Rainforest Challenge: Polaris RZR 800 Drive

‘So much fun that it should be illegal’. You’ve heard the saying and based on number of times you hear and see the word ‘ban’ in the news, you may even think that the authorities in India are on to it as well.

Jokes aside, however, there is something far less controversial than toxic noodles and pornography in India that is also not considered legal in a sense. All-terrain vehicles (ATV) and Utility vehicles (UTV) don’t meet the requirements set for four-wheel vehicles to be considered road legal and even in India, while you can get your hands on a Polaris RZR, you would need something to transport it to wherever you would like to go and have some fun.

Not particularly affordable fun when you also factor in the fact that owning an RZR 800, for example, will require you to shell out around `13 lakh. There is a market for toys like that in India and if you have the means, you will struggle to find something as fun to go pedal to the metal in conditions ranging from rocky trails to mud and slush.

In order to showcase this, Polaris has been competing in cross-country rallying in India for some time with a lot of success due to having the services of Raj Singh Rathore.

Thankfully one does not have to be as skilled as Raj Singh Rathore to have fun with the RZR 800. On two modified special stages that constituted a media challenge on the RFC India’s ‘rest day’, I got a taste of what the vehicle is capable of while driving against the clock.

Never before has ‘when in doubt, flat out’ – another popular saying – held true as with the RZR while going through mud. Even in 4X2 mode there was enough grip to get through the slush and to the safety of solid ground.

Of course there was a lot more to that at the RFC India where the vehicle hit its limits in actual competition but kept going till the end despite being in stock configuration to finish 14th and 16th out of 21 finishers.

For a bit of fun, however, it does the job pretty adequately and unlike some other things, it is there for the taking if you can afford it.