Driven: 2025 Polaris RZR Pro R – a Savage Sporty UTV From the Brand That Founded the Breed

As the flagship consumer-grade sporty UTV for Polaris, the brand that invented the breed with the old Ranger RZR in the late 2000s, the RZR Pro R is the culmination of nearly two decades of R&D into making a once strictly utilitarian vehicle into the ultimate off-road thrill machine. In fact, the RZR Pro R is so removed from what the RZR line was at its inception that we're not sure they share the same genotype anymore. With the vast Oregonian sand dunes of the Spinreel Dune Buggy & ATV Rental facility in front of us, we had quite the machine to navigate all that sand.

We started the fun that afternoon by taking the wheel of the RZR Pro R's pipsqueak little brother, the RZR Pro XP. With 181 horsepower to play with out of a peppy turbocharged twin-cylinder engine, I remember specifically feeling like that Pro XP was all the side-by-side that most thrill seekers would ever need. Well, the Pro R is for the people for whom the XP or the middle child the RZR Pro S simply won't do. The kind of folks for whom adrenaline in their system is just as natural as vitamin C. Who wouldn't balk even for a second at a side-by-side sporting an engine as big as a rally car?

With bold new styling for 2025 that's scattered throughout the new RZR Pro lineup, items like freshly added hood vents attached to cabin air intake to promote better cooling and ventilation add to a front fascia that already looks menacing. Add on available LED fang lights for the up-trimmed RZR Pro Ultimate, and it gives an intimidating flair to what already looks like a raging bull of a machine. Though similar changes made their way across the RZP Pro line, it's hard to argue they don't have a higher directly proportional increase to the macho aesthetics of this, the halo vehicle of the fleet.

All-new ten-spoke, five-lug alloy wheels on the lower trimmed RZR Pro R Sport mean even the entry point to the model range has something new and exciting to celebrate. Entering the cabin of this rig via the RZR line's trademark tactile inner door poppers leads to an interior that's ostensibly quite similar across the RZR Pro line. A newly revised gauge cluster with a larger, more readable LCD screen compliments a seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system complete with Polaris' industry-leading Ride Command software. Complete with the companion Ride Command+ mobile app, all the functionality of this center screen is also available in the palm of your hand.

Combine this with plush redesigned seat foam with built-in vents that direct air directly at the backs of the occupants, and this is already a nicer place to spend an afternoon than flagship RZRs of old. In truth, the layout isn't all that dissimilar from the Pro XP or Pro S. But you can't argue it's not a system that works. As automotive adjacent as the interior of an RZR Pro might seem, they're still not quite there yet. So to speak, the standard level of features across the board is more than sufficient.

Besides, why would you bother bellyaching over interior features when a turn of the key brings to life what must be one of the most insane engines ever to find its way inside a consumer-grade sports UTV? We're talking about an in-house designed ProStar Fury-series four-cylinder engine with an astonishing two liters of displacement. As far as side-by-sides are concerned, any engine over one liter in size might as well have been big block muscle car motors as far as historical standards are concerned. Nowadays, two liters is the bare minimum Polaris needs to keep pace with the RZR Pro R's competition.

With 225 horsepower on tap and negligible weight to lug around, only 2,327 lbs (1056 kg) for the two-seater variant by Polaris' measures, that's a recipe for an absolute screamer. I remember remarking how the throttle response in the turbo RZR Pro XP was delightfully quick when you mashed your right foot. But the RZR Pro R takes this paradigm and gives it a maximum dose of that "gear," if you catch my drift. You need every point of the Pro R's six-point retractable safety harness with the way this rig rips across the dunes. Thanks to a specially-tuned rubber-belt CVT transaxial, every point in the rev range is just as joyous and powerful as the last.

Thanks to a full set of Walker Evans piggybacked needle shock absorbers and MaxLink suspension system on Maxxis tires with 29 inches of useable travel, any rut too big for the Pro R to vanquish can reasonably be called a crater. Multi-way adjustable suspension settings cater the experience to the level of difficulty in the terrain. From comfort to sport to Baja mode, there's a level of suspension stiffness to satisfy any application. I'm surprised it's still legal to drive a vehicle that can catch air as easily as the Pro R can. Going up and down the sands of North Bend and Coos Bay, I found myself catching air quite by accident as I crested the tops of the dunes.

All the while, the added seat-back ventilation really did make a difference to the sweat factor. In fairness, a lack of the optional windscreen did more to help in that regard. But if the serenade of an engine literally the same size as a Mitsubishi Evo or Subaru WRX gets annoying, a Stage 4 audio system from Rockford Fosgate available in the Ultimate trim package can drown outside noise out with your favorite music. Bass and treble levels are about as on point as you can expect from a non-enclosed cabin, and overall audio quality is pretty solid, whether playing bass-laden hip-hop or live classic rock.

All these factors meld into a rolling chassis that shares a great deal of commonality with the Polaris Factory Racing team's rigs. Of course, the multi-colored LED fang lighting remains exclusive to the racing side for now. At least for the moment, only white LED fang accents are available on Ultimate Edition RZR Pro R. Still, the extra flare makes for a world of difference, especially during the evening or at night. On the fronts of looks, sound, and raw driving thrills, there's only a handful of side-by-sides on the planet that offer this level of excitement. All the while, the proprietary Polaris Lock & Ride system kept my camera bag nice and snug even over endless waves of sand.

I think it's fair to say you owe it to yourself to get behind the wheel of a beastly UTV of this caliber at least once in your life. However, the entry price to this, the sportiest off-road vehicle Polaris makes, might make the prospects of ownership feel a bit out of reach. There's no easy way to put this, the base Pro R Sport will run you $34,999 before taxes and fees. As for the Prop R Ultimate with fang lights and all the fixings? You'll be forking out an eye-watering $42,999. That's BMW 2-Series and Genesis G70 money for an off-roader you can't bring even within a stone's throw of a public road.

Regardless of how phenomenally exciting it is to drive and how special the memories of driving a side-by-side of this caliber might be, it's hard to justify spending quite that much. Even so, people can an do still buy these sporty side-by-sides. Many places, like here at Spinreel, even buy them in bulk and rent them out by the hour. In effect, it takes the biggest problem with the RZR Pro R, that being its price, and effectively neutralizes the problem to the tune of a few hundred bucks for three or four hours out on the dunes. With this in mind, it's really quite difficult to find anything glaringly wrong about the RZR Pro R's makeup or its driving experience.

I will absolutely be finding my way behind the wheel of the RZR Pro R's competitors as soon as possible. But one thing's clear on first impressions alone, Honda, Yamaha, and Can-Am are going to have to bring their A-game to be within reach of my experience driving the sportiest Polaris of them all. When I do, I certainly intend to pit them all against one another to figure out which one I think is best. When I eventually get around to doing this, I expect the RZR Pro R to be nothing short of a juggernaut in its market sector. Many thanks to the folks at Spinreel for having us out that afternoon, and thank you to the Polaris personnel on site who were handy with Dramamine when I finished my test drive. Spoiler alert, it was already too late.