In the weird world of car reviews and reviewers, here’s the true metric of how interesting a new vehicle is. Do you find yourself trying to buy the thing you just drove? Used or new, are you poring through listing sites and manicuring your budget to keep the thrills coming?
After a few days of riding the new-for-2027 lineup of Ski-Doo snowmobiles, that’s where I find myself. Somewhere on the borderline of “Where will I store a used sled,” and “Actually, I could move a little money around and order the base Renegade with the 900 Turbo R motor…”
Because, as it turns out, if you live in a place with enough snow, a modern Ski-Doo offers all of the thrills one might get from driving a Porsche or a straight-up supercar on a great road, for a fraction of the cost.
Within the first half hour, I was completely hooked. Riding out of the West Yellowstone airport staging area and climbing into the mountains by way of an extensive system of snowmobile trails, I found myself more impressed with each passing minute.
The machine in this case was utterly exquisite: The 2027 Ski-Doo Renegade X-RS 900 ACE Turbo R 20th Anniversary (but don’t hold the name against it). That alphanumeric soup indicates the latest of the brand’s “Trail” line, with a turbocharged 900cc four-stroke engine making 180 horsepower.
That output, even with my 250-pound body sitting on top of a 500-ish-pound sled, is bonkers. An unjudicious application of the thumb-lever throttle, I quickly found, would send me rocketing forward with crazy acceleration. I’d never even considered doing a “wheelie” on a snowmobile before, but one hard launch on this Renegade and I was acutely aware of the possibility. With a more favorable power-to-weight ratio than a Porsche 911 Turbo S – wide out in the open no less – it’s hard to beat this sled for visceral vibes.
Chassis Matters, Even On Snow
The trails around West Yellowstone are particularly icy this year, I was told. But apart from a few very well-packed sections around the airport and a handful of road crossings, you’d hardly notice, thanks to the Ski-Doo’s excellent ride quality.
My Renegade X-RS was fitted with Ski-Doo’s semi-active Smart Shox system, front and rear, allowing for multiple adjustments per second to the damping force, and dramatically stabilizing the ride. The system is also multimodal, with comfort, sport, and sport+ settings.
The suspension works effortlessly on the icy and rutted high-traffic trails to keep my butt from bouncing all over the place. But it’s equally effective, and a lot more fun, reacting to high-speed runs, and quick changes of direction out on the mountainside.
The truth is that I grew up riding old Yamaha snowmobiles, and I’m occasionally lucky to sled around the Maine woods on vacation, but I’m far from a seasoned rider. Even still, the Ski-Doo’s supple handling and responsiveness gave me a ton of confidence in short order, and helped me to take advantage of all of the power under my thumb.
Not All Snowmobiles Are Equal
The second half of my Ski-Doo ride day was focused on a category of snowmobile I’d never experienced before, the mountain sled. Longer and narrower than the trail sleds I’ve gotten used to, a mountain sled is a lot more like a jet ski than any snowmobile I’d ever sampled.
Designed to be ridden off-trail and in very deep snow, the mountain sled is engineered to be easy to tip from one side to the other. This characteristic lets a rider use the track in an almost horizontal attitude, carving turns in the deep stuff, on steep hillsides, and generally dancing more than sledding.
Where trail sleds are inherently stable and mostly intuitive to ride, mountain sleds require quite a bit of attention to manage, more physicality than I expected, and real skill to operate as intended.
Don’t Skip Leg Day
After a blissful morning on the trail sleds, the first few minutes on the Summit X 850 E-Tec had me shook. Those same icy trails out of our staging area that showed off the supple suspension of the Renegade X-RS were downright punishing on the mountain sled, and combined with the lighter weight and tippable nature of the thing, I felt like I was about to have a rough afternoon.
Standing up solved all of these problems immediately. When I saw our guides stand on their sleds, I gave it a shot (though I’d been sitting down while riding for most of the morning), and found the Summit to be instantly more explicable. My legs were suddenly put to work as natural shock absorbers, and the snowmobile was so much easier to maneuver with my body kind of leaning at the knees – almost like riding a horse, to be honest.
