One of this year’s biggest surprises is the new 600 ACE 4-stroke Ski-Doo has dropped into its super-light TNT platform.
We rode this sled about 50 miles the other day on fairly rough, ungroomed trails and came away impressed.
First, the engine: It’s extremely torquey and throttle response is very good right off idle. Like most small displacement 4-strokes it utilizes its bottom end at trail speeds and then signs off fairly quickly in the higher RPM ranges.
However, throttle tip-in at trail speeds is really good and the sled accelerates up to 70 mph with surprising agility. It’s super-quiet and smooth and there’s never a hint of front-heaviness from this combo of 4-stroke and chassis.
One thing we weren’t crazy about was the way the throttle stays on for a milli-second after you let off. It’s a bit unnerving at first but once you get used to it, you don’t even notice it.
We think the genius of this package is the combo of lightness the TNT brings plus the nice manners this engine exhibits for trail riding. We think this is the kind of sled you could buy and keep for years.
Certainly, the XP chassis in its TNT iteration is state-of-the-art right now and we’d wager that tough little 4-stroke will likely outlive rock.
