Am branded gas shocks with 12 inches of suspension travel,

01:53but this suspension setup punches way above its weight class. With the HD10, you could take it on

01:59trails, but it felt like a utility side-by-side. It felt just like a giant brick on the trails.

02:05You know,

02:05you try to take something off camber and you lift a wheel or two, but with the HD11, that's not

02:10the case.

02:10We can actually take it on solid trails. We can actually have fun with it. We can do some

02:14really gnarly mudding in its stock form, and it's perfectly fine. Speaking of mudding,

02:20we took it out to Winrock and tried some of Winrock's gnarliest mud holes, and this thing ate

02:24it up like no other business. I mean, to show how good the Can-Am Defender was, Can-Am actually

02:29hosted

02:29the Can-Am Derby, where it was just a full day of this exact rig running around a track and

02:36showing

02:36you how good it is. Can-Am has a video on it. Go check it out. And I can't talk

02:40about the suspension

02:41without talking about this rear locker. Now, we've had tons of trouble with Can-Am lockers in the

02:46past. If you didn't know, Can-Am doesn't use an actual locker. It uses something called a smart lock

02:51or a visco lock or whatever your rig is equipped with, right? This specific rig is equipped with a

02:56smart lock, and what that does is when you activate it, it keeps it unlocked until it senses slippage in

03:02the rear. Then it locks those wheels up so you get extra traction. And again, if you need proof of

03:06it

03:06working, just go check out our mudding video. This thing ate and ate and ate through those mud holes

03:11without an issue because it had that locker on it. And all of that is why we think the suspension

03:16is

03:16fantastic and why it's the second thing we love about the 2026 Can-Am Defender HD11. So the third

03:22thing we love about the 2026 Can-Am HD11 is this interior. Now, the main thing I like about it

03:28is just

03:28how well laid out it is. You have your main controls down here. You have your diff lock,

03:32front diff lock, drive mode, four-wheel drive controls, and your engine modes. But you also

03:37have your HVAC down here. Now, last year we complained endlessly about how bad the controls

03:42were for the HVAC. All you had was a single button that controlled everything. So you had to click

03:47through it to get your mode, whether it was heat or air or whatever it was, and then use the

03:52dial to

03:52control it. This has a very nicely laid out three dial system like anything you've ever used.

03:58And it just makes sense. On top of that, your windshield wiper controls is up here. And that

04:03makes it a lot easier when you're on the trail and trying to get mud off of your windscreen

04:07because you don't have to look for the button. It's just up here beside your windshield wiper

04:11unit. It's really nicely done. The other thing you'll notice is how dark it is in here. And that's

04:15because all of these windows come from the factory with a tent. And I shouldn't have to tell you

04:20why that's a good thing. When you buy a new car, the first thing you do, go and put a

04:24tent on it.

04:24And it just makes the cab cooler. It keeps you from being a fishbowl on the trail. And it's just

04:29a really nice touch that Can-Am added. And the last thing we should talk about for this interior

04:33is this giant center screen. Now it's loading up right now, but it kind of works like Polaris

04:39Ride Command. It's a really great system. And there hasn't been a lot of stuff to replace it.

04:43That is until Can-Am came out with this. So you have your phone controls here, right here,

04:49your backup camera. So if you're on the trail and don't know what's behind you,

04:51you can just hit that and see it. Your stats right here, see your average speed, your duration,

04:57vehicle settings, all of that. And it's just a really nice touch that Can-Am added. Obviously

05:03before there was absolutely no center screen or anything. You just had to go off of your whim

05:07or just use your phone. And truthfully, it's about time. Everything else has a center screen. So why not

05:12the Defender? So for the fourth thing we love, we're going to stay in the interior and we're going to

05:16talk about these seats. Now I absolutely adore these. They're kind of bucket style, but they are

05:21these sort of like textured waterproof material. And like you can see right here, I just got done

05:26cleaning this thing. Water is not going to soak into the seats. You're going to be fine. You're

05:29not going to get a ton of mud on it. And you can hit these with a pressure washer. That

05:33is the most

05:33important thing. They're as comfortable as the day is long. We spent all day at Windrock rocking back

05:38and forth on the gnarly trails and these things. And we didn't really have an issue. And we definitely

05:43didn't notice them as we were driving. And that's sort of what you want in a seat. You don't want

05:46to

05:47know that you're sitting on something, right? That's exactly what these seats do. The seatbelts

05:51are nice and comfortable. They're not chopping your head off. The inertia reel does just fine

05:55and is a lot better than some of its competition. It's really just a nice throne to keep you steady

06:00on the trail or on the farm or whatever else you're using your Defender for. It's just a nice little

06:04cherry on top for this incredible interior. That's why these seats are the fourth thing we love about

06:10the 2026 Can-Am Defender HD11. And the fifth and final thing we love about the 2026 Can-Am Defender

06:17HD11

06:17is the styling. There's not much else to say about it. It's just a handsome rig. It's got this nice

06:24leading line up in front. The headlights look nice. The bumper looks sick. This nice paint job looks amazing.

