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Development Of The New RANGER XP 1000

June 18, 2018/in Machinery, Press Release/by Tony Hawkins

Development Of The New RANGER XP 1000: Two decades since the introduction of the very first Polaris RANGER®, the historic legacy continues with the launch of the new RANGER XP® 1000. The RANGER XP® 1000 is the latest addition to our strong utility vehicle line-up, and sets a new industry standard with over one hundred […]

Huxley And Bearwood Join Forces

June 18, 2018/in Press Release, Sport/by External Source

Huxley And Bearwood Join Forces: Huxley Golf was proud to be chosen to equip practice facilities for another premier golf club this Spring. Bearwood Lakes Golf Club is widely considered as one of the very best in the South of England. Set on what were ancient royal hunting grounds, the Club’s forest terrain and woodland has […]

Development Of The New RANGER XP 1000

June 18, 2018/in Machinery, Press Release/by Tony Hawkins

Huxley And Bearwood Join Forces

June 18, 2018/in Press Release, Sport/by External Source

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Development Of The New RANGER XP 1000

June 18, 2018/in Machinery, Press Release/by Tony Hawkins

Development Of The New RANGER XP 1000: Two decades since the introduction of the very first Polaris RANGER®, the historic legacy continues with the launch of the new RANGER XP® 1000.

The RANGER XP® 1000 is the latest addition to our strong utility vehicle line-up, and sets a new industry standard with over one hundred user-inspired improvements. It features class-leading power (82hp) and torque (61lb-ft), industry-leading towing (over 1100kg) and ground clearance (330mm) – which make it is the hardest working, smoothest riding SXS built.

So what does it take to design the new RANGER XP 1000?

Steve Wilcox, Senior Industrial Designer at Polaris Industries commented on development:“The process of getting a new product ready for production involves research, sketching, clay modeling and then a full-size hard model is created. This is followed by A-side Computer Aided Design (CAD) data for tooling. During the early phases of sketches and clay development, a new model can take between 24-32 months to complete a ground up design, with several team members contributing up to 65 hours per week.”

Steve was the Senior Designer of the RANGER XP® 1000, and responsible for the creation of the 2D exterior styling concept that was chosen to go into production and also overseeing the development of the design in clay, Computer Aided Design (CAD) and production.

“I love the RANGER line-up and I’d say that the new XP® 1000 is my favourite as it’s a product of my own blood, sweat and tears – and it turned out great.”

The Industrial Design department can often have five to six major programs running simultaneously, each having their own designer assigned. Very often, Senior Designers like Steve can often work on more than one project at once.

“Typically I have direct involvement between three and five major programs at any given time and frequently have a few smaller programs sprinkled in as well.”

Customer insight was used for the developments made to the RANGER XP® 1000 with 100 customer inspired updates being incorporated into the product.

Tiger Bracy, Manager of the Industrial Design team, said: “The “Voice of Our Customer” is always present and taken into consideration in the development of our products. We use online studies, dealer research, ride clinics, and focus groups to gather as much feedback as possible. This way we can make sure we’re delivering on what the consumer wants.”

Steve agrees: “Without the consumer, we have no product. As a designer, I am provided with lots of research by the product team but on top of this I always try to collect my own data by having informal and personal interviews with real people and asking very specific questions.”

While customer demand is an important driving force for constant innovation, so is the desire to remain a global powersports leader.

“We update models because our customers demand improvement and they deserve them, but awe also do it so that we stay ahead of our very aggressive competitors. We aim to refine our models with new features, and push the limits of design to maintain our position as industry leaders,” explains Steve.

With so much valuable feedback and data from owners as well as years of experience and knowledge, how does the team decide which improvements and changes are the most important?

“It’s a balancing act between functionality, performance and style,” admits Tiger. “We rank the attributes that are most important to customer’s needs, and we turn them into characteristics that the vehicle must deliver on.”

Steve concurs: “It’s also a case of balancing what is feasible within the scope of the program. We use our own experience and creativity to solve problems and enhance the user experience. Sometimes the consumers don’t realise there are areas to be improved. We’re enthusiasts ourselves and scrutinise the experience – perhaps sometimes more than our users – this is where we have the opportunities to innovate.”

Both agree that working on a product, and then seeing it being used by customers is an extremely rewarding experience.

“I love seeing the products that we’ve worked on being used by customers. For me, the RANGER DNA is ‘Hardest working, smoothest riding’ and it applies to all the RANGER’s I’ve worked on. I’d say the biggest challenge is always having to prioritise the most important styling features because during the engineering process, compromises will always be made. It’s hard to let some of the key elements go, but you must in order to balance other features. My favourite parts of the latest RANGER are the stance and the styling,” said Steve.

Tiger concludes: “For me, RANGER must have a powerful motor, large cargo capacity, smooth suspension, industry leading towing ability, and a comfortable yet functional interior. All these elements we have built into the RANGER XP® 1000.”

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Huxley And Bearwood Join Forces

June 18, 2018/in Press Release, Sport/by External Source

Huxley And Bearwood Join Forces: Huxley Golf was proud to be chosen to equip practice facilities for another premier golf club this Spring.

Bearwood Lakes Golf Club is widely considered as one of the very best in the South of England. Set on what were ancient royal hunting grounds, the Club’s forest terrain and woodland has evolved over centuries to create one of the most inspiring golfing environments to be found anywhere in the world. With gently undulating putting surfaces, the 18 hole course weaves its way through three natural lakes providing a stimulating challenge for golfers of all abilities.

Now the Club has an equally impressive indoor/outdoor practice facility too. Two high tech studios – including one exclusive Mizuno custom fitting studio, recently opened by former World number one, Luke Donald – are complemented by a 23 bay covered and outdoor driving range.

Huxley Golf installed premium all weather surfaces throughout the new facility. Huxley Golf Premier Tee Turf 2 was laid in both studios and in the five 12ft x 18ft (3.6m x 5.4m) covered practice bays. To the front, a 12ft x 153ft (3.6m x 46.6m) outdoor driving area was created, also working with the company’s exclusive Premier Tee Turf. Surrounding areas and pathways were finished with Huxley Golf Premier 20mm Leisure Turf.

Managing Director Carl Rutherford said: “We pride ourselves on providing world class playing surfaces, maintained with exceptional craftsmanship and unparalleled attention to detail. That’s why we chose to work with Huxley Golf on our stunning new purpose built all-weather practice facility. This was an important project for us as it would not only increase the distance of the range, but also bring our practice facilities into line with standards across the rest of the Club. We are delighted with the result and look forward to welcoming members and their guests to experience it in the year ahead.”

Huxley Golf’s General Manager, Paul Chester commented: “This was a large and prestigious installation and one that amply demonstrates the adaptability of our surfaces, designed to exacting specifications for indoor and outdoor use. It took just a week for us to fit out the whole area ready for its high profile public launch – and for the delight of Club members.”

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Development Of The New RANGER XP 1000

Huxley And Bearwood Join Forces

Development Of The New RANGER XP 1000

Huxley And Bearwood Join Forces

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Development Of The New RANGER XP 1000

Huxley And Bearwood Join Forces

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