Polaris begins shipping its groundbreaking 110 hp RANGER XP Kinetic electric UTVs
Polaris has just announced that shipments have begun for its revolutionary new Polaris RANGER XP Kinetic UTV (utility terrain vehicle). The first shipments of the high-power electric side-by-side are headed to dealers this week for customer pickup.
Ever since I first got behind the wheel of a production prototype version of the electric RANGER XP Kinetic, readers have been asking me when this new UTV would begin shipping.
Pre-orders originally opened at the end of 2021 with an expected summer 2022 shipping date. Despite the slower than expected rollout, those who were quick enough to put down a pre-order before the available units nearly instantly sold out will soon be cruising around in the most powerful RANGER ever.
The UTVs, which are produced at the company’s more than 900,000-square-foot manufacturing facility located in Huntsville, Alabama, are expected to re-open to new orders this summer.
The all-electric RANGER XP Kinetic was made possible through a partnership with Zero Motorcycles, a manufacturer of electric motorcycles. The two companies joined forces to see those high- performance electric motorcycle powertrains employed in Polaris’s off-road vehicles.
The RANGER XP Kinetic is the first Polaris vehicle to receive Zero’s EV drivetrain, but other models are expected to follow.
As Polaris president of off road Steve Menneto commented:
Since announcing our electrification efforts and partnership with Zero Motorcycles, it has been major milestone moments like today’s announcement that have motivated and driven our team to engineer and deliver category-redefining powersports vehicles. The RANGER XP Kinetic demonstrates the game-changing performance advantages that an electric powertrain can provide, and we look forward to getting these vehicles into the hands of our dealers and consumers across the country.
The Polaris RANGER XP Kinetic isn’t just the most powerful RANGER UTV, but it’s actually the most powerful UTV, period. It not only beats out the existing lineup of combustion engine Polaris RANGERs but also all other UTVs currently available.
That’s because the new all-electric RANGER has the most horsepower and torque ever found in a utility side-by-side. An impressive 110 horsepower and 140 lb.-ft. of instant torque deliver maximum power and capability, including the ability to tow up to 2,500 lb. (1,334 kg) and haul an industry-best 1,250 lb. (567 kg).
More than just raw power, the electric drivetrain is also surprisingly smooth, giving better precision control when operating at low speeds. Owners are likely to find that the electric drivetrain thus offers even more control while towing or backing up to a trailer, and that the fewer moving parts should mean a significantly lower maintenance bill each year.
For those that like to focus more on power though, the instantaneous torque of the electric motor also delivers quicker acceleration than the UTV’s combustion engine compatriots.
The drivetrain is whisper-quiet, allowing passengers to talk to each other or other drivers without shouting over an engine and exhaust.
Hunters and outdoorsmen will also be able to take advantage of the quiet operation to get closer to nature without scaring off the local wildlife.
Two battery options are available depending on the trim package: a 14.9 kWh pack offering up to 45 miles (72 km) of range and a 29.8 kWh option with up to 80 miles (130 km) of range.
The Polaris RANGER XP Kinetic Premium starts at $24,999, while the Polaris RANGER XP Kinetic Ultimate with the larger battery and a host of high-tech upgrades starts at $29,999.
I had the chance to spend an afternoon throwing dirt around with a few production prototype RANGER XP Kinetic electric UTVs late last year.
Despite the main use of these UTVs as work vehicles, I couldn’t shake just how much fun it was operating such a smooth, easy-to-use powerhouse of an off-road vehicle.
Take a look at my testing video below to see for yourself.
Polaris has long established itself as a leader in the UTV industry and a pioneer in off-road vehicles. The company consistently invests heavily in research and development that has led to an extensive range of UTVs.
Several other electric UTVs are also rushing to market though. With Polaris’s head start, it remains to be seen if newer competitors will be able to compete against such well-established companies.
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If you’ve ever wondered what happens when you combine a fruit cart, a cargo bike, and a Piaggio Ape all in one vehicle, now you’ve got your answer. I submit, for your approval, this week’s feature for the Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week column – and it’s a beautiful doozie.
Feast your eyes on this salad slinging, coleslaw cruising, tuber taxiing produce chariot!
I think this electric vegetable trike might finally scratch the itch long felt by many of my readers. It seems every time I cover an electric trike, even the really cool ones, I always get commenters poo-poo-ing it for having two wheels in the rear instead of two wheels in the front. Well, here you go, folks!
