Well its a bit of apples to oranges as the '12 cat was a big bore and had kmod/raptor suspension and 2.6PC track. The top end power was fantastic, it climbed really well. It soaked up bumps on the trail phenomenally, i will be doing a kmod/raptor setup on my PRO in the future. Handling wise it wasn't too bad, it had slp powder pro skis and we were in spring snow and i found on trails or packed snow i could barely turn the thing. Either it had way too much ski pressure or the P.Pros just had too much keel for this snow. In 8"+ of soft snow it handled great.
I found the handlebars too low for my liking. I was sitting down riding it much more than any of the other sleds, primarily due to the steering effort required on less than 8" of snow.
I rode a '13XM all day the day before and i would say the cat was inbetween the rmk and doo for handling/comfortable body position.
The XM, i had to have my feet right up tight in the stirrups, felt like i was humping the handle bars and would fall over the front of the sled at any moment. I didnt like it.
After riding both those machines for a day or longer for each i still want my polaris.
I also found that both machines lacked a little in midrange response, 3/4 throttle and up they did well but the 1/2-3/4 was lacking in my opinion. Both those sleds also had aftermarket cans which may have something to do with it.
