Ski-Doo has enjoyed 600 performance class dominance since the arrival of the REV chassis for the 2003 model year. The overnight success vaulted the manufacturer to become the market leader, much of it due to the MX Z 600 H.O.
That sled has enjoyed tremendous shootout success as well. It has shot down the competition and has owned the class title for the past four years in its most popular version: the Adrenaline. Because the 600/120 hp class is the largest segment in the industry, and the yellow Bomber has been dominant, it’s prompted a lot of manufacturer competition and innovation in the segment.
In our 600-class shootout last year, the MX Z thwarted coup attempts from two new 2006 models: the Polaris 600 HO Fusion and the Yamaha Nytro. For 2007, the defending champ is under siege again. The class membership is different with the arrival of a completely new-for-2007 Arctic Cat F6 and the significant changes and renaming of the Polaris entry: the 600 HO IQ.
Because Arctic Cat was not at our Rode Reports test event last spring, the new F6 wasn’t part of this test. Last March we took to the trails and forest roads near Munising, Michigan, the site of Rode Reports 2007, to flog the MX Z 600 H.O. SDI Adrenaline, the Polaris 600 HO CFI IQ and the Yamaha Nytro.
The Adrenaline package is BRP’s most mainstream 600 and the closest equivalent to the Polaris entry in performance and price. Comparing the more aggressive, more feature-packed and more expensive Blizzard or “X” package to the IQ would be unfair. The Nytro is a stronger performance special candidate than is Yamaha’s RS Vector.
We matched these sleds to answer one of the most important questions of the 2007 model year: Can the REV-chassis MX Z keep its Middleweight Performance title for a fifth year?
