Can-Am Commander vs. Competition‏

Recently, the competition has made comparisons of its vehicles to the Can-Am® Commander™. As a newcomer to this industry, we are flattered to receive so much attention and be the target of established competitors! Unfortunately, comparisons can be biased and at times misleading. Here are a few elements you should know about comparison testing…

o Whenever conducting an acceleration test, make sure to use the Performance Key and set the iTC™ to the Sport Mode. We know for a fact that this was not the case in at least one comparison that is out there. In all our comparative videos, we have used an independent judge to oversee all testing. You can trust what you see in our Commander drag race video, and the results are clear!

o As weight negatively affects acceleration, the presence of additional equipment – like the 4,000-lb winch and the heavy-duty front bumper of the Commander 1000 XT™ package, as we have seen in some comparisons – would influence the results. It is also preferable to compare vehicles with the same amount of fuel in each. Making performance or weight comparisons with vehicles full of gas will impact the one with the largest fuel tank – in this case, the Can-Am Commander with its industry-leading fuel capacity at 10 gallons. Now you know why competitors are doing that…

o Based on reported dry weight specs, the Can-Am Commander 1000 base model is 105 lbs. more than the Polaris® RZR XP™ 900. This difference is easily explained by the Commander side-by-side vehicle’s 600-pound-capacity Dual-Level™ cargo box complete with tilt assist and the 8-inch wider cockpit, frame and cage. It all depends what you want to be able to carry, and who you want to rub shoulders with (or not), we guess…

o Can-Am always rejected the use of a timed course comparison in its competitive shootouts because it is impossible to clear doubts about the OEM-selected driver influencing the results. However, if one was to submit vehicles to a sport driving course, at least select the Commander X package, with its fully adjustable Fox Racing Shox HPG piggybacks, for comparison sake!

In the end, we should be pleased to see the competition stepping up, because it brings the best in all of us. Just look at our racing effort, and how it translates into better vehicles. This past weekend, Mark Holz won the 2011 World Off-Road Championship Series (WORCS) season opener aboard the Holz Racing / Motoworks Can-Am Commander 1000 in front of the factory-backed Polaris RZR XP 900 race vehicles. Sorry for crashing the party…

However, we should not forget what the Can-Am Commander is: the most versatile side-by-side vehicle the industry has ever seen. When it comes to Rec-Utility features, the Commander has no match: 85 and 71 HP Rotax® engines, iTC with Normal and Sport mode and Normal and Performance D.E.S.S. keys, TTI rear suspension, the most cockpit storage, removable comfort seats with sit-in fore / aft driver adjustment, tilt-adjust steering wheel, industry-leading fuel capacity, 600-pound Dual-level cargo box, 1,500-lb towing capacity, highest lighting output, 650-watt magneto for running accessories, and much more…