2008 ATV of the Year Awards

ATV Illustrated Magazine presents the 2008 ATV of the Year Awards.

ATV Illustrated is please to announce the top picks of ATV, UTV, and Side x Side models for 2008.  Only the best of the best are worthy of earning the ATV of the Year Award.  Each model has undergone extensive testing in multiple categories and has proven itself as a Top Pick from ATV Illustrated.   

Please check back with us often as we will be releasing several awards for different classes of vehicles.

Suzuki's KingQuad 450AXi - 2008 Mid Size Sport Utility ATV of the Year

Family bloodline is often times an indicator of the capabilities of future generations in thoroughbred racing. It seems that holds true for ATVs as well, at least in the Suzuki KingQuad family, and when Suzuki released the KingQuad 450 AXi a little over a year ago we expected it to be something special. After all, it was the first born of the KingQuad 700 AXi (now the 750 AXi) which had won numerous ATV of the Year awards of its own.

Honda's Fourtrax Rancher 4x4 ES - 2008 Entry level Utility ATV of the Year

There is a lot to like about the Honda Fourtrax Rancher 4x4 ES. When designing the 2008 Rancher 4x4 ES, Honda reached deep into their endless bag of magic, and the result is an ATV that does almost everything extremely well, and fits many riders perfectly. It’s no secret that ATVs have been growing in displacement, horsepower, and size every year, and the top of the line utility ATVs of a decade ago would barely be one cylinder on some models today.

KTM 525XC - 2008 Open Class ATV of the Year

In its first year of ATV production, KTM has already risen to the top of the field and the 525XC was the first Open-class machine to take the checkered flag in our books. The KTM 525XC is a purpose-built ATV for trail riding and racing and not intended for a laid-back jaunt around the farm. It comes stock with things that many people would consider “extras”, such as tether kill switch, Ohlins fully-adjustable shocks, quality tires, free-flowing exhaust, a hydraulic clutch and more.

Can-Am DS450 - 2008 450 Sport ATV of the Year

If you’ve ever wondered what you’d get if you combined the lightest ATV in its class, the most powerful, the most innovative and one of the most intellectually advanced, wonder no more—what you’d get is the DS450 from Can-Am. All of those attributes, along with being the best-handling 450 on the market, helped make the DS450 ATV Illustrated’s 450 Sport ATV of the Year!

Arctic Cat's ThunderCat 1000 - 2008 Open Class Sport Utility ATV of the Year

The 2008 model year saw many improvements in handling and performance, and new or improved features in the utility ATV market, but none were more impressive than the all-new Arctic Cat ThunderCat 1000. Talk about stepping up to the plate; this ATV is not just a home run--it’s a grand slam! Arctic Cat’s engineers had been hard at work for several years developing their version of the ultimate 4x4 utility quad; what they came up with is not just your normal run-of-the-mill 4x4 quad, but a utility machine with the performance and handling of a sport ATV.

Club Car's XRT1550 IntelliTach - 2008 UTV of the Year

If you’re like me--and let me be the first to extend my condolences if you are--then you have two main concerns when you set out to buy a 4x4 UTV: (1) Can it reliably take me backwoods exploring? (2) How much back-straining work can it save me? Well, for the second year in a row, Club Car’s Intellitach answers to both those questions garnered it the top honors as our UTV of the Year for being the most functional vehicle in the UTV class, "functional" being the key word.

Yamaha's Raptor 250 - 2008 Entry-level Sport ATV of the Year

There has never been a better ATV for new sport riders than the Yamaha Raptor 250. The newest member of the Yamaha sport ATV family is something special, and it’s one of those very few models that does everything extremely well, and only comes along once in a generation. What makes it so great is the Raptor 250 carries the Yamaha performance DNA through and through, and just like its all-star bigger brothers, the YFZ 450, and the Raptor 700, which have both won ATV of the Year awards in the past, the Yamaha Raptor 250 is the ATV Illustrated Entry level Sport ATV of the Year.