2019 Can-Am Maverick Sport First Drive

FIRST TEST

2019 CAN-AM MAVERICK SPORT

CAN-AM

MAVERICK

BY DERREK SIGLER

SPORT

WHY YOU WANT THE CAN-AM MAVERICK SPORT

When I first drove the new Can-Am Maverick Sport, I was impressed. I was up in Canada at the Carl Kuster Mountain Park near Sicamous, BC, and the trails were amazing, making a great place to introduce the Sport. When I got back home and my test unit arrived, I was feeling pretty smitten with the Sport. This is a truly great sport-class UTV and the more I drive it, the more I like it. You’re going to want one. I’m just warning you ahead of time.

PONY UP

Technically speaking, there are three variations of the Maverick Sport. The base Sport 1000 without power steering, the Sport 1000 DPS with power steering and the 1000R DPS. A 976cc Rotax V-Twin engine powers all three. The base model and the 1000 DPS have a version of the engine that produces 75hp. The 1000R produces a much more intense 100hp.

FIRST TEST

In reality, it’s the same engine. Can-Am borrows tech from the X3 to help regulate horsepower. Both versions come with large air intakes, oversized radiators and Donaldson airboxes come standard on both, but the 1000R uses a larger airbox from the Maverick X3, a specialized high-performance exhaust line and muffler, an additional CVT intake and the same CVT driven pulley from the Maverick X3. The difference is amazing and hella fun. Driving both the 1000 DPS and the 1000R back-to-back is an eye-opening experience. The 75hp 1000 is a fun machine, and very capable. Jumping up to the 1000R and the 25 additional ponies is seriously like adding a turbo to the machine.

IT’S NOT THE TRAIL Don’t make the mistake of confusing the Maverick Sport with the Maverick Trail. I know I did when I first saw it, thinking that Can-Am simply added wider A-arms to make the machine wider. Not really the case here. The Sport’s frame has the same 90.6-in. wheelbase from the Maverick Trail. That longer wheelbase keeps you planted on the terrain, and combined with the 60-inch width means that the Sport is very stable.

All variations of the Can-Am Maverick Sport use double A-Arm front suspension and Torsional Trailing Arm (TTA) rear suspension. FOX 2.0 Podium shocks provide the shock duties with the front having 11.5-inches of travel and the rear shocks offering 12-inches of travel. Like the Trail, the Sport geometry positions the shocks at the outermost corners of the machine. This design gives the chassis more stability and improves handling by reducing the load on the sway bars that are built into the front and rear systems. Add this to the wheelbase of the Sport and you’ve got a great handling suspension system.

Driving the Sport on my own terrain has been crazy fun. We have a lot of tight, wooded trails with lots of sand thrown in. We

get a lot of what we call chatter bumps, small grouped bumps that will make your teeth chatter like you’re freezing. Normally you have to slow down when you hit a section of these, as you’ll often lose control quickly. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had the back end of the machine start to wash out on me as I hit these sections too fast. In the Maverick Sport, however, it was a whole other story. I have never driven a machine where I could hammer through and not only stay in complete control of the machine at speed, but hardly notice the terrain. The combination of wheelbase, suspension geometry and overall suspension system handling is nearly perfect in my opinion. Heck, I even noticed something small but cool. My cup of coffee, which as we all know if the most important beverage ever, was in the cup holder, which is on the floor near the shift column, and I never spilled a drop thanks to the rubber flanges that held my cup in place. I’d be lying if I said that my opinion may have changed had my coffee spilled. I mean seriously, it was a mocha latte…

HIP-HOP AND ERGO-LOK Can-Am uses the term Ergo-Lok to describe the ergonomics of their cockpit. If you’ve ever sat in an X3 or the Maverick Trail you know that it is a different feel. You are positioned with a slightly recline that takes a little getting used to. It’s not reclined like Al Bundy watching a football game in his favorite reclinersort of reclined. And once you’re used to it, you’ll feel very comfortable behind the wheel because of how in control you’ll feel. Combine this with the positioning of the controls and you’ll quickly see why this machine is so sweet.

And I’ll go ahead and say it – the Maverick Sport has the best doors on the market today. The door is a full half door that doesn’t pinch in on you and the handles are amazing. Yeah, I know. I’m gushing about a door, but how many UTV doors are really good? To

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2019 CAN-AM MAVERICK SPORT

me, it says a lot about Can-Am’s commitment to making great products.

