Desert Miles and Party Tunes: Testing the 2021 Polaris RZR XP Pro Rockford Fosgate Special Edition
Big wheel travel, high horsepower, and a wicked stereo.
When Polaris first dropped word of the company's new Rockford Fosgate special edition 2021 RZR Pro XP Ultimate we were intrigued. On paper the side-by-side was everything that a UTV enthusiast could want and more. The fancy off-roader packs a potent 181 hp turbocharged engine, 22 inches of usable wheel travel, Fox 2.5-inch Live Valve dampers, Polaris's Ride Command and Dynamix 2.0 vehicle control systems, and of course the powerful 800-watt Rockford Fosgate stereo system. Naturally, we wanted to give one a try for ourselves and jumped on the opportunity when Polaris offered a two-seat model for us to review.
Over the course of several weeks, we managed to log hundreds of off-road miles on the Radar Blue RZR Pro XP. Our biggest takeaway from the hours of seat time was just … wow. This off-roader impressed in nearly every way. For those already initiated into the UTV club, not much was changed mechanically between the 2020 and 2021 Polaris RZR Pro XP models. However, the Rockford Fosgate special edition, which thankfully continues on for the 2022 model year as well, brings a lot of value for the relatively small upcharge.
The Polaris RZR Pro XP was fun to drive on every type of terrain and we never encountered a situation that the vehicle couldn't handle. With four-wheel drive and locked differentials it's really more mountain goat than not. Hill climbs were no drama, either up or down, tight twisty trails were a blast, and the Pro XP easily ate up the desert miles. We found the seats to be comfortable, even in the roughest terrain, and especially enjoyed the automotive-style technology suite. And of course the 925cc parallel twin engine was pure awesomeness. With 181 hp on tap there was never a moment that we didn't have a wide smile across our face.
The big party trick, however, was the stereo system. Naturally, you'd expect a Rockford Fosgate special edition anything to have a solid audio system, and the Polaris RZR Pro XP is no exception. After pairing our iPhone to the vehicle, we were able to pump tunes through the system. If you don't have a Bluetooth device you're at the mercy of the over-the-air antenna, which is spotty at best in the backcountry. With helmets on, cruising along at full tilt, we could easily hear the tunes when cranked to a high level. More interesting, however, was using the car for campsite karaoke. Since we were camped by ourselves in the vast nothing, we left the RZR keyed on and played music all night. The sound quality when parked 20 feet away was excellent, and we enjoyed teasing the others in our group with the wild assortment of epic tunes we could find on Apple Music. If there was one thing we wish could be added it would be a SiriusXM satellite radio receiver. This way we could be assured that the rocking wouldn't have to stop, even far away from civilization.
At the end of our test, we were quite sad to see the 2021 Polaris RZR Pro XP Rockford Fosgate special edition go home. The vehicle was pure joy and just as much fun to look at as it was to drive. For anyone in the market for a high-end RZR Pro XP we can think of no reason not to search out a Rockford Fosgate special edition.
Introduced for the 2021 model year, the Polaris RZR Pro XP Ultimate Rockford Fosgate special edition combines a powerful 181 hp engine with massive Fox Podium Live Valve shocks, more than 20 inches of wheel travel, a nimble wheelbase, and a thumping stereo. Want to haul the whole family? Don't worry, the Rockford Fosgate special edition is available on both two- and four-seat RZR Pro XP models.
The Polaris RZR Pro XP features a track width of 64 inches. This is narrower than most other performance UTVs on the market, including in Polaris's own lineup. This makes the car handle well in tight and twisty trails like you'd find in the woods or mountains. For open desert driving we found that it took a while to get comfortable with the narrow width as we found the car wouldn't easily track in the established truck-width trails.
Looking from the front, the Polaris RZR Pro XP Ultimate Rockford Fosgate special edition looks straight wicked. We love the aggressive angular lines and wide fender openings. The side-by-side's roll cage even looks far more substantial than others in the class.
For 2021 the Polaris RZR Pro XP Ultimate Rockford Fosgate special edition was offered in Radar Blue. For the upcoming 2022 model year the special edition vehicle will be available in a stunning Navy Blue with red roll cage and accents.
The Polaris RZR Pro XP is motivated by a powerful 181 hp, 925cc twin-cylinder engine. This was one feature that we especially enjoyed. Power comes on instantly and allows the vehicle to accelerate hard all the way up to its maximum speed of about 78 mph. We also found that turbo lag was minimal and clutch tuning was such that we could easily jump on and off the throttle without any sort of hiccup.
While we love the way the Polaris RZR Pro XP looks from the front, the rear view leaves a bit to be desired. The rear is all business and kind of reminds us of a frog standing on its hind legs. You're welcome for the visual.
