Honda is a well-known brand that makes high-quality vehicles. Polaris is a lesser-known brand as they only make offroad/recreation vehicles but still have a good reputation for making great ATVs. Each company is slightly different and offers advantages and disadvantages so today I will cover which brand is better overall for ATVs.
Overall, Honda is a better brand and reputable ATV company. Honda has was voted as having much more reliable ATVs than Polaris. In general, Honda has a much longer warranty on its ATVs. Honda has also 10 times the yearly revenue that Polaris has.
But, both Honda and Polaris sell the exact same amount of ATV models, so they are identical for ATV model selection. Honda ATVs across the board are better than Polaris ATVs based on these key metrics, so below I will cover these metrics in fine detail so you can see exactly why Honda ATVs are based on most key metrics superior to Polaris ATVs.
Are Honda ATVs Better Than Polaris
ATVs come in a range of different sizes and types. It can be a bit tricky to get to the bottom of exactly which brand is better. Two of the most well-known ATV brands are Honda and Polaris, here’s a summary of which is better based on some key metrics.
As a general rule, Honda ATVs are better overall than Polaris ATVs. Honda ATVs have a longer warranty, and Honda ATVs were voted as being far more reliable than Polaris ATVs in an independent survey. But, both Honda and Polaris have an identical model selection.
One of the most important metrics to look at with vehicles such as ATVs is how reliable they are. By reliable is meant how often they break down, and how often do parts need repair/replacing.
A poll was conducted that asked people to vote for which ATV brand they thought is the most reliable. The results are shown in the table below.
| Brand | Votes | Percentage of Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Honda | 298 | 50.00% |
| Yamaha | 143 | 23.99% |
| Polaris | 55 | 9.23% |
| Can-Am | 47 | 7.89% |
| Suzuki | 31 | 5.20% |
| Kawasaki | 22 | 3.69% |
From the table, it’s very clear that Honda is thought to be the most reliable ATV brand. Polaris didn’t badly and was 3rd best, similar to Can-Am. But, significantly above Suzuki, and Kawasaki. Therefore:
Most reliable ATV: Honda or Polaris? Honda by far.
Another key metric I looked at was the average length of the mechanical warranty. As you may know, covers if a part fails early and needs to be repaired or replaced. Here’s a table that shows how Honda and Polaris ATVs compare based on the length of the warranty. It also compares them to the other top ATV companies:
| Company | Warranty Length* |
|---|---|
| Yamaha | 10 years |
| Can-Am | 3.5 years |
| Honda | 1 to 4 years |
| Kawasaki | 1 year |
| Suzuki | 1 year |
| Polaris | 6 months |
They are ordered from longest to shortest warranty, and Honda is superior to Polaris for warranty length as well. Overall, the warranty on Honda and Polaris ATVs is:
- Honda: 1 to 4 years
- Polaris: 6 months
(Honda warranty: source, Polaris warranty: source)
ATV with the longest warranty: Honda or Polaris? Honda.
Another key metric to look at is how many different models of ATVs each brand sells. For example, if one brand sells more models, chances are you can find something that is better suited to your exact needs. Although, this isn’t a strong determining factor here’s a table that shows how many different models Honda and Polaris sell:
| Brand | Rec/Utility ATVs | Sport | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yamaha | 11 | 8 | 19 |
| Polaris | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Honda | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Suzuki | 6 | 2 | 7 |
| Can-Am | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Kawasaki | 4 | 0 | 4 |
You can see that Polaris and Honda both sell the exact same amount of ATV models. The one difference is that Honda sells more Rec/Utility ATVs and fewer Sport ATVs. But, the difference is very small.
ATV brand with the best selection of ATV models: Honda or Polaris? Both are the same.
In my opinion, these are the most important metrics to look at. But, I also took a look at the size of each company, their yearly revenue, and the number of employees they have. It can be said that if a company is larger it doesn’t necessarily have better customer support and service.
But, in general, chances are it will be easier to get help and solve any problems you have with your ATV. Here are some tables that show a comparison between Honda and Polaris based on:
- The number of employees
- Average yearly revenue
| Company | Number of Employees |
|---|---|
| Honda | 220,000 |
| Polaris | 14,000 |
Honda has a far larger company. However, this can be attributed to the fact that Honda also has a huge car manufacturing arm. Whereas, Polaris only sells snowmobiles, ATVs, and UTVs. So, this metric should be taken with a grain of salt. With that said, the customer support processes for Honda are likely much better developed.
| Company | Yearly Revenue ($USD) |
|---|---|
| Honda | $123 billion |
| Polaris | $8.2 billion |
Honda also has a much larger average yearly revenue compared to Polaris. This indicates that Honda is more successful, and has better customer support. However, this difference could also be accounted for by the fact that Honda sells a far wider range of vehicles. And also has a huge reputation for providing quality cars.
Because Polaris isn’t as well known as Honda, here’s a video that shows the history of Polaris.
And here’s a video about the history of Honda:
ATVs are used as work vehicles, but can also be used for recreation. I covered some key questions about ATVs used for recreation in this article about whether ATVs are good for fishing, and what size ATV you need for hunting. Definitely, check them out if you’re planning to use your ATV for fishing or hunting.
What’s the Most Reliable ATV Ever?
Many people report that different ATVs last longer than others, and have a reputation for being more reliable. I looked at a comprehensive data set of which ATV is the most reliable and here’s what I found.
Overall, Honda is the most reliable ATV ever. A survey of over 590 people found that Honda was by far voted as the most reliable ATV brand and received 50% of the votes. The next most reliable is Yamaha which had 23.99% of the votes.
The reason Honda ATVs were voted as the most reliable may be simply because Honda is a far larger company, and therefore is more well known. However, this can’t be concluded unless further research is done. At this stage, it’s safe to say Honda is the most reliable ATV brand.
Are Polaris Reliable?
Polaris are a US-based company that has been around for many years and is a well-known ATV brand. Whether an ATV is reliable or breaks down soon affects how expensive an ATV is overall, and a more reliable ATV is much more desirable. So, are Polaris ATVs reliable?
In general, Polaris ATVs are reliable. A survey of over 590 people found that Polaris ATVs were voted as the 3rd most reliable ATV brand after Honda and Yamaha. They also have a 6-month limited warranty that covers early mechanical failures.
Even though Polaris were voted as the 3rd most reliable ATV brand, they were quite close in votes to the other ATV brands. For example, the number 4th most reliable ATV brand – Can-Am, received about 8% of the votes.
Whereas, Polaris received about 9% of the votes. Therefore, the difference isn’t very large between Polaris and the ATV brands that were voted less reliable.
