First of all, what a mouthful of a name for a new sled! Polaris really came to play this year with a new chassis, factory turbo, short tunnel and a light weight clutch- wow. I was really looking forward to throwing a leg over this sled as I have been on an Axyss for my personal sled now for the last few years. The motor on this sled is an absolute home run. I was amazed at how compact they were able to make everything and the performance was really on point.
I have not been a turbo fan since owning an aftermarket one several years ago and getting absolutely worked in the trees or on technical lines so I was very curious what this factory turbo would feel like. It was awesome, extremely smooth power off the bottom with really zero turbo lag. I was almost unaware it was a turbo until I needed the power. It became very evident dropping into a bowl with the turbo and a stock sled. The stocker made it out but with some struggle, with the turbo sled we had to let off to keep from rocketing over the top it was awesome.
I was also very curious how the Matryx Slash changes would translate to the snow. I was hoping for a change similar to what we got when we went from the Pro to the Axyss. This was not my experience riding this sled. I felt very comfortable on it right away because to me it felt very similar to an Axyss which is not a bad thing. To be fair I did not have the opportunity to test this sled on a steep treed sidehill where I believe some of these changes would have become more evident.
The rigid suspension was great for getting the power where it needs to be and really worked well with the motor and clutch. Again we weren't able to fully test the centralized cooling system but should work really well for reducing snow build up making the riding weight feel light and nimble. Overall I applaud Polaris for really bringing multiple important changes to their sled. I would really like to spend some time on this machine in more challenging terrain as I feel this is where it will truly shine. For anyone looking to upgrade sleds for next year this sled should be a serious contender.