The truth is, the trails were in horrible condition for mountain sled action (and for our trip to Yellowstone the day before, see video above). The machines are meant for lithe maneuvering in deep snow, after all, not hard-packed ice. So when we finally got out into some open spaces with a somewhat more powdery surface, the Summit came to life.
Roughly 100 pounds lighter than the Renegade, my Summit model was motivated by the two-stroke, naturally aspirated 850 E-Tec engine that’s rated at 165 horsepower. While I didn’t do the same kind of tucked high-speed runs, all that power was evident when slamming across an open snowfield or throttling down for a quick jump over a fluffy little hill. I found out really quickly that the Summit loves to jump and lands like a feather.
I tried my damnedest to master a technique called “wrong foot forward” that allows one to do a really efficient (and sweet-looking) turn in deep snow. It’s a little like the snowmobile version of the Scandinavian Flick, and just as touchy to master.
If you love the idea of driving a Miata, or 911 T, or a Corvette, I can virtually guarantee that you’d dig riding any one of these Ski-Doos.
You put both feet on one running board, use your weight to tip the sled toward you with a foot on the ground while also counter-steering, and then apply throttle to bring the machine around your body while gaining sideways traction in the deep snow. If that sounds complicated, well, it actually looks very straightforward when administered by a practiced rider, but it does require some muscle memory that I’m still working on. I’ll report back next winter.
Between standing while riding, trying to execute sick turns, and blasting around looking for jumps, I had a blast on the Summit. But I also exerted a lot more effort while riding it. My base layer was soaked with sweat when I got back to camp, and I really did feel like I had an awesome gym workout. The trail sleds might be easy fun, but I’m ready to give mountain riding another go before I pick my favorite.
If You Love The Track Or Canyon Roads, You’ll Love This
After the first hour of running through the mountains at hyper speed, wind whipping my face shield, and my hands buzzing, the high felt familiar. The times I’ve been lucky enough to wring out a great sports car on a track, or spend hours sliding through corners in a high-powered sedan, have led to the exact same cocktail of happy chemicals in my brain.
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The joy of movement. Learning to control and coax more performance out of a well-made machine. The utter thrill of pushing vehicles to feel out their capabilities, rather than just diving for utility. All of these are elements that engaging cars and snowmobiles (or motorcycles or helicopters, or hydrofoils, I imagine) have in common.
If you love the reality or idea of a Miata, or 911 T, or a Corvette, I can virtually guarantee that you’d dig riding any one of these Ski-Doos. If you live in a place that gets regular snow, and you have the means to get to spots just a little removed from civilization, I can’t recommend trying one out highly enough.
Like Many Other Great Experiences, The Price Can Be Steep
The snowmobile industry launches its new model lines in the spring of the previous year, so all of the 2027 sleds that I tested are available to order now, through March 31. And some of the models, like the X-RS, are limited in quantity and won’t be stocked at dealers, so ordering early can be prudent.
While not as expensive as having a Corvette in the garage, the top-tier Ski-Doo sleds are still fairly spendy. The fully loaded Renegade XR-S that I rode, equipped with many a bell and whistle like the massive 10.25-inch touchscreen display, will set you back $23,099, for instance. My Summit X 850 E-Tec (another limited trim), goes for $18,299.
But there is a tremendous level of customization in terms of how you order these machines and the resultant price. For instance, a base Renegade Adrenaline, with the same mighty 180-horsepower 900 Ace Turbo R engine, can be had for $16,949. And the entry-level Renegade Sport with the highly efficient 600 Ace motor (60 horsepower), goes for just $11,249.
And so here I am, a grown man with a mortgage and a gym membership and a perfectly reasonable life, pricing out enclosed trailers and Googling “best snowmobile trails Michigan.”
That’s the tell. Not the horsepower figure. Not the Smart Shox wizardry. The fact that I can’t stop thinking about where I’d put one. Ski-Doo didn’t just build the Porsche 911 of snowmobiles. They built something that makes you rearrange your life a little bit. And for enthusiasts, that might be the highest compliment of all.