By Jon Crowley
Four-seat sport UTVs make it possible to bring more people along, but filling every seat can dramatically change how a vehicle accelerates, climbs hills and uses its suspension travel. To find out how much difference that additional weight would make, I loaded four adults into our 2019 Polaris RZR XP 4 Turbo S and spent a long weekend testing it in the dunes at Sand Mountain, Nevada.
This was a follow-up to our initial Polaris RZR XP 4 Turbo S dune review at Glamis. That first test was conducted primarily with one or two occupants and showed how stable, fast and composed the 72-inch-wide RZR could be. Sand Mountain gave me an opportunity to answer a different question: How well does the RZR XP 4 Turbo S perform in the dunes with all four seats occupied?
The short answer is that the added passenger weight was noticeable, but it never overwhelmed the engine, suspension or chassis. Even with four adults aboard, the XP 4 Turbo S remained fast, predictable and genuinely fun to drive.
Testing the RZR XP 4 Turbo S With Four Adults
I am not normally a big fan of driving a four-seat UTV loaded with passengers in the dunes. Adding approximately 400 to 600 pounds can reduce acceleration, make the suspension ride lower in its travel and cause a machine that feels balanced with one or two people to become soft and cumbersome.
With plenty of willing passengers in camp, this trip was the perfect opportunity to evaluate the RZR under a full load. Sand Mountain was also an ideal proving ground because its steep climbs, abrupt transitions, chatter bumps and heavily traveled dune faces place serious demands on a UTV.
Our XP 4 Turbo S was equipped with 32-inch Sand Sports SxS tires from Fullerton Sand Sports. These replaced the stock 32-inch ITP Coyote tires and provided the flotation and traction needed for the dunes.
Four-Passenger Power and Hill-Climbing Performance
The RZR XP 4 Turbo S was powered by Polaris’ 168-horsepower ProStar Turbo engine. With four adults aboard, I could feel the additional weight during acceleration, but the RZR still had enough power to point up nearly any line on the mountain and keep climbing.
Sand Mountain’s approximately 700-foot-tall Competition Hill is a serious test for any UTV. It was not that long ago that reaching the top in a side-by-side required favorable sand conditions and a carefully chosen line. Driving a fully occupied four-seater up the hill without drama demonstrated how far sport UTV performance had advanced by 2019.
The long climb also placed sustained loads on the engine cooling system and CVT belt. We experienced no cooling problems or belt issues during the test.
The added weight made the RZR slower than it had been with one or two occupants at Glamis, but it never reached the point where I questioned whether it would complete a climb. That distinction is important: the passengers affected outright performance, but they did not take away the machine’s capability or the driver’s confidence.
How Passenger Weight Affected the Suspension
Suspension setup is one of the biggest challenges facing any four-seat UTV. A suspension package must support a vehicle carrying only a driver while also accommodating hundreds of additional pounds when every seat is occupied.
Many four-seaters I had previously driven felt too stiff with one person, about right with two and much too soft with four. The RZR XP 4 Turbo S handled that range of passenger loads better because of its DYNAMIX Active Suspension system.
DYNAMIX continuously adjusted the FOX Live Valve shocks as the vehicle moved through the terrain. The driver could also select three suspension modes using a dashboard-mounted switch:
- COMFORT: The softest setting, intended to provide the plushest ride.
- SPORT: A firmer setting for more aggressive driving and improved high-speed control.
- FIRM: Maximum compression damping for the most demanding terrain and impacts.
During this test, I found the following settings worked best:
- One or two occupants at a cruising pace: COMFORT
- One or two occupants at a faster pace: SPORT
- Four occupants at a cruising pace: SPORT
- Four occupants during aggressive driving: FIRM
This adjustability was especially valuable in a four-seat machine. Instead of accepting one suspension setting that worked reasonably well under only one load condition, I could change modes as passengers and driving speeds changed.
