Beyond the power steering, the 2013 Can-Am Commander 1000 XT performed just as good as our 2011 model, and we never had any issues with it. With 85 Horsepower, the Can-Am Commander 1000 has plenty of power, and it will go nearly everywhere you point it. Our only issue is that the power is a little on the jerky side when accelerating from a stop when you are trying to finesse the power, but once you get it going, the Commander’s power is very fluent and responsive. If you do want snappier power, the Commander features a Sport model toggle switch, which changes the power curve for even more sportier feel.
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The
2013 Can-Am Commander 1000 XT features a powerful
976cc, V-twin, liquid-cooled, Rotax engine that
produces 85 horsepower |
While the Can-Am Commander has plenty of power, it doesn’t mean anything if doesn’t hook up in less than ideal conditions and if you plan on hunting with it, you will more than likely cross a river or encounter some mud when heading to a hunting spot. Normally a good spot to hunt is near a water source, so making sure you don’t get stuck heading to or from your hunt is important. In addition, the Can-Am Commander features a Visco-Lok front differential four-wheel drive system paired with the Maxxis Bighorn 2.0 tires that worked flawlessly during our testing in the mud and river crossings.
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The
combination of the Visco-Lok 4WD & Maxxis
Big Horn 2.0 tires give the Can-Am Commander
1000 XT plenty of traction |
Can-Am’s Visco-Lok system transfers power from
the slipping wheel to the one with traction to help
pull you out of the situation, and it worked for us
as designed, but the Commander doesn’t have
differential locking option that some other SxS vehicles
offer. Although not having a locking option was not
be a big deal because we never found ourselves stuck.
Plus, we have a WARN winch with the XT model, so if
we did get stuck, we could have easily pulled ourselves
out with this heavy duty 4,000lb winch.
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The wide fenders on the Can-Am Commander XT do a nice job of deflecting water and mud from coming into the cab |
The Can-Am Commander XT fenders work really well by keeping the mud and water out of the seats and from getting all over you while driving, which is really important when you are driving in temps below freezing during the hunting season. After blasting through several puddles and across a stream, we found ourselves still fairly dry with only a few spots of mud slug up into the cab area.
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A leather wrapped tilt steering wheel paired with digital / analog gauges give the Commander XT a premium feel |
Also, the cab of the Commander is well designed. The seats are not only comfortable, but you can also easily remove them from the vehicle and use them as a seat at the camp site or just for cleaning the Commander. The CanAm Commander also has a tilt steering wheel, and the XT model is leather wrapped and has an upgraded analog / digital gauge. We also really like the seat belts because they are anti-cinch and comfortable to wear without yanking on your collarbone over every bump like seat belts on some other SxS models.
