The Green Machine has arrived! The long awaited sports model entry from Japanese powersports juggernaut Kawasaki is finally here. Kawasaki loyalist rejoice! You can finally upgrade your Teryx and come have fun with the rest of us! I was invited out their launch event in beautiful Palm Springs, CA to be one of the first people to drive these new machines. The beginning of the first day started with a walk around of the KRX 1000 and a presentation on the machines technology and capabilities. Right away I noticed a lot of attention to detail. Kawasaki had really paid attention not only to what was working and failing with other models, but they added their own twist to a few features as well.
Here were the things I noticed right away
- Integrated spare tire mounting: You can lay a 31” inch tire flat in the back bed of the KRX 1000 and strap it down. Why manufacturers pretend we don’t need a spare tire is beyond me. If you drive hard and drive remote you get flats.
- Roomy interior: I am a big guy, so one of the things I can’t stand about most UTV’s is they seem to be made for small people. The KRX 1000 had the roomiest interior of any UTV I have been in. Viking approved!
- Cup Holders and storage: The KRX 1000 has 5 cup holders and plenty of storage even space behind the seats. Glamis is smiling!
- Open Wheel Wells: Lots of people are going to add wheels and tires. So Kawasaki anticipated this and made high open wheel wells. You might get a bit more dirt sprayed on you from the front tires but if you don’t like dirt go buy a jet ski.
- Accessory Ready: Lots of room in the dash for accessories and the doors have designated spots for speakers. This would be the perfect car for mudding, you can accessorize the hell out of it. Navigation, radio, stereo are no brainers.
- Beefed up Build: Everything from the cage to the radius rods is beefed up and triangulated, similar to how we build race cars in off-road. For most users the stock cage and suspension will be plenty strong.
- 31 inch tires stock: Kawsaki actually put tires and wheels you don’t have to change immediately. Putting 28 inch tires on a sport UTV is like putting ballerina slippers on a MMA fighter! Stop doing it!
- Integrated air intake system: Both the air intake for the engine and clutch are neatly designed into the sides of the rear of the bed with clean pre-filters.
- Integrated CVT sensor: Not sure why this hasn’t been a part of every UTV that runs a belt from the beginning? The sensor monitors belt temp and warns you when belt is heating up to avoid blowing belts.
After the walkaround we were given a brief presentation on the KRX 1000’s technical features and capabilities. Again, one of the advantages of coming late to the party with a sport UTV is that you can watch all the other manufacturers R&D the UTV platform and you can see what works and fails. Kawasaki was definitely paying attention. One of the few features I was sceptical of was the “Crawl” mode for rock climbing. I am the type of driver who wants control. I have always wanted a way to shut off all the electronic assist B.S. and be in control of my vehicle. After the presentation they loaded all the guests on a bus and drove about 20 minutes outside of Palm Springs to a custom track Kawasaki had built to showcase the vehicle. After a quick safety briefing we hopped into the units and started off on a ride led by a Kawasaki tech who narrated via radio the vehicle modes and features.
Right away the width and length of the vehicle was noticeable. It felt planted and stable like a race car. The acceleration had a lag to it likely by design so tires don’t spin, it almost felt like a launch control. For a naturally aspirated car the acceleration curve felt normal. Honestly I am so jaded with high horsepower cars I had to adjust and stop rolling on the acceleration and just stab the gas. The handling of the car felt great. At first when you get into the KRX 1000 there’s so much room in the interior the car feels wide, but once you get used to it, it felt normal. I had a passenger, one of the guys from Kawasaki which really gave me a sense of how well the vehicle performs with the weight of two people. One thing people always underestimate with UTV’s is the performance difference when you have drastic weight swings. Especially in four seaters when you add two large men to the back adding 400 additional pounds of weight. You are literally adding ¼ of the vehicles total weight to the back seat and expecting it to perform the same. Driving the KRX 1000 with a passenger felt great.
Overall I was really impressed by the Kawasaki KRX 1000. It’s a great complete package and for the asking price of about 20k I think it’s a good value. The platform is well built and will likely outlast other similar models in terms of longevity, an area that users are just now beginning to experience. I spend thousands of miles in these vehicles all over the world and I can’t wait to spend more time in the Kawasaki KRX 1000 testing the platforms limits. Look for a full shakedown on the KRX 1000 coming soon.