G-Outs, Chatter Bumps and Bottoming Resistance
Bottoming the suspension in the dunes is something I despise. A sharp g-out can quickly use all the available travel in many UTVs, and a loaded four-seater is even more vulnerable because the added weight reduces its margin for absorbing a hard impact.
The XP 4 Turbo S handled these situations impressively. Both the front and rear suspension remained controlled when the RZR encountered abrupt transitions, even with four people aboard. Selecting FIRM mode helped the vehicle remain higher in its suspension travel and preserve ground clearance during faster runs.
Sand Mountain had also been heavily traveled during the preceding Halloween weekend, leaving many sections covered in chatter bumps. The long wheelbase, 25 inches of suspension travel and active damping allowed the RZR to remain composed across the chopped-up terrain without beating up its passengers.
Stability With Four Passengers
The XP 4 Turbo S combined a long wheelbase with a 72-inch-wide stance. That width provided more than additional suspension travel—it also gave the RZR excellent lateral stability when the passenger compartment was fully occupied.
The benefit was especially noticeable when cornering across the dunes or turning around near the top of Sand Mountain. The added passenger weight increased the total mass of the vehicle, but the wide stance and predictable suspension response allowed me to make those maneuvers with confidence.
This stability was one of the defining qualities of the Turbo S platform and helped make the model an important part of the broader history of the Polaris RZR. It brought the wide, long-travel stance previously associated with modified dune and desert RZRs into a complete factory package.
Testing the Polaris RZR XP 4 Turbo S with four passengers at Sand Mountain, Nevada.
A Modern Alternative to a Four-Seat Sand Car
My first sand car was a four-seat Tatum that I purchased in 1998. Driving friends around Sand Mountain in the RZR brought back memories of giving rides in that car.
The Tatum still had considerably more power, producing more than 350 horsepower at the wheels, but the XP 4 Turbo S was arguably better suited to what I was doing during this trip. It cost less, could be used in a wider range of terrain and offered better reliability and suspension performance.
That comparison illustrates how capable modern sport UTVs had become. The RZR could carry four people over terrain that once demanded a purpose-built sand car while retaining four-wheel drive, a compact footprint and the versatility to be used beyond the dunes.
Final Verdict: Does the XP 4 Turbo S Work With Four Adults?
Yes. The Polaris RZR XP 4 Turbo S remained capable, controlled and enjoyable with all four seats occupied. The added weight reduced acceleration, but it did not prevent the RZR from climbing Sand Mountain or make the machine feel overworked. The engine stayed cool, the CVT belt gave us no trouble and the DYNAMIX suspension adapted exceptionally well to the heavier passenger load.
I had gone into the weekend somewhat dreading being the person in camp with four seats who would be expected to give everyone a ride. While I still preferred taking my fastest dune runs alone, carrying four people in the XP 4 Turbo S never turned the drive into a chore.
When someone in camp asked me to summarize the RZR after the weekend, my answer was “confidence-inspiring.” That still describes it best. The XP 4 Turbo S worked during fast solo runs, relaxed four-person cruises and nearly everything in between.
The experience even changed my plans for our RZR XP 4 Turbo S build. I still preferred using the rear-seat area for storage and extra fuel during long rides, but I no longer wanted to permanently convert it into a two-seater. Retaining the ability to reinstall the rear seats made the vehicle far more versatile.
We later compared the RZR directly with the Can-Am Maverick X3 X RS Max in our Battle of the Four-Seaters, which provides more perspective on passenger room, suspension, power and overall four-seat performance.
RZR XP 4 Turbo S Four-Passenger Test Takeaways
- The added weight of four adults was noticeable during acceleration.
- The 168-horsepower engine still provided enough power for Sand Mountain’s major climbs.
- We experienced no cooling-system or CVT-belt problems.
- SPORT worked well for casual four-passenger driving.
- FIRM provided better support for aggressive driving with a full load.
- The 72-inch stance delivered excellent stability on steep dunes and during hard cornering.
- The suspension resisted bottoming and remained composed through g-outs and chatter bumps.
- Removable rear seats offered the best combination of passenger capacity and cargo versatility.
