2014 Kawasaki Teryx 4
On-Sale Date: Now
Price: $16,999
Competitors: Polaris RZR 4 800, Yamaha Viking FI 4x4 EPS
Powertrains: 783-cc single-overhead cam, four-valve, fuel-injected 90-degree V-twin
Fuel Economy: 15.7 mpg (claimed)
What's New: The Teryx4's V-twin engine and the suspension have both been upgraded. The engine grew from 749 cc to 783 cc, and clever new fuel-injection programming helps deliver 7 percent more power and 10 percent more torque while returning better fuel economy than the outgoing model. Kawasaki also spent hundreds of hours retuning the suspension. New Fox Podium shocks with preload and compressing damping adjusters replace Kayabas. To help drivers cope with the extra speed, the new headlights have been upgraded from halogens to clusters of LEDs.
The rest of the updates are cosmetic. White paint has given way to lime green, burnt Orange, or camouflage, and the seats now have three colors instead of two. Electric power steering is now standard.
Tech Tidbit: The V-twin engine is connected via a wet centrifugal clutch to the CVT, which is then paired to a high/low/reverse transmission. This second transmission is attached to the driveshafts, which connect to a locking differential and the rear end. A side effect of the centrifugal clutch is a complete lack of freewheeling and slack in the drivetrain. This is critical for rock crawling, and there's a smooth transition from power to engine braking at any speed.
Driving Character: We drove the Teryx4 on 150 miles of Utah's infamous Paiute Trail, blasting down narrow trails through loamy forests and scrabbling up rocky paths to 11,000-foot peaks. Through it all, the Teryx4 impressed. Although it isn't a race-ready ROV, it is still an off-road hoot. The suspension caught our attention first—we'd wince as we approached sharp crests that tossed the Teryx4 several feet the air, but the well-damped shocks made the jumps and landings a nonissue. During the two-day ride, we bottomed out on only one particularly sharp drainage ditch that was cut perpendicularly into the trail.
The Teryx4 loves going fast. The engine seems smoother at high rpm, and the suspension is able to cope with big hits. Its seatbelts have little dampers on the shoulder straps to give some compliance on rough trails—which we drove down as fast as possible. In 4WD, the Teryx4 devoured loose, rocky trails. At one boulder garden, we put it in low range and climbed through with ease. On big downhill sections, the steel-braided brake lines and 8-inch front discs did a decent job stopping the Teryx4 from its 50-mph top speed, and only once during our ride did we notice any fade—after a miles-long twisty downhill taken at full speed.
After an 80-mile day, the 7.9-gallon fuel tank remained just over half-full. Twenty-plus mpg is very good, especially considering how hard we drove it.
Favorite Detail: Electric power steering is now standard on the Teryx4. We coasted our test vehicle down twisty switchbacks with the ignition off to see just how big a difference power steering makes. It was clear from the first corner that without the electric assist, our arms would have been jelly after the hundreds of rough miles we'd cover on the trip.
Driver's Grievance: The suspension and drivetrain may be very capable, but the Teryx4 is deliberately engineered to respond slowly to control inputs. To reduce the risk of roll-over accidents from rapid steering inputs, there's a big front antiroll bar and a relatively slow steering rack. A spring between the accelerator pedal and throttle cable smooths out abrupt throttle inputs that could coax the Teryx4 into a sideways drift. This conservative tuning makes the Teryx4 easy to drive smoothly, but during high speed runs we were left longing for sharper steering, more front-end grip, and more precise throttle control. A smaller front antiroll bar and a fixed attachment between throttle pedal and throttle cable would be easy to retrofit and would go a long way toward livening up the handling.
Bottom Line: Why buy a Teryx4 over a used Jeep? First of all, it's just 60 inches wide, which means it can fit through the narrow gates that guard some of the best trails and hunting areas in the United States. It can go over jumps and rocks at speeds that would destroy a Wrangler. On our trip we had 10 guys driving 10 Teryx4s flat out for two days over rocks and jumps. The only mechanical issue we had was a few easily fixable flats.
With an available camouflage paint scheme, the Teryx4 would be at home hauling hunters into the woods and hauling deer back out in the bed, which is rated to 250 pounds. It's no wonder, then, that side-by-sides are the fastest growing segment of the power-sports industry, when even this relatively sedate ROV—meant as much for taking hunters deep into the forest as much as it is for being jumped and driven sideways—can be so enjoyable.
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Source: https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/reviews/a9450/trail-tested-2014-kawasaki-teryx4-le-rov-15916439/
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