Pioneer Future info

[Russ77]

Hello, I'm new to the forum and have been out of the atv market for 15 years, and really still am. I got my Honda 300 fourtrax 4wd when I was 15, and to me it's all I need and is still the best ever made. I'm on here doing some research for my dad. He's looking at getting a UTV, and he's retired, so I want to be like me and buy one and be done. He's also a big Honda fan like myself.

We really like the new pioneer especially since it's solid driven, meaning not belt driven, but he is wanting a full 4-6 seater with the a full cargo bed still there. All the other manufacturers, that we're not really fans of, have this style, but their not solid driven like the pioneer. I guess my question is, why does Honda only have the "converta bed?" and has anyone heard anything about future plans for honda to have a full crew model?

 

[Admin]

 

[Tflynn]

Hey @Russ77 welcome to the forum. I have not heard of any plans for a traditional crew style pioneer from Honda. 2017 utv updates will be announced this month but I seriously doubt we see a crew style from Honda, sorry!

As for why, I believe it all comes down to the wheelbase and versatility the convertabed offers. A pioneer 1000-5 or 700-4 is every bit as agile as their 2 seat brothers. That means they can go anywhere the 2 seaters can go with a full load of passengers. Not true for the other crew style utv's that are nearly a mile long with a wheelbase to match! How often will your dad carry a load of guys and need the bed? If he used a small trailer would that solve the problem?

If a trailer is a deal breaker and your dad will need the bed with a full load of passengers often then the pioneer may not be for you. However I would seriously consider your needs and uses because I don't believe there is a better sxs out there than the Honda when it comes to quality and innovation.

If the Honda is out of the running then I would consider the 6 seat Yamaha Viking. Their belt drive has a much better reputation than others. Good luck!

 

[sharp]

Welcome to forum. If he wants to carry people and carry stuff in the bed get a bed extender. I hope this helps.

 

[Russ77]

Hey @Russ77 welcome to the forum. I have not heard of any plans for a traditional crew style pioneer from Honda. 2017 utv updates will be announced this month but I seriously doubt we see a crew style from Honda, sorry!

As for why, I believe it all comes down to the wheelbase and versatility the convertabed offers. A pioneer 1000-5 or 700-4 is every bit as agile as their 2 seat brothers. That means they can go anywhere the 2 seaters can go with a full load of passengers. Not true for the other crew style utv's that are nearly a mile long with a wheelbase to match! How often will your dad carry a load of guys and need the bed? If he used a small trailer would that solve the problem?

If a trailer is a deal breaker and your dad will need the bed with a full load of passengers often then the pioneer may not be for you. However I would seriously consider your needs and uses because I don't believe there is a better sxs out there than the Honda when it comes to quality and innovation.

If the Honda is out of the running then I would consider the 6 seat Yamaha Viking. Their belt drive has a much better reputation than others. Good luck!

Hey @Russ77 welcome to the forum. I have not heard of any plans for a traditional crew style pioneer from Honda. 2017 utv updates will be announced this month but I seriously doubt we see a crew style from Honda, sorry!

As for why, I believe it all comes down to the wheelbase and versatility the convertabed offers. A pioneer 1000-5 or 700-4 is every bit as agile as their 2 seat brothers. That means they can go anywhere the 2 seaters can go with a full load of passengers. Not true for the other crew style utv's that are nearly a mile long with a wheelbase to match! How often will your dad carry a load of guys and need the bed? If he used a small trailer would that solve the problem?

If a trailer is a deal breaker and your dad will need the bed with a full load of passengers often then the pioneer may not be for you. However I would seriously consider your needs and uses because I don't believe there is a better sxs out there than the Honda when it comes to quality and innovation.

If the Honda is out of the running then I would consider the 6 seat Yamaha Viking. Their belt drive has a much better reputation than others. Good luck!

I appreciate the feedback. I agree 100% about the quality and innovation. I'm trying to get him to consider everything he'll use it for. His main thing is, he has to make multiple trips during duck season from the truck to the blind. He has to go and get his gear and friends which he has made up to 4 runs in one morning, which can be annoying in the morning. He also uses it around the farm in the summer, but he doesn't have near the people. I thought about the bed extender, which would be good, but all I've seen is the one that's made with a bars. I've thought about rigging up and extension that has a solid bottom and sides if he got one, but just have trouble bringing ourselves to do that kind of work when he just spent that much money.

We started looking for UTV's last summer. I was really disappointed in how far Honda was behind everybody else. After I saw the 2016 pioneer, my pride in Honda returned for the most part. I was very happy to see the quality and performance balance had returned. That's the way I've always known Honda, "Never the fastest or best performance, but always plenty of power, performance, and the best dependability." I just wish they could join the rest of the market on coming out with a true crew UTV like the others.

 

[sugarray]

Why would you want Honda to "fall in line" when they have put out such an innovative machine?

He'll need to make it fit his applications or get a different machine. Don't wish for Honda to be just like all the others. It's not what I want from them. I want them to push the envelope and give me new, innovative options with their dependability behind it.

 

[Crow_Hunter]

I agree with the others. I think it is very unlikely that Honda will come out with one of the stretched crew type machines. If anything, I figure some of the other companies will probably copy Honda.

Honestly it sounds like he might be better served with a different brand. Take a look at the Kawasaki Mule Pro FXT. It is a newer design and not like the older Mules.

It is quite a bit longer than the Pioneer (133 in) but it retains a fairly significant bed when converted to carry 6 people and unlike the Viking it can be converted to carry only 3 people with an even bigger bed and it is MUCH quieter than the Viking with less vibration.

