I went looking for an ATV with a pretty open mind other than having had Polaris ATVs in the past and knew I didn't want another one due to reliability issues. Reliability also eliminated Arctic Cat. I wanted a machine that would last, one that I could use for hunting and ice fishing and minimal trail cruising. Also knew that I wanted independent rear suspension and differential lock. Price was also a factor, or value I guess. Kawasaki and Suzuki seemed over priced for what you got so they were out. I had it in mind that I wanted the Honda rubicon even though I wasn't crazy about the whole shifting thing with Honda. I went to physically look at them and immediately didn't like the floor board/foot peg setup they have when I got on one. Down to Yamaha and Canam. Canam is also plagued with reliability issues from what I could research and having had Polaris for most of my life I couldn't bring myself to ride yellow. The Canam is physically a bigger machine even in the 450 or 570cc machines. So I was pretty convinced on the Yamaha and the Kodiak was my choice over the Grizzly. I had to get the EPS to get the diff lock. Never having had the power steering I didn't think I needed it, but after trying it, it is pretty awesome. One of my local dealers had a 2016 EPS SE marked down so I went to check it out, but they had the 2017 right next to it in the tactical black and I was sold. I like it a lot so far, time will tell on the reliability.