06:30It's really just a huge upgrade from last year. These doors are nice because you have a straight line

06:36all the way to the back. There's no weird cutouts for mud to live in. It literally just drips down

06:40when you're cleaning it. And it's just really nice to look at. That's the main thing buyers are looking

06:45for when they're buying a new side-by-side is does it look nice? Is it going to look nice

06:49on the farm?

06:50Is it going to look nice on the trail? Is it going to look nice next to my buddy's side

06:53-by-sides who

06:54should look worse? After all that, that's the main thing you're looking for. And this is a nice

07:00looking rig. Can-Am did a wonderful job redesigning it and we can't wait to see the new designs

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07:53over to DirtHammer.com to get bidding. It could win you a sparkly new side-by-side. Now, on to

07:58the things that we hate about the 2026 Can-Am Defender HD11.

08:01Now, the first thing we hate about the 2026 Can-Am Defender HD11 is this cab. Now, we said

08:07earlier that we love this cab, and that's not a lie. I love the layout of the buttons. I love

08:12these

08:12seats. I love how comfortable it is. What we hate is that it's not really fully sealed. Now, if the

08:17cameraman will pan down for me, you'll see that there's a ton of mud in the floor here. Now, we

08:22did

08:22take it mudding. Of course, there's going to be mud. But the problem is that even when we were on

08:27the

08:27basic trail, all of this mud was still coming into the cab. We would hit a small mud puddle like

08:33you

08:33would on a farm or a trail or anywhere you would take a side-by-side, and the cab just

08:37was flooded

08:38with mud. Now, the same with this windshield. You can see mud splatters around the edges where it

08:43actually seals right there. There's some on that side too up here. And that's just kind of the case

08:47with all of the entry points of the rig. And that's not super great. You want a cab to keep

08:53you dry,

08:54and if the cab's not doing that, it's not doing its job. Of course, it's other jobs is to keep,

08:58you know, heat and air inside the cab and keep you comfortable. But still, if you're getting wet

09:03inside a cab, it's not a good thing. And that's why the cab, even though we still love it, is

09:07the

09:07first thing we hate about the 2026 Canon Defender HD11. Now, the second thing we hate about the HD11,

09:12and we're staying in the cab for this one, is the seating position. Now, for most people,

09:17you won't really notice it. If this is all you drive, it'll be fine. But when we compared it to

09:21the

09:22XD1500, a problem came up. And that is that this windshield is actually kind of too far away from

09:29you. And what I mean by that is when you're driving, and you get muddy, you want to use your

09:33windshield wiper, right? Your windshield wiper comes down, it does its job. The problem is the

09:36windshield wiper isn't big enough. And you get a kind of like block in your eyesight in the corner

09:42of the windshield. And obviously, that's not good. It's just a few too many blind spots. The mud hinders

09:48your eyesight. Now, when you jump into the XD1500, you're a little closer up and the windshield is

09:53a little wider. So you can actually see out of it, even when you're using your windshield wiper,

09:57and there might be some blind spots, some mud blind spots, you feel a little bit more like you're in

10:01the middle of the rig instead of front and center in the in the cockpit in the command seat. And

10:06it's

10:06an easy fix. K&M just moves the entire cab up a little bit, and you're good. Now you do

10:11have an

10:12adjustable seat down here. But obviously, I don't want to be sitting right next to the steering wheel like a

10:18grandma. I want to be back. I want to be comfortable. I want to be able to see while having

10:23a comfortable

10:24seating position. At the same time, if you look down here, my left foot is going straight into the

10:30wheel wheel. Now, obviously, there's a there's a footrest right here. But still, it's a little bit

10:33uncomfortable. The seating position could really just use a little bit of work. That's why the seating

10:38position is the second thing we hate about the 2026 K&M Defender HD11. Now for the third thing we

10:43hate,

10:43it's going to be no power dump bed. Now we get it almost no utility side by side comes with

10:52power

10:52dump bed now. But a few rigs that we've tested have come with one. Some of those include the Ranger

10:58XD1500 and the Kubota Sidekick. And I'm going to be honest, I got a little spoiled on it, especially

11:03with a Kubota Sidekick, which comes with a starting price of around 14 grand. If that can come with a

11:08power dump bed, anything can come with a power dump bed. We use the XD1500 for a few months. And

11:13when you're using it on the farm or on the property, you're just reminded at what a power

