By Jon Crowley
Polaris unveiled the all-new RZR XP S in October 2025 and my interest in this vehicle was immediately piqued. We’ve owned a 2024 Polaris RZR XP for a few years now, and it is a great trail machine. But with a taller-geared low range and 64-inch width ,it isn’t as good of a rock crawler as we would have liked. And in higher-speed, rough desert terrain, a wider stance with more wheel travel would be better. The new RZR XP S seemed to address these issues, plus more with a “PRO Level” beefed up drivetrain, suspension and chassis. Here are a few details on the RZR XP S 4 Ultimate:
- 72-inch wide and 117-inch wheelbase (just like the Turbo S).
- 25-inches of useable travel with 16-inches of ground clearance.
- Great low range gearing for rock crawling (like the Pro S)
- 5-lug wheels.
- Strong axles with 8-ball CVs.
- Reinforced One Piece Chassis.
- Ride-Command with rear camera on Ultimate trim level.
- 32-inch Pro Armor Trekker tires.
- 2.5-inch Walker Evans Velocity shocks font/rear with 16-position adjustable clickers and true dual-rate springs.
- Selectable Throttle Modes (Standard / Sport / Rock)
- Fang Lights are back!
- 900W charging system
- Factory-installed 4,500-lb. winch
- Over 60 Polaris accessories carry over from RZR XP
- MSRP $29,499
We received a 2026 Polaris RZR XP S 4 Ultimate demo unit in mid-January and went ride to work testing it in stock trim.
There are a few big issues I pay close attention to for rock crawling tests:
- Is low range sufficiently low for technical rock crawling
- How big of a tire can I fit
- Can the drivetrain and suspension handle the abuse
- Are the overall dimensions conducive to technical rock crawling
I wanted to test out a larger tire, so I mounted up 35-inch System 3 Offroad RC500 S tires on beadlock wheels to see if we had any clearance issues.
Polaris RZR XP S 4 Ultimate With 35-inch System 3 RC500 S tires
I then ran through Double Sammy to test for tire clearance and found no issues. From there, I enlisted the help of Chad Hughes and Justin Kee to drive on West Rim and The Maze at Sand Hollow while I filmed.
Here are a few takeaways for those of you that don’t want to watch the video above:
- The 72-inch wide + 117-inch wheelbase is excellent for steep climbs/decents at Sand Hollow. Confidence inspiring is a good term for how it feels. The extra wheelbase without being too long is appreciated – I do not like the land yacht size that is common for many sport 4-seaters (for example, the RZR XP S 4 is 8-inches shorter than Pro S 4 and 8.8 inches shorter than KRX 4).
- Low range pulls 35-inch tires in technical situations without belt-slip. High speed performance in desert terrain is also good.
- Vehicle feels very solid/beefy. Drivetrain, chassis and suspension improvements are noticeable and appreciated.
- ”Rock” throttle mode is spot-on for rock crawling. Pedal throw feels normal and it just takes away any twitchy feel inherent in Sport mode
- Shifting transmission in/out of park and through gears is much smoother than previous RZRs. Even when parked on a hill!
- Shocks are a bit on the stiff side when you have just two people in the car, but I adjusted clickers much softer and it felt pretty good. Much better at handling g-out situations than 2-inch Walker Evans needle shocks found on the front of RZR XP.
Polaris Pro XP S Website: https://www.polaris.com/en-us/off-road/rzr/models/rzr-xp-s/