PRETTY CONFIDENT Can-Am uses three words in marketing the Maverick Sport - daring, precise and confident. You will get a lot of confidence with how well the machine handles the terrain. It tracks very well going down the trail and the steering and suspension is incredibly precise. The engine, especially the 1000R, let’s you go as fast as you want, but I have to admit, the standard 75hp motor cruises along at a pretty solid clip.

When I first reviewed the Sport and talked to Can-Am about how I felt, my biggest complaint, and it was a small one, was that the positioning of the rear tires can let your cargo area get pretty muddy, as stuff will fling up and coat your cargo. So, when my test unit showed up, wouldn’t you know that they included the optional extended rear mud guards? Problem solved.

If you want to talk about daring, I’ll pass along a little anecdote. When I took my test unit out on the trail for the first time, I was just slowly cruising along, reintroducing myself to the machine. A guy came screaming up from behind me driving a competitor-brand machine. He blew past me and gave me the “thumbs up” as he went past. I’ve seen this guy around before and he thinks he’s pretty hot stuff in his UTV. Remember those chatter bumps I was talking about earlier? I had caught up to this guy after a short while because I decided to drive a little faster and he really doesn’t have the skill set he thinks he does. Even though his machine had a horsepower advantage, catching up to his rear wheel was pretty easy and when we came into the chatter bumps, his back end started swapping around and bucking like a mechanical bull in a cheesy urban cowboy bar. I was confident in the Maverick Sport to gas it and scoot past him, leaving him to feel the wrath of my roost. I did not return the favor of the “thumbs up” because let’s face it – the guy just wasn’t cool enough.

Can-Am has since released several new variants of the Maverick Sport with mud running and rock crawling editions, along with one I am extremely interested in driving – the Maverick Sport MAX four seater. Can-Am has been on the gas lately with new models and new innovations. If this keeps up, 2019 is going to be a great year indeed! The bottom line is, the Sport is an amazingly stable, fun to drive machine. I look forward to driving it more and you should definitely go and check one out if you’re looking for a 60-inch wide machine to hit the trails and terrain wherever you are.

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FIRST TEST

2019 CAN-AM MAVERICK SPORT

ABOVE: At 60 inches wide the Maverick Sport fits into the 60” segment along with the RZR 570, RZR 900, Textron Wildcat Sport

ABOVE: The Maverick Sport has a wheelbase of 90.6 inches which is 11.6 inches longer

ABOVE: The extra length of the Maverick Sport allows for taller occupants to fit comfortably into the machines cockpit. BELOW: The Maverick Sport driver seat adjusts up to 5 inches complete with adjustable steering wheel to fit a wide range of drivers.

MAVERICK SPORT 1000 DPSEngine TypeDisplacement

Fuel System

CoolingTransmission

Rotax® V-twin, liquid cooled

(1000) 75 hp, 976 cc, (1000r), 100hp Rotax 976 cc, V-twin, liquid cooled

Intelligent Throttle Control (iTC) with Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI)

Liquid

Quick Response System T (QRS-T) CVT with high airflow ventilation and Electronic Drive Belt Protection, L / H / N / R / P

Drive System True 4 modes traction system: 2×4 open rear dif., 2×4 locked rear dif., 4×4 open rear dif., 4×4 locked rear dif.

Front SuspensionRear SuspensionFront/Rear ShocksFront/Rear Brakes

Parking BrakeFront Tires / Rear TiresWheelsWheelBaseDry WeightOverall Vehicle Size (L x W x H)Ground ClearanceFuel CapacityCargo Box CapacityTowing CapacityHitch TypeProtection

Lighting

Electronic Power SteeringTotal StorageTilt SteeringInstrumentation

Colors

Double A-arm with sway bar / 10 in. travelTTA-T with sway bar / 10.5 in. travelTwin tube gas charged shocks

Dual 220 mm ventilated disc brakes with hydraulic twin-piston calipers

Park In-Transmission26 x 8 x 12 in.; Carlisle ACT / 26 x 9 x 12 in.; Carlisle ACTCast-Aluminum90.6 in.1,392 lb119 x 60 x 71.1 in.12 in.10 gal300 lb1,500 lb2-in hitch receiver

Integrated front steel bumper, injected full body skid plates

Two 55 W reflectors with unique Can-Am LED signature and LED tail lights with halo glow effect

Dynamic Power Steering (DPS)5.3 galStandard

Starting MSRP $14,699 -$16,499

Multifunction digital: Speedometer, tachometer, odometer, trip and hour meters, fuel, gear position, seat belt, diagnostics, clock

Sun burst Yellow, Can-Am Red, Mossy Oak Break-Up Country Camo

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