These days, when you walk into a showroom, there are so many choices it just boggles the mind.

Want deep snow performance? Got a bunch. Want hair-on-fire, lake blistering power? Got it. Want ridiculously good gas mileage, awesome cargo capacity, 2-passenger capability, incredible ride quality? Got it, got it, got it and got it.

In a world where everything is specialized, you can slap down your credit card and get a sled that suits your individual riding style has enough power to keep you entertained for years.

Probably the reason the OEM’s are offering so many different kinds of sleds is because potential buyers’ needs and demands are changing. No longer is it good enough to just have a fast sled. T

oday, more riders want sleds that are fast on trails and lakes and can perform well off-trail, too. That means a longer track with deeper lugs and enough lightness the sled won’t become a burden when you get bogged down in powder.

In the same way, they want a sled that can accommodate another rider once in a while when they choose to – or at least have enough room to conveniently add luggage for the occasional long-distance cruise.

The good news is, there are some sleds out there that offer it all in one package. Sleds like the Ski-Doo Renegade Enduro, the Polaris Adventure, Cat’s CrossTrek and CrossTour and Yamaha’s DX Series Vipers fit the profile perfectly.

These sleds offer deep snow traction, abundant power, superb comfort and the ability to be morphed into different applications with snap-on, snap-off goodies.

The price may be a bit more than a 100-percent specialized model but there’s very little compromise in any application and it makes these sleds look like real bargains.

How about it? Would you trade your MX-Z for an Enduro or your RUSH for an Adventure? We’d love to get a handle on your response.

Recently, around the clove-scented offices at Supertrax, we’ve been trying to figure out what motivates snowmobilers to buy a new sled.

In our Buyers Guides the last few years we’ve highlighted some sleds we feel are incredible bargains, value priced low to attract customers to dealer showrooms.

The feedback we get from dealers is that these sleds are not in the top half of the sales compared to pricier new models with exotic tech features, costing thousands more. Our question is: Why aren’t more of these sleds selling?

Just to be clear, some examples of the types of sleds we’re talking about are the Indy 600, the MX-Z Sport 600 carb & Renegade, the RSVenture and Cat’s LXR 5000 4-stroke.

Each of these models offers excellent power, state-of-the art suspension compliance and very good standard equipment loads.

Some are a hairsbreadth from market leaders for handling and lightness. All this and their prices are way low, too – and not by just a wee bit. We’re talking four figures in every case.

If these sleds were all in the 60 to 70-hp range we’d just conclude that most buyers aren’t looking for a low-performance or perhaps a fan-cooled snowmobile. However, each of these sleds offers 110 or more liquid-cooled ponies and some have power-to-weight ratios that keep them right in the hunt with the higher priced stuff in their classes.

Even the feature lists are more than adequate. The cheapest, Ski-Doo’s 600 Sport, has full instrumentation, a 1.25-inch track, great windshield and dual runner skis.

The Indy 600, priced a bit higher, makes 125-hp and is also fully equipped – even in its baseline state it has electronic fuel injection.

Yamaha’s Venture tourer relies on old 4-stroke carb technology but rides extremely well, has all the 2-passenger comfort features the new stuff has and its 4-stroke triple is a sweetheart.

One that really awes us is Cat’s ProCross LXR 5000 with the rock solid 1056 Suzuki EFI twin. Not only is this sled jammed with goodies but Cat upgraded the clutches to the new TEAM Rapid Response set this year without jacking the price.

All four are great value and worth looking at… but why aren’t they more popular?

Let us know if you’ve got an answer ’cause we sure don’t.

Round 1 voting has started for the North America’s Top Snowmobiler Competition and there are amazing prizes given away each round!

WATCH HISTORY BEING MADE!

You may be watching snowmobile history in the making so go to supertraxmag.com/nats right now and check out the first six nominees for North America’s Top Snowmobiler Competition! Watch their videos, read their bios then vote for your favorite nominee.

VOTE, VOTE, Then VOTE Again!

Whaaat? Yes, you can vote every day (one vote per day max) for your fave North America’s Top Snowmobiler nominee! You’ll have a powerful effect on the percentage of votes nominees receive – and the cool part is you can see the percentage of votes changing every day as you and thousands of other snowmobilers work to get your fave nominee onto the next round in the North America’s Top Snowmobiler Competition!

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North America’s Top Snowmobiler Competition is presented by Ski-Doo and Supertrax Media Inc.

It’s interesting how the maximum displacement for 2-strokes has peaked at 800ccs.

There was a time when some OEMs were building 1000cc 2-strokes (Cat & Ski-Doo) but those times have passed and the 800cc maximum has been in place for a long time.

It kinda makes sense. You have to understand that EPA certification is pretty expensive, complex and it takes a long time to get the testing and paperwork done. We get that, and know manufacturers can’t just be re-introducing a new or re-vamped engine every year – not like it used to be.

