As I am writing this review, the 2023-2024 season is already coming to an end after what felt like a few weeks. Even with the snow finally showing up mid-January, this is the time to give my final thoughts about the Ski-Doo Summit Adrenaline Edge 154.
Design and Aesthetic
I want to start with the overall look of the Summit Adrenaline Edge. I purposely did not talk about it during my first impressions article because I wanted to make sure the beige didn’t get old after a full season. After a few months, I still think it looks amazing and so does everyone I’ve ridden with. The orange accents also add a subtle but complementary pop of colour to the scheme. What’s even more important, though, is that it doesn’t look like a mid-range snowmobile. With that said, if you don’t like coloured snowmobiles, you can always grab the all-black variant of the Adrenaline Edge.
Build Quality
Walking around the Summit Adrenaline Edge, it’s easy to notice how much was put into the Gen5 platform. Now that we’re getting used to it, the headlights don’t look so alienated anymore. However, there are some quirks that I noticed throughout the season. First of all, the two lateral panels don’t close at the same position. The right side has a bigger gap between its panel and the central one. I noticed this issue on other Gen5 snowmobiles, so it’s not because I bent the panel on this one.
One other thing that we noted is that the bumpers are flimsy, especially the front one. This is something we had also noticed last year when reviewing the Summit X. It seems it’s the same for the Summit Adrenaline Edge. It’s important to mention it because if you’re planning to get a Summit and ride hard, you’ll want to consider getting a heavy-duty bumper set. While you’re at it, I definitely recommend spending a little extra for the skid plate as well.
As we noticed at the release of the Gen5 platform, there are just all those nice little things that make using the Summit easier. For one, the small oil panel makes filling up such a smoother process. The glove box is also a good size to store something like a pair of gloves. I still wish it was a touch larger, but it’s useful nonetheless. Throughout the season, I tried to get snow to sneak in as I noticed it happened with our Summit X from last year. But this issue appears to have been fixed. Although, I wouldn’t be comfortable storing electronic devices there without a waterproof pouch.
One other thing I really like is the belt holder. It’s doing a good job to allow decluttering the engine bay from a belt holder.
Cockpit of the Ski-Doo Summit Adrenaline Edge
I did talk about the cockpit in my first impression article already. But the truth is that the Adrenaline Edge is such a well-balanced package that the cockpit is the only obvious thing I wish could be improved on base Summits. My concerns are about usability and not the feature set.
First of all, it quickly became clear that the gas gauge is, at best, an approximation of what’s left in the tank. The pattern I noticed is that it’d show the tank as full until the beginning of the afternoon, and then start to drop rapidly. Being in the mountains, and almost never levelled, did not help get a clear sense of how much gas we realistically had left. To add insult to injury, there’s always some snow that’s harder to remove from the side of the digital display. That made reading the gas information way harder. This is caused by the recessed screen.
Handling in Powder Snow
Where the Summit Adrenaline Edge shines is in powder snow, which we unfortunately didn’t get a lot during the winter. In the pockets of snow we were able to find, it handled like a charm. Whether it’s carving in neutral position or with the opposite foot on the running board, the snowmobile is precise and easy to maneuver. This is mostly thanks to the Gen5 platform and its narrow 34-inch ski stance.
To me, there are two main differences in riding the Gen5 versus the Gen4 platforms. The first one is just how easy it is to initiate maneuvers in deep snow. The Summit Gen5 allows to steer simply by transferring weight from one foot to the other. This reduces fatigue a lot and does make a difference at the end of the day. The other big difference is the snowmobile’s predictability. Whether that’s in technical terrain or during sidehilling, the snowmobile stays on course. This helps build confidence and removes the need to make big adjustments.
Summit Adrenaline Edge’s Performance
We’ve talked so many times about the 850 E-TEC engine that you can find way more technical articles in the Magazine if you want to read more about it. However, what I can tell you is that the tuning is so on point year after year, and that the engine never misses a beat. It’s powerful without being scary and is easy to modulate so that we can confidently apply the right amount to throttle. This is especially useful in a tricky technical situation.
To be honest, I barely ever hit full throttle the whole season. There are situations where you need to “pin it” to get out of a hairy situation, but the performance curve is really well thought out by giving plenty of power while feeling the need to squeeze the throttle to the handlebar.
I’ll wrap up this section by saying that my favourite thing about E-TEC engines is that every time I start them, whether they are warm or not, I’m 100% confident it’ll start just fine and run smoothly for the entire day. I never need to think about it.
The Summit Adrenaline Edge is definitely better at the summit of the mountain than on the trail leading to it. As I noted last year, the Summit doesn’t shine in shallow snow. It requires a bit of wrestling to drive up to a spot, so you want to make sure you save some energy for the drive back.
What Makes the Edge Variant of the Adrenaline So Great?
There are a couple of things that make the Summit Adrenaline Edge worth considering. First, the SHOT system now comes standard. Then, it has a lower seat and offers more track-length options. However, I would argue that there is one reason why you absolutely should consider upgrading to the Edge package. It is the narrower 34-inch ski stance, compared to the 36-inch stance on the base Adrenaline Summits.
I think this package is truly an amazing value for a vast majority of backcountry snowmobilers. Some might be able to take advantage of the features of the X or Expert package, but they’re definitely not the average rider at this point. I sure know I’m not one of them, and the Summit Adrenaline Edge fits my riding style perfectly. I’d like to thank Ski-Doo for allowing us to review this snowmobile for the season!
