Polaris has come up with their first Polaris Experience Zone (PEZ) in North India, which is situated near Delhi NCR at Dharuhera, Haryana. We were there to witness the inauguration and experience two quick laps of the dirt track. The Polaris Experience Zone has a choice of 10 different off-road vehicles and a well laid out track with interesting obstacles. The track doesn’t have extreme obstacles for people to find it difficult and it’s not that simple either that you get bored easily. A ride on a single seater Polaris ATV will cost Rs. 350/- while a double seater ride is priced at Rs. 500/-.
We recently reviewed the Polaris Sportsman Touring 500 ATV and RZR S 800 Side X Side off-road vehicle and were out and out impressed by the extreme off-road capabilities of these compact yet strong vehicles. Our weapon of choice for this particular track was the Polaris RZR S 800 because it drives like a car, feels safe with the roll cage and is fun around corners being easy to get its tail out. First and foremost one has to wear the safety gear before riding ATVs because there is a high risk of toppling while off-roading.
The overall theme of the Polaris Experience Zone is attractive. There are some obstacles between the abandoned rusty trucks, high bridges and underpasses. The dirt terrain has lots of twisties, humps, pit, sand and slight slush. So we cranked the engine and put the RZR S 800 in 2-wheel drive mode, sending power to the rear wheels only. Mash the throttle and the RZR picks up immediately after kicking some mud in the air. It is very light and accelerates quickly with a 0-60 km/hr coming up in 4 seconds.
The 12-inch of front and rear suspension travel makes it a breeze to hop on to the ramps and jump out of them without breaking your back. Then there is the go-kart like handling where you just point and shoot the RZR and if you play hard with the throttle you can enjoy the tail getting out and kicking some mud in the air. The steering feedback is crisp but you need some muscle to turn it at slow speeds because it lacks electronic power assist. However, when cornering hard it helps counter-steer quickly and is quite fun.
So after the quick laps we realised that the track is quite fascinating for people to come and experience the off-road capabilities of the Polaris machines. Considering the fact that ATVs are not road legal yet in our country and these machines come with a hefty price tag, the Polaris Experience Zone is a good initiative to experience the thrill of off-roading in a safe environment. Polaris India has 19 other such PEZs across India and the American manufacturer is considering setting up more in the near future.
Other than the Polaris RZR S 800, you can opt for the Pheonix 200, which has a 200cc, 4-stroke single cylinder engine. Then there is the Sportsman Touring 500 that we reviewed a few months ago, which has a high output engine with tremendous off-road ability. The Sportsman 90 is an ATV for kids that has parent-adjustable speed limiter. The Trail Boss 330 is an entry level ATV featuring 329cc air-cooled engine. So there is a Polaris for everyone at the experience zone.