2022 Ranger SP 570 Premium review: A great choice for farm and rural life

AGDAILY Managing Editor Ryan Tipps got to test the 2022 Polaris Ranger SP 570 Premium utility vehicle during the summer and fall. See the video for a complete review or read the transcript below:

Transcript:

There are countless ways that a utility vehicle is valuable around a farm or your large rural property. From hauling firewood and livestock feed, ripping out fencing, scouting the property lines and the crops, and even towing a log-splitter, you have reason to fire up the engine on a daily basis. With that in mind, I spent the past few months testing Polaris’ 2022 Ranger SP 570 Premium, and in this video, we’re going to take a deeper look into that machine!

First off, let me note that this review is not sponsored in any way and no promises were made to the company when they loaned me the machine. What you’ll hear is just my straight, honest thoughts on it.

The SP 570 Premium features a 44 hp ProStar engine, a gas-assist dump box that measures about 33 inches by 49 inches, a hitch towing rating of 1,500 pounds on a standard 2-inch hitch, and a payload capacity of 925 pounds.

In general, the Polaris offered a smooth ride, good four-wheel hydraulic disc braking, and had plenty of storage and, of course, cup-holder options (because that’s what everybody asks about first!). I was surprised there was no separate parking brake on this utility vehicle, and I had to dive into the spec sheet to see that the parking brake is automatically engaged when shifting the Ranger into the Park gear.

For all its perks, however, shifting into forward gears wasn’t always so smooth. I often found that the shifter got stuck in the space between Low and High gear. In talking with a mechanic who works on a lot of newer Polaris machines, he mentioned that this is something that he sees often in this Ranger model and, if it does come up, can usually be fixed with a replacement part.

Still, the fun parts and the functionality of this machine really happen when you get rolling — literally! My land can be pretty bumpy with lots of rocks in the fields, so having 11 inches of ground clearance was key, as was the underbody skid plate for protection, a tough front bumper, and the aggressive Carlisle 489 tires.

The only red flag in terms of durability was a small space in the rear wheel wells where there clearly are mounting holes and a space that looks like it should have a covering the protect some of the internal parts from dirt, mud, clay, and other debris. My friends at after-market company SuperATV were the first to note this and even highlighted the fact that the battery and a couple of accessory plugs were quite exposed.

Regardless, I took this out in the mud once, and it didn’t come back too grimy under there. But that was just one time and not as sloppy as it could have been, so I can see this being a problem if you don’t keep an eye on those cavities. I gotta say, in the stuff I played in, the Ranger’s on-demand all-wheel drive helped grip the ground nicely, making for an exciting ride.

That said, you don’t have to worry about always tearing stuff up. When working on more manicured lawns, the Ranger has a VersaTrac Turf Mode that unlocks the rear differential to allow for tight turns that won’t destroy the grass and offers good maneuverability.

The Polaris 570 has a wheelbase of 73 inches and is 56 inches wide, but it’s worth noting that on a couple of trailers that billed themselves as being five feet wide, things got really tight loading the Ranger onto them. This was especially true if the trailer had taller sidewalls that came up to the height of the Ranger’s headlights and cargo bed – the Ranger flares out a bit at that point, so some five-foot-wide trailers I tried didn’t work at all.

Now, there are a whole lot more technical specs that you should look at on Polaris’ site before deciding whether to get a Ranger SP 570. Things like its 9.5-gallon fuel capacity and in-dash charge port are important ones, as is the almost $14,000 price tag.

If you end up shopping for aftermarket parts for the Ranger 570, I highly recommend going with someone like SuperATV.com that knows a machine like this very well and can advise you on upgrades. Aside from what seemed to be the missing wheel panels I mentioned earlier, SuperATV said they’ve encountered fitment issues related to the windshield height, where some Ranger SP 570 models had 28-inch openings and others were at 29 inches. It’s good to have folks in the know with this kind of stuff.

Overall, though, for my uses, the machine performed very well, and I had zero complaints about the ruggedness of either the suspension or the exterior in tough terrain. It also handled nice and nimble and, as cliché as it sounds, it genuinely was a workhouse of a vehicle. It would be a great buy for lots of different types of farming operations and rural properties.

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