R
i bought the R because I wanted the suspension. We have a Pioneer and love the engine and transmission but hate the ride on rough trails. We had trouble keeping up sometimes because it would beat us to death. But it works well around the house and was reliable. So what did I expect to improve with the talon, the ride, better seating position, no more steaming butt every time it hit water, and maybe more power and easy to clean. What did I worry about, the locked rear, I4wd, width, and turning radius. So with that said how did it go. Two different outings, one on sand and clay and one three day weekend with a lot of rain and mud. Let’s start with my worries, turns out it does well on the trail, only had to three point a few turns as did most of our group. The extra width made for tight spots in the woods bur was fine. The locked rear is hell on my wet yard and rap driveway but on the trail was fine as was the i4wd. Most of the time I just left it on and never noticed any issues it just worked. I was constantly fiddling with the 4wd lever on the pioneer, the talon not so much. If you lock the front on the pioneer it was hard to turn. I think the i4wd is a good compromise, handled well and no fiddling. So none of my worries were real issues. The ride is top notch. I could keep up with no issues. Power was ample and the seats are awesome. Never once did it steam my butt like the pioneer. It would just glide over woops. Never once did we hit some rut and say things you shouldn’t. Even handles well in our tight south east trails. Fun would be an understatement. So what showed up that I didn’t expect? Mud, this thing is a mud magnet. It slings it everywhere, the roof had 10 pounds alone. No way you could tell it was a talon... mud coats everything. It pelts mud on your legs, arms and on the back of you head. I bet there was 100 pounds of mud on the thing. I used a kids beach shovel to keep most at bay. The windshield was the limiting component on rides. You had to stop often to dig it off and see. I did find if I went slower after a mud hole it would not toss it so high and helped. Then blast back up to the group which is fun and easy. My friend has an x and his was not quite as bad at collecting. Those vents on the side behind the doors pack with mud quickly and completely. The whole thing does clean easier than the pioneer. Overall a pleasure and meet my expectations. I will have to find a solution to the mud issue.
