I say this a lot and I mean it ever time I say it: These days, there really aren’t any “bad” choices when it comes to new snowmobiles.
All the fresh new 2018 sleds really are great when used in their intended way and I think this is where many people get it wrong and end up with a bad impression of a snowmobile.
They use a sled out of context. Sure, you CAN do all kinds of things with all different sleds. But they’re going to work best for the purpose they were designed and intended.
So, no, I don’t think there are any “bad” sled choices this season. But there certainly are a few I’m more excited about than the rest. So, in no particular order, we’re going to post the sleds I’m most excited about riding this season.
Obviously, everyone is excited about Arctic Cat’s ZR 8000 with the new C-TEC2 800 DSI engine. It’s what we’ve been waiting for and initial impressions are it’s better than expected.
However, initial impressions are just that and before anyone can make any sweeping claims about how a sled performs, they need to spend a good amount of time riding it and as far as jobs go, that one’s not too shabby.
While the 2018 ZR 8000 is most exciting because of its new engine, there are a few other things about this sled I’m excited about testing.
This sled has all new bodywork and it’s pretty sexy, if I do say so myself. Better wind protection, better design of the key panels in front of your knees, better fasteners, better oil tank access.
Sure, this stuff doesn’t sound nearly as exciting as that sweet new mill, but these are the things you have to live with after the excitement of the new engine wears off and I’m betting those features are going to vastly improve this sled over last season’s model.
