Polaris RZR


The Polaris RZR is a sport side-by-side produced by Polaris Industries. When launched in 2007 as a 2008 model, it was officially known as the Ranger RZR, as it was marketed as a sub-model of the larger, work-oriented Ranger. As the RZR gained popularity, Polaris eventually dropped the Ranger designation and positioned the RZR as a stand-alone model.

RZR models in the US

Military use

, SOCOM, placed an order with Polaris Defense in September 2013 for up to 1,500 MRZR-2 and MRZR-4 machines. A big drawback of these new small military vehicles was that they retained their original gasoline engines, which are incompatible with standard military JP-8 fuel. In terms of logistics, two different fuel types are undesirable. As few such machines see combat use, and civilian users are uninterested in running them on diesel, an engine change was deemed unlikely.
In November 2016, the U.S. Marine Corps signed a $2.5 million contract with Polaris to deliver 144 MRZR-D vehicles. Called the Utility Task Vehicle, it is designed to be diesel-powered and can run on JP-8 fuel. The Marines bought the unarmored vehicles because they can fit inside an MV-22 Osprey, enabling them to be deployed from long distances, to provide logistics support to ground combat units, assisting them to travel and transport supplies quicker and easier than previously on foot. The vehicles can carry four marines and have a small cargo bed capable of carrying of payload. Plans are to field 18 MRZR-Ds per infantry regiment. The vehicles were delivered from late-January to April 2017.
U.S. Army soldiers with Special Operations Task Force / South also used Commercial Off The Shelf Polaris RZR 800 Light Tactical All-Terrain Vehicles, internally transportable by CH-47 Chinook helicopter, and rapidly off-loadable, during operations in 2010 in the Maruf District, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.

Fire hazards and recalls

In July 2014, an 11-year-old girl suffered 3rd and 4th degree burns on 60% of her body when the Polaris she was riding in tipped over and ignited. Her right leg and left foot were later amputated. A 15-year-old girl was killed when the RZR she was a passenger in caught fire in July 2015. In September 2016, two Arizona women were killed when their Polaris tipped over and sparked a fire.
In April 2018, Polaris was fined a record $27.5 million by the Consumer Product Safety Commission for two 2016 late-reporting claims relating to a fire risk. The CPSC alleges Polaris had received reports of 150 RZR fires, including the death of the above-mentioned 15 year old passenger, 11 reports of burn injuries and a fire that burned 10 acres of land, but failed to immediately notify them. Over the years, Polaris has recalled more than half a million RZR's for manufacturing defects that could lead to fires, burns or death. However, owners of RZRs are continuing to report fires on vehicles that been previously repaired, including total-loss fires.
In May 2019, a 23-year-old man from Idaho suffered fatal burns when the RZR he was riding in burst into flames.

Specifications


Numbers above are for the first model year available. Units in inches unless otherwise noted. Numbers are manufacturer's where available.