I thought some people may like to see a little comparison between these two machines. I just picked up the AC about a month ago. I was going to get another Polaris, but I saw the AC for sale at a different place for about the same amount (in my location) that it would cost for a 570 with EPS – and I thought it would be fun to have 2 different machines to ride. So I came home with the Arctic Cat XR 550 XT with EPS. The AC only has about 35 miles on it so far and my wife has rode most of those, but I have some impressions to share.

Overall, I would say the AC has more features on it as compared to the Polaris 570 EPS. Right away I noticed that the AC has front A arms and electronic 4wd lock on it, which the 570 doesn’t. However, the AC has less power, the 570 is 44hp, the AC 550 is 40hp. You can tell the difference, but it’s not a huge difference. I’d say the AC has a better finish to it, especially the gear lever, it goes into park/neutral ect very smoothly compared to the Polaris. The 570 feels like a bigger machine than the AC when I ride it, but I suppose part of that could be due to the accessories on it. The AC has better headlights, and has cool LED accents on them as well. I’d say the AC also has the better seat, too. As far as ride comfort goes, it’s kind of hard to tell. The AC is comfortable, but the store I bought it from set the shocks to the softest setting, and there is way too much lean to it right now. I need to tighten it up a bit.

A couple of other negative things about the AC, is the lack of storage. There is only one small compartment in the back. And the stock tires it comes with really suck bad. Although, it does come with nice rims, not those bland stock ones like on the Polaris.

I don’t have a lot of time on the Arctic Cat yet, and so far I can’t really say I like one much better than the other right now. But if I had to pick one to ride right now, it would be my Polaris. :goldcup:

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