Even in stock form the Polaris RZR Pro XP Ultimate's LED headlights and marker lights are pretty darn bright. We did a fair bit of night driving with the Rockford Fosgate special edition and never really found ourselves wishing for more light.
One of the nice features that's included with the RZR Pro XP Ultimate Rockford Fosgate special edition side-by-side is the blue interior LED accent lighting. With the headlights turned on, the interior footwells along with storage compartments and speaker enclosures are illuminated blue. There's also a fantastic blue LED accent strip that runs across the lower edge of the dashboard giving the whole car a very upscale feel.
Speaking of speakers, the Polaris RZR Pro XP Ultimate Rockford Fosgate special edition sports seven of them. The rugged side-by-side utilizes four Rockford Fosgate 6.5-inch coaxial speakers, with two mounted in the rear (seen here) and two in the front dash. A pair of 1-inch tweeters are also found in the dashboard while a powerful 400-watt 10-inch subwoofer is located in the passenger footwell under the dash. Also included in the package is Rockford Fosgate's Integrated Concealed Crossover (ICC+) along with an 800-watt amplifier to power the system.
The Polaris RZR Pro XP Ultimate features a sporty and comfortable interior. We especially appreciated the high bolstering of the seats along with the adjustable four-point harness safety belts. The most difficult thing for us to get used to was the doors, which opened in reverse, with the only latch release located on the inside of the vehicle. This meant we had to reach around the door to get in.
The Polaris RZR Pro XP rolls on 30-by-10-inch Maxxis Carnivore tires, which are mounted to 14-by-7-inch aluminum wheels. Being the same size front and rear makes for easy replacements and means you can carry a single spare. We found the Carnivore to be a very adequate middle-of-the-road tire. The large tread blocks and open voids will make a great mud tire, however, on the hard-packed desert dirt where we live these tires lack a little in the traction department. They do make drifts, slides, and donuts fun and easy, though … allegedly.
Bumping up to the higher end of the RZR Pro XP lineup, Ultimate trims including the Rockford Fosgate special edition utilize the impressive 2.5-inch Fox Podium Live Valve dampers. The front suspension has 17 inches of wheel travel and what Polaris calls 20 inches of "usable" travel. Usable travel is measured with the vehicle at full droop from the bottom of the tire to the bottom of the skid plate.
The rear increases wheel travel to 20 inches and usable travel to 22 inches. We found the Fox dampers to be fantastic at soaking up nearly every obstacle that the California desert could throw at them. For the type of high-speed desert riding we enjoy doing, we found that we'd often leave the Live Valve settings with the compression adjustment turned almost all the way to the "firm" side.
We found that running the Polaris Dynamix 2.0 Active Suspension management system in the "Firm" setting was best for the type of terrain and speeds we liked to run. This equates to a "level 6" as displayed on the center Ride Command 7-inch display. This setting worked very well in medium to large desert whoops, as well as high-speed trails, large G-outs, and jump landings.
Speaking of large G-outs and landings, if you're quick enough at responding, the RZR Pro XP Ultimate features a button on the steering wheel that is red with a large "X." Pressing this button momentarily raises the Fox dampers' compression damping adjustment to their maximum level of "10." This provides the maximum amount of available bottom-out control for these harsh events. While we found the feature to work as advertised and extremely well, we also found it difficult to remember to hit the button when running down trails at high speed. We're sure with more time behind the wheel it could become second nature.
As technology-obsessed individuals, we love the depth of knowledge offered by Polaris' Ride Command system. Along with displaying information from the Dynamix 2.0 Active Suspension, the system also controls the Rockford Fosgate stereo, displays vital engine statistics, has a built-in GPS with a deep library of off-road trails, shows front and rear camera views, and even displays phone information and text messages for synced phones.
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Jason Gonderman was born and raised in sunny Southern California and grew up with subscriptions to 4-Wheel & Off-Road, Four Wheeler, and many other off-road magazines. The off-road bug bit hard after a summer building up a Baja Bug with friends to drive in the sand dunes of Glamis (Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area). After that it was over and he bought his first 4wd vehicle, a 1999 Ford Ranger that eventually transformed into a capable desert pre-runner and back-country adventurer. Jason has logged thousands of miles off-road in many different terrains and vehicles. He has raced the Baja 1000, participated in the Ultimate Adventure, and covered Top Truck Challenge, Diesel Power Challenge, Real Truck Club Challenge, and many other big name events. When not behind the computer Jason can be found fabricating truck parts, shooting short-course off-road races, riding dirt bikes with his wife, or participating in any sort of other 'extreme' activity.
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