Polaris and Zero Motorcycles Team up for Electric Ranger

The fifth EV-previewing video details the partnership between Polaris and Zero.

The Electric Ranger will be here soon.Polaris/YouTube

Somehow, 2021 is quickly nearing its end. As we approach the turn of the calendar the promise of holidays and winter weather loom. But what we’re really ready for is Polaris’ official release of its upcoming Electric Ranger. As we close in on the December launch, the manufacturer still has its work cut out for it in convincing gas-loving faithfuls that an electric can hang with the premium-chugging industry stalwarts. To assure everyone that the Electric Ranger won’t be half-baked and is going to be a fantastic machine with its own merits, Polaris has released another video installment showcasing the EV and the partnership with Zero Motorcycles.

If you don’t have the resources yourself, outsourcing is always a good choice.Polaris/YouTube

Tapping into Zero was a brilliant tactic. Polaris could have easily devoted a huge sum of research and development time and dollars to developing their own electric drivetrain, they instead brought in an established company that has 14 years of knowledge and success under its belt. Zero has the most miles and largest number of units sold among electric bike manufacturers, and by partnering with Polaris should soon be able to claim part of that title among UTVs as well.

Anna Abbott, the Ranger line’s marketing manager, said, “In incorporating Zero and their electric powertrains into our off-road vehicles, we’re able to take the performance of Ranger to a whole new level, not just from a smoothest riding, from a low-speed drivability perspective, but we’re also able to make specific capability enhancements that make it the hardest-working Ranger we’ve ever built.”

In the video, the Electric Ranger does tight turns around hay bales. Before we had only seen this capability in side-by-sides with turf mode, a drivetrain setting that opens the rear differential, to allow tighter turning and be kinder to grass. With an electric vehicle with 4WD, the ability to control each individual wheel is endless.

We’re still a little worried that the Electric Ranger might have a limited range, but even so, it looks extremely promising.Polaris/YouTube

“When we set out to build the Electric Ranger, it wasn’t just to build an electric Ranger, it was to build the best Ranger ever,” said Brent Erspamer, engineering director of Polaris’ Special Vehicles team. That’s a bold statement. We already had high expectations for the Electric Ranger and this latest video only raises those higher. We don’t say this often, as the time of year inhibits some of our beloved off-road fun, but December can’t come soon enough.