The suitably aggressive-looking Can Am Commander we tested during our annual Hunterville duckshooting weekend was the 1010cc 4-stroke 2-cylinder V-twin liquid-cooled Rotax powered model in budget form.
This machine impressed everyone who drove, rode or even just looked at it. One guy said he wanted to go and buy another farm so he could have one; another traded his existing SSV on the following Monday.
The Commander comes with either the 810 or 1010cc Rotax engine in two stages of specification. The ‘poverty pack’ version we had is still well equipped, but came without flare guard extensions (a must-have), winch and half screen. The option list is long. The twin headlight setup looks cool and the lights give good penetration and spread.
The machine comes with three keys: we got two – grey and black. Another key operates the ‘work’ mode, limiting speed to 50km/h with restricted engine power. Torque is still available in spades from the CVT transmission.
The grey key is ‘normal’ and restricts power to 60% and 70km/h and the black key gives the ‘full Monty’ – all 92 horse power -- and more response if you push the ‘sport’ button on the dash.
I recommend the black key stays in the boss’s pocket.
A great safety feature is that if the seatbelt is not buckled up, the machine defaults to “limp mode” which is the get you home feature if something goes awry and limits speed to about 20km/h.
We tried both keys, and the machine with the grey key performs comparably to most other 600/700cc offerings in this guise with still adequate performance and heaps of low down grunt. With the black key, it is just miles out in front, with stunning throttle response and performance.
This is helped by adjustable suspension, the machine giving a ride as good as anything else I have tried, though a load reduces ground clearance reduces, as on all independently sprung machines. That said, the tilting deck is big enough for a team of dogs (we had 6 on) and will carry 600kg between the clever upper and lower cargo boxes.
Two tailgates give access to deck and the boot, and the floor can be removed for a bigger load area, this also helping lower the centre of gravity.
We shoot ducks high up in a big basin. It’s quite a climb to the lake along 6km of farm tracks. So this reviewer highly rates engine braking, especially for hill-country travel. The Can Am Commander has the best system I have tried, and even in high range in the transmission setting it has awesome engine braking, letting the machine idle down a knobby little spur where I wouldn’t dare take other machines I’ve tried.
In low range the system works so well you have to apply throttle to keep things moving, even with a load and trailer. A grizzle is that the steering loads up when turning using power in AWD and when load transfers onto the front suspension, which is fitted with anti dive geometry. Power steering or a bigger steering wheel would help this.
Even a cold, wet morning was made more pleasant by comfortable, adjustable bucket seats.
The steering wheel is adjustable for height, and the pedal box is not offset, making for a comfortable driving position and easy getting in and out. Of course, I can be described as ‘vertically challenged’, but the big guys also found the cockpit a good place to be.
The dash has rocker switches for the light dip switch (the lights are turned on using the key), AWD and sport function. A soft-shifting gear selector chooses park, reverse, neutral, high and low.
The machine has no handbrake, which would be handy but, with the park feature, not essential. The passenger gets a decent glovebox and ‘hold-me-back’ handle for when things get hairy.
The ROPS frame is sturdy as is everything about the Commander.