It’s subtle but you may not have noticed that the OEMs have been focusing on other things besides engine performance to sell their new line-ups every year. Concentration on chassis lightness, handling, electronics and shock innovation has really improved the breed – but is it enough to keep the power-hungry masses at bay?

Polaris tipped the scales when it introduced the super-light AXYS last year with a very hot new 800 HO under its hood and now Cat has come with new TEAM clutches on its somewhat aged but historically fast throttle body-EFI 800. We think the 2016 Cat 800 could be quick – especially considering the company has had a whole year to benchmark Polaris’s performance.

Where does this leave Ski-Doo? We won’t know until we ride the 2016 production Doos this winter, but it looks like the company is going to have to up its ante in the 800 performance game. They may have already done it but if E-TEC direct-injection technology limits the company’s ability to wring more Sea Biscuits out of the 800R, a new game plan will be needed – pronto.

We think a valid solution would be to raise the displacement of the top-line E-TEC to 850ccs. Since any engine modification program would require jumping through EPA hoops anyway, why not just make the engine bigger? An extra 50ccs would increase torque and power and really set the Ski-Doo armada on its head. You guys know you’d just have to upgrade, don’t you!

Here’s another twist: We strongly suspect Cat is coming with a new C-TEC2 Dual Stage Injection 800-class engine soon. What if it was an 850? Whoa! Back to the drawing boards everyone.

In the automobile business there is much talk about limiting the number of engine suppliers worldwide. The conversation revolves around the astronomical costs of producing an engine and getting it certified clean. Some OEM car and truck companies put the cost of developing and tooling a new engine in the billion-dollar range.

We think that pricing sounds way steep considering what the powersport business spends per engine to build some pretty sophisticated stuff – however, everyone knows auto companies can outspend just about any other medium when it comes to research and development. Nuff said.

Here’s a thought, though: What if the snowmobile manufacturers got together and said, instead of building three or four different 125-130-hp 4-stroke engines, we’re just going to build one. Yep, Polaris, Yamaha, Cat and Ski-Doo would all have the same engine built in the same factory and then shipped to Roseau, Thief, Valcourt or wherever where they would be custom-tuned to that builder’s spec to go in their respective snowmobile platforms.

Sound too weird to be true? Think about this: Shared development costs, shared tooling and even shared patents would save the industry a ton – and who knows where the EPA could be going in the next decade? Development costs could go through the roof!

Would it mean some snowmobile companies would no longer be developing and manufacturing any engines? We think it could work this way: Each of the four OEMs would be building at least one specific engine for each snowmobiling segment or displacement category. It’s common knowledge all four have engine plants and it would simplify things considerably to be focusing development and R&D on only one or two different mills.

Can you imagine a Ski-Doo with a Yamaha 4-stroke triple – or how about a Polaris with an E-TEC? Sounds almost blasphemous, doesn’t it? Tell us what you think.

Arctic Cat’s legendary Roger Skime once made the statement: “As soon as we build a 4-stroke that weighs the same and performs the same (as a 2-stroke), it will outsell our 2-strokes”.

If you’ve spent any time on the seat of one of Cat’s 1049cc ProCross triples, you know the company has come mighty close to matching that statement.

The same goes for Ski-Doo’s 4-TEC triple. We’ve talked to an incredible number of riders who have made the decision their next sled will be one of these 130-plus-horsepower performance 4-strokes instead of a 2-stroke – even considering the 2-strokes make about 30-40 more stallions!

It seems the market is liking the long-term reliability and ease of maintenance these 4-strokes deliver and once they ride them, are discovering just how close they are in power to their hyper-2-strokes.

They also like the fact the 4-strokes are worth considerably bigger dollars at resale time after four or five years and haven’t gone through one or more engine rebuilds during that period.

Seriously though, what about the weight thing? It’s undeniable 4-strokes on average weigh between 45 to 65 lbs. more than a comparable 2-stroke. It’s tough to ignore that extra weight, especially when it’s placed fairly far-forward in a snowmobile chassis.

What has happened the last few years however, is the chassis designers have been able to build 4-strokes that don’t feel heavier when they’re ridden.

Ski-Doo’s 900 ACE is a great example of this and Yamaha and Cat’s sleds with the 1049 just flat-out do not feel heavy when you ride them!

Truth is, they feel like 2-strokes. In the 120 to 130-horsepower range, the overall handling, ride and engine performance of these sleds is mighty close to what you get with a 2-stroke.

Here’s our opinion (definitely not shared by everyone on the Supertrax roster): We think the 4-stroke market is poised to make big gains on 2-strokes over the next two or three years. Why? The market is running out of reasons not to buy them.

Tell us if you agree or disagree.