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At 144 inches, it easily bridges the chatter of trail stutters. And where you might think it would suffer in corners due to that length, the AXYS front end handles that added bulk in the back surprisingly well. You won’t be burning through hairpin turns like you might on a shorter Rush, but it’s impressive how aggressive you can get, even with the longer track. The front end stays fairly well planted, which is not always the case when you take longer tracks on the trail. That 42.5-inch ski stance does its job here.
There’s not a ton that needs to be said about the 600cc Liberty engine from Polaris. It’s nearly the perfect engine for a trail sled. We suspect some updates may come very soon, but overall, this engine is dialed in for the trail and that all-important area between 30-70 mph. There’s no complaining to be done here. Asking this 600 to churn that 144-inch track is not asking too much either.
The hard part
We have to give Polaris props for taking the initiative to come to market with as close to a crossover-specific rear suspension as we’ve seen in the IGX 144.
The uncoupled IGX suspension, paired with the nimble AXYS chassis, makes this a very responsive sled when you get into some fairly demanding off-trail situations. I’m a big believer in the longer front torque arm travel of this suspension, as it affords you the capability to seek out those hops and jumps in the bush a little more than most elongated trail suspensions.
The IGX keeps both rear shocks inside the tunnel (unlike the 137-inch Switchbacks), creating less drag in deep snow. Incidentally, this also provides a better place to grab onto should you find yourself stuck.
Polaris addressed two of our usual knocks, particularly in an off-trail scenario: running boards and lack of storage. There was basically zero snow evacuation in the old Pro-Ride running boards, which led to some rather interesting foot placements when trying to maneuver off trail. That’s not a problem with the tapered PowderTrac running boards that grace this Switchback SP. They give you great snow evacuation, even on those mashed-potato snow days, and more clearance when sidehilling.
Why is storage key off trail? When riding the backcountry, you’re taking everything you need with you. On trail, you might carry a granola bar to tide you over between meal stops. Meal stops don’t often exist when spending the day off trail. The Switchback SP features a very generous 1,024 cubic inches of weather-tight, under-seat storage – more than any non-Limited Edition Polaris we can remember in a long time!
The track lug height (1.35 inches) is not quite where I would personally like it. I would like to see a 1.5-inch lug for adding a little more ability to scoop snow off-trail. That said, I do understand that moving to a taller lug might have meant the front end possibly getting a little overmatched on trail. But that’s another engineering discussion.
Is this the perfect trail sled? No. Is it the perfect off-trail sled? No. However, it IS a sled that I feel sufficiently meets the needs of a hard-to-define 50/50 crossover value market. It’s a sled that lets you traverse an insane amount of terrain.
And that is a fun power to possess.