Designed with two front wheels for maximum stability, this trike keeps your cucumbers in check through every corner. Because trust me, you don’t want to hit a pothole and suddenly be juggling peaches like you’re in Cirque du Soleil: Farmers Market Edition.
To avoid the extra cost of designing a linked steering system for a pair of front wheels, the engineers who brought this salad shuttle to life simply side-stepped that complexity altogether by steering the entire fixed front end. I’ve got articulating electric tractors that steer like this, and so if it works for a several-ton work machine, it should work for a couple hundred pounds of cargo bike.
Featuring a giant cargo bed up front with four cascading fruit baskets set up for roadside sales, this cargo bike is something of a blank slate. Sure, you could monetize grandma’s vegetable garden, or you could fill it with your own ideas and concoctions. Our exceedingly talented graphics wizard sees it as the perfect coffee and pastry e-bike for my new startup, The Handlebarista, and I’m not one to argue. Basically, the sky is the limit with a blank slate bike like this!
Sure, the quality doesn’t quite match something like a fancy Tern cargo bike. The rim brakes aren’t exactly confidence-inspiring, but at least there are three of them. And if they should all give out, or just not quite slow you down enough to avoid that quickly approaching brick wall, then at least you’ve got a couple hundred pounds of tomatoes as a tasty crumple zone.
The electrical system does seem a bit underpowered. With a 36V battery and a 250W motor, I don’t know if one-third of a horsepower is enough to haul a full load to the local farmer’s market. But I guess if the weight is a bit much for the little motor, you could always do some snacking along the way. On the other hand, all the pictures seem to show a non-electric version. So if this cart is presumably mobile on pedal power alone, then that extra motor assist, however small, is going to feel like a very welcome guest.
The $950 price is presumably for the electric version, since that’s what’s in the title of the listing, though I wouldn’t get too excited just yet. I’ve bought a LOT of stuff on Alibaba, including many electric vehicles, and the too-good-to-be-true price is always exactly that. In my experience, you can multiply the Alibaba price by 3-4x to get the actual landed price for things like these. Even so, $3,000-$4,000 wouldn’t be a terrible price, considering a lot of electric trikes stateside already cost that much and don’t even come with a quad-set of vegetable baskets on board!
I should also put my normal caveat in here about not actually buying one of these. Please, please don’t try to buy one of these awesome cargo e-trikes. This is a silly, tongue-in-cheek weekend column where I scour the ever-entertaining underbelly of China’s massive e-commerce site Alibaba in search of fun, quirky, and just plain awesomely weird electric vehicles. While I’ve successfully bought several fun things on the platform, I’ve also gotten scammed more than once, so this is not for the timid or the tight-budgeted among us.
That isn’t to say that some of my more stubborn readers haven’t followed in my footsteps before, ignoring my advice and setting out on their own wild journey. But please don’t be the one who risks it all and gets nothing in return. Don’t say I didn’t warn you; this is the warning.
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Environment
Podcast: Trump/GOP go after EV/solar, Tesla, Ford, GM EV sales, Electrek Formula Sun, and more
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Trump’s Big Beautiful bill becoming law and going after EVs and solar, Tesla, Ford, and GM EV sales, Electrek Formula Sun, and more
Today’s episode is brought to you by Bosch Mobility Aftermarket—A global leader and trusted provider of automotive aftermarket parts. To celebrate Amazon Prime Day July 8th through 11th, Bosch Mobility is offering exclusive savings on must-have auto parts and tools. Learn more here.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.
Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
- Electrek FSGP 2025: New teams, new cars, same solar spirit
- Congress votes to send 2 million US jobs to China, increase deficit, energy costs
- Tesla (TSLA) confirms 384,000 deliveries in Q2 2025, right on expectations
- Tesla prototype sparks speculation: a Model Y, maybe slightly smaller
- Tesla launches Oasis Supercharger with solar farm and off-grid batteries
- Tesla unveils its LFP battery factory, claims it’s almost ready
- Here’s why Ford’s electric vehicle sales crashed by nearly a third in Q2
- The Chevy Equinox EV is GM’s breakout star, but that’s not the only surprise
- Xpeng launches G7, a new Tesla Model Y competitor for just $27,000
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET:
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