June (my wife) and I went today to test ride the Yamaha Kodiak 450, but as we are in the market for a new mid size quad for her we were open to anything.

And thanks to the great review from ATVgirl86 on the KQ450 we put it on the list of quads to look at.

Well the test ride started with an 07 Polaris 500EFI. Thoughts on the unit was large, wide, heavy, and not as nimble as June or I remember.(I owned a SP500X back in 02)
The ride was comfy, the seat was comfy, but June did not care for the wide feel that the machine had. We both thought the heavy feel would be a factor for her small frame to deal with. Steering was the lightest of all quads tested both in 2 and 4 wheel drive.
The ride was that of a Polaris, plush and comfy, what we would expect from Polaris.
General thoughts were, too wide, heavy and not as quick as we thought it would be.
Price was $5,999

The 06 Kodiak 450.
The Kodiak had good power, a comfy seat, good acceleration, a great 4x4 system, engine braking was superb in low range! The steering was light in two wheel drive, not to hard/difficult steering in 4x4 and hard steering in full locked 4x4 mode. June had a bit of trouble steering while in full locked mode. She said she could handle it, but it was tough.
General thoughts, great engine braking, good power, good seating.
Price was $4,650

The King Quad 450EFI
The seat felt a little stiff but not as wide as the Polaris, June thought the ride was better then the Kodiak and about the same as the Polaris while going over the rough stuff. June said the power was more then enough for her, and I thought it had more pep then the Kodiak and the Polaris off the line.
The steering was a bit heavier in 2 wheel drive then the Kodiak and the Polaris, but not enough for June to be overly concerned about.
I thought the steering was fine in 2 wheel drive but then I have a much larger frame then my wife does.
In 4x4 mode the steering felt better then the Kodiak but not better then the Polaris. In full 4x4 locked mode the steering was better then the Kodiak but not as light as the Polaris.
June said she felt the most comfy/safe on the KQ with regards to seating position, foot position and handle bar ergos.
General thoughts, best power off the line out of all 3, nice comfy ride, good steering in locked mode and felt the safest of all 3.
Price was $4,999

June liked the fit, finish and feel of the KQ above all 3, I liked the look of the Kodiak the best, followed by the KQ.
June felt that the KQ had the best feel of all 3, as did I.
June is not a power nut but thought the KQ was faster at take off. I thought the throttle response was the best on the KQ.
Being a 450 it is not going to be a rocket when you have a 235 pound guy driving, but for her 135 pound frame it was more then enough.

While the Polaris has the easiest means of locking the 4x4 system (sliding a button) the rest of the field was not hard by any means.
The KQ has the 2nd easiest method of "locking it in" by means of pushing a button and raising a switch.

Since this is going to be HER quad I left the final call to June.
Right now the options of EFI, sealed rear brake, IRS, lockable 4x4, and "felt right" feeling of the KQ are leading the pack, with the Kodiak 2nd and Polaris 3rd in the runnings.

When reviewed side by side dollar for dollar, option for option, feature for feature the KQ comes in first, being $300 dollars more then the Kodiak and $1,000 less then the Polaris.

But the end call will be left to June as she is the one that has to ride it.

Thanks again for the great review ATVgirl!
Your insight, thoughts, and comments brought what I think is a great quad into our mix of test ride units.

I will post which quad June has decided to buy just as soon as she tells me which one it is.
Right now as I type this she is reading on line reviews of the KQ and the Kodiak.

For the record June has been riding a 2002 Polaris Trail Boss 325, 2 wheel drive solid axle quad.

Catfish

Good summary Catman, I had the pleasure of riding NewZuki's KQ and thought it was a blast to ride. Nice and smooth....good luck.

CATFISH, you and your wife are more than welcome! If my review helps one person decide to see if the KQ may be a quad they want to take a closer look at, then my effort to provide potential buyers with real world info has not gone to waste.

Like your wife, I didn't care for the wide, heavy feel of the Polaris. For me, it makes it difficult for me to really manuever a quad to get it to do what I want to do. The SP500 has a very loyal following and that says a lot for its durability and capability, but it doesn't fit my smaller frame.

I had the pleasure of riding the '06 Kodiak for my trip to the Paiute trail system. It's a great quad as well. As you said, it has very awesome engine braking in low range (I would say that it's better than the KQ). But its overall smaller size (five inches smaller in length and almost five inches smaller in width) I didn't like a whole lot. Even though the KQ is a bigger quad, it still has a turning diameter of a smaller quad, which is really helpful in tight spots. I also didn't like the way the footpegs/floorboards were designed on the Kodiak. My boots weren't even wet and I had to take special care to make sure my feet didn't slip off in bumpy turns. I like the footpegs/floorboards on the KQ much more as it provides better grip for when I ride aggressively. In wide open riding, the Kodiak I rode topped out at 46mph; I'm not sure if this is normal for Kodiaks or if this particular one had the throttle limiter screwed in a bit, but I couldn't keep up with my dad who was easily going 50mph+ on the KQ (I've heard the KQ450 can get just over 60mph in top speed but never tried myself, as my normal riding areas don't really allow for speeds over 35mph). This may or may not matter to you, though. I also think the instrument pod on the KQ is easier to read than the Kodiak, but at the same time, it will be more prone to damage in a roll over. Again, this may or may not matter.

Nowadays, I don't think there is a bad quad being produced. So it's based on personal rider preference as well as other factors that matter only to that person. I don't know if those prices given to you are OTD prices, but if the KQ is only $300 more than the Kodiak, I'd jump on it. I bought mine for several hundred dollars more and have not regretted the decision (I still think I got a good deal considering I bought it during the busiest part of the riding season). That's also a great price for the Kodiak as well. I'm sure either way you go, you'll be happy with your decision.

No matter what you decide, I eagerly wait to hear a ride report.

Catfish~
Don't LET June ride the KQ700,......If you do, you won't be able to extract your wife from it until you fork out the additional money and load it on the truck. I speak from experience, when I took Annie in to ride the Vinson 500 ( before the KQ 450 came out) she also climbed on board the 700 after riding the Vinson and her face lit up with a big smile and I could not get her off of it, I knew then that she would be going home with the KQ 700,...and she did.

..Stutz...My wife Absolutely loves her 700 KQ...this thing is an awesome ride with plenty of power and handles great.....

Glad that she likes it Voodoo and it should give her years of trouble free enjoyment.

THX Stutz... I run the idea of putting the VDI box on it.... to the little lady and got a resounding NO.....she likes it as is... if it were mine..I would be modding the crap out of it....