11:18dump bed can do. Now this has an 1000 pound bed capacity in the case of the XD1500 has a

11:221500 pound

11:23bed capacity. And anyone who owns a utility side by side knows that most of the time, you're going to

11:28be shoulder pressing this to get it up and dump whatever you have in the bed. Of course, if it's

11:33over

11:33like 300 ish pounds, this was pretty difficult to get up this latch isn't super great. And that

11:39would be even harder if this bed was loaded down, you're going to end up shoulder pressing it just

11:43to get it to dump the power dump bed just completely gets rid of that problem. All you got to

11:48do is

11:48press a button, the bed goes up, dumps whatever you have in the bed, press the button again, and it

11:53goes down. It's incredible. And for a 2026 update, something that's wanting to compete with the highest

11:59level of utility rigs, the HD11 really should just have a power dump bed. It's a pain to get up

12:04and

12:08can be a pain to put back down. Now we're back in the cab for the fourth thing we hate.

12:13And that is

12:13going to be this little control panel right here. And yes, that includes the push start. Now this is

12:19mainly my opinion, but I do not like a push start in a side by side. In cars, it's fine.

12:24In a side by

12:25side, something you want to get in, turn a key and make sure it goes. It's just a little annoying.

12:30I don't like that. I don't like when you turn it off, you have to press it again to make

12:34sure the

12:35entire thing cuts off. If you want to turn on just the lights or just the instruments, you have to

12:40fiddle with it. See, it's not, it just doesn't want to turn off. I would much rather have a key

12:46that

12:46I can put all the way in the off position to make sure it's off. It's just a little easier

12:50onto this

12:51little control panel. You have your drive mode, diff mode, front diff lock, engine mode, four wheel

12:55drive control, and rear diff lock. Now I said earlier about how I like it. I more so like how

13:01the instruments are laid out instead of how the actual controls are. Can-Am has been using this

13:06control board since forever. It's in the X3s. It's in the Maverick R's. It's in just about everything.

13:12And I just don't like it, especially with your four wheel drive control. I love a button that you can

13:17press and make sure that it's in that four wheel drive control instead of having to cycle through

13:22menus. Now we said earlier about how the HVAC controls are better. And that is true. I absolutely

13:28adore these HVAC controls, but there is a huge contrast to these, which are large physical knobs

13:34to the other control panel that we're talking about, where it's just a button. It looks like Can-Am

13:39just didn't really know what to do with all of these different parts. So they just reached into the

13:44parts bin of all of their different vehicles and threw it at the HD11. And I don't really like that.

13:49I like seeing my controls uniform. I like seeing them where they make sense. Like this volume button.

13:53Why do we have these knobs, this control panel, and this volume button that's just a rocker switch?

13:59And yeah, I like it. I like having a physical switch, but why is it there when it could have

14:04been

14:04a control on the steering wheel or something else, or even a control on this panel? It really just

14:09doesn't make sense. And I would like it to make sense. I know that's nitpicky, but it's just

14:14something we noticed. And the fifth and final thing we hate about the HD11 is that this update

14:19should have come a lot sooner. And what I mean by that is that this is an awesome rig. I

14:24absolutely

14:25adore this utility side-by-side, but at the rate that Polaris and other manufacturers are moving,

14:31especially with the Ranger XD1500, this just doesn't really hold up, or at least is just on par with

14:37the Ranger XP1000. It's pretty ridiculous that it's just now getting a center screen in 2026.

14:43Same thing with all the sport rigs in Polaris' lineup. Rangers have felt futuristic for a decade

14:48now, and defenders just haven't caught up. I love a defender. I've always loved a defender. But when you

14:54step into one, it looked 10 years old-ish. This update has been coming for at least five years now.

15:00The HD10 was an amazing rig, but it was outdated. The interior looked like something from 10 years ago.

15:06And again, this is awesome, but I wish I had it, say, three, four years ago. It would have kept

15:12Can-Am on par with Polaris, and maybe by now they would have already been working on an XD1500

15:16competitor. Now, we love this rig. The update is amazing, but it's hard to look past that Can-Am

15:22is just now catching up where Polaris is still in the future. Now, that was five things we love and

15:27five things we hate about the 2026 Can-Am Defender HD11 Limited. If you like this video, go down below,

15:34drop us a like, give us a comment if you feel like it, tell us what we did wrong, tell

15:37us what we did

15:38right. Then subscribe to our channel. It really helps us out and lets our bosses know that we're

15:42doing a good job. When you're done doing that, head over to utvdriver.com, where we have news,

15:47reviews, and buyer's guides five days a week. And on all of our socials, we're on Instagram,

15:51Facebook, TikTok, and of course, here on YouTube, seven days a week. We will see you out on the trail.

15:56We'll see you out on the trail.

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