It has a very quiet 3 cylinder engine from a car manufacturer with lots of torque and a very good suspension. However, it doesn't have a locking front differential and does use a CVT, but Kawasaki's CVT is very similar in design to the Yamaha constant tension CVT so I am sure it will last a while. It also comes with a 3 year warranty from the factory and it quite reasonably priced. It isn't as fast as the Honda but it will haul more people and gear and it may be quieter.

The gentleman that bought my Rincon last week owns and runs a hunting lodge/monster buck farm in SW Missouri and he has a Mule Pro FXT and he says he loves it. Uses it all the time on their property for farm work and uses it to take his hunters out to blinds and such with room to bring back their deer and them too. We were talking about what SXS that I was going to get and he highly recommended the Mule.

I highly recommend taking a look at it at least.

If ya'll are going to duck blinds a lot are you in West TN?

 

[Russ77]

Why would you want Honda to "fall in line" when they have put out such an innovative machine?

He'll need to make it fit his applications or get a different machine. Don't wish for Honda to be just like all the others. It's not what I want from them. I want them to push the envelope and give me new, innovative options with their dependability behind it.

I dont want them to be just like all of the competition. We love the design of the new pioneer's power train. The only thing we would like to see that would be the same, is a true crew model. I'm not talking about them quit making the current pioneer, I'm just talking about an extra model that's longer and true, to where you lose know bed storage. Every car manufacturer has done this, such as Chevy, with the trax, traverse, up to the suburban, as well as other UTV manufacturers. There's nothing wrong with Honda getting on board and satisfying the needs of other customers. We're only talking about a longer frame and drive shafts. That's the purpose to this thread, to see if there is any talk of Honda ever going to this, and if he needs to hold out for this.

 

[Russ77]

I agree with the others. I think it is very unlikely that Honda will come out with one of the stretched crew type machines. If anything, I figure some of the other companies will probably copy Honda.

Honestly it sounds like he might be better served with a different brand. Take a look at the Kawasaki Mule Pro FXT. It is a newer design and not like the older Mules.

It is quite a bit longer than the Pioneer (133 in) but it retains a fairly significant bed when converted to carry 6 people and unlike the Viking it can be converted to carry only 3 people with an even bigger bed and it is MUCH quieter than the Viking with less vibration.

It has a very quiet 3 cylinder engine from a car manufacturer with lots of torque and a very good suspension. However, it doesn't have a locking front differential and does use a CVT, but Kawasaki's CVT is very similar in design to the Yamaha constant tension CVT so I am sure it will last a while. It also comes with a 3 year warranty from the factory and it quite reasonably priced. It isn't as fast as the Honda but it will haul more people and gear and it may be quieter.

The gentleman that bought my Rincon last week owns and runs a hunting lodge/monster buck farm in SW Missouri and he has a Mule Pro FXT and he says he loves it. Uses it all the time on their property for farm work and uses it to take his hunters out to blinds and such with room to bring back their deer and them too. We were talking about what SXS that I was going to get and he highly recommended the Mule.

I highly recommend taking a look at it at least.

If ya'll are going to duck blinds a lot are you in West TN?

I'm in West Tennessee he's in Northeast Arkansas. I think the mule is a good machine. We just have a hard time bringing ourselves to buy a machine with a CVT. We were close to doing it until we saw this year pioneer. Now we've been researching to see if the extended model will ever be released. Is Honda the only model that does not use a CVT?

 

[Crow_Hunter]

I'm in West Tennessee he's in Northeast Arkansas. I think the mule is a good machine. We just have a hard time bringing ourselves to buy a machine with a CVT. We were close to doing it until we saw this year pioneer. Now we've been researching to see if the extended model will ever be released. Is Honda the only model that does not use a CVT?

I think so. Well, other than Kubota but their machine is really more of a mini-truck than a SXS and their prices reflect that.

Based on where you are at, you should go to Outerlimits Powersports in Dyersburg and look at their Mules. They have a test track that you can try it out on that has some small whoops and some articulation portions that will let you get a good feel of what the suspension is going to be like and what the engine will sound like.

While a CVT isn't my preference either, I wouldn't be worried about them that much. They are pretty much THE industry standard. They must not be too bad.

Kawasaki and Yamaha both use a very good designed CVT clutch (almost identical) that keeps the belt engaged all the time. I wouldn't be worried about either of those companies.

The Mule was very high on my list, right behind the Pioneer. I really need something smaller though for my trails and the Mule is 2 in wider and about 17 in longer than the Pioneer. It would just barely fit in my garage and I probably would need to get a different trailer.

I think you and your Dad should give the Mule a gander at least. I would pick it over the Viking personally and there are no other options out there as far as I am concerned.

ETA:

I think you will be waiting a while if Honda ever does release a stretched crew model. But it wouldn't hurt to wait until the middle of July at least. I think that is when Honda is going to release their new 2017 model info just in case they have something up their sleeves.

 

[Crow_Hunter]

Pretty good video to see what the Mule is like and what first got my interested in it the driver is an annoying dweeb though:

 

[Russ77]

Has anyone had any run ins with one of these Odes Dominators? Are they good or bad machines? I see they have a longer warranty than Yamaha, can am, and Honda.

 

[Tflynn]

Pretty good video to see what the Mule is like and what first got my interested in it the driver is an annoying dweeb though:

Think that guy is a salesman???

 

[Crow_Hunter]

Think that guy is a salesman???

I get the impression that he is teaching a bunch of drivers how they are supposed to do some type of a customer show and tell. At least I hope he is. Otherwise, I would be really, really annoyed as a customer being talked to like I just fell off the back of the turnip truck.

 

[Russ77]

I get the impression that he is teaching a bunch of drivers how they are supposed to do some type of a customer show and tell. At least I hope he is. Otherwise, I would be really, really annoyed as a customer being talked to like I just fell off the back of the turnip truck.

LMAO @Crow_Hunter