This multi-function display comments on all the major operational parameters, with warnings for seatbelt buckle-up and overheating. Inside the cab there’s a sporty steering wheel and gear selector, and a new LCD instrument cluster with white backlighting. Being speed sensitive means the steering feels lighter at low speed and firmer at high speed.
Kubota says that even fully loaded this suspension should not bottom-out.Īll models get speed-sensitive power-steering as standard equipment, not the hydraulic design used on diesel models but electric-over-hydraulic. It can vary wildly among manufacturers from Taiwan, Korea and China, in fact the whole suspension thing can be a bit dicey from that part of the world, but the Sidekick gave a plush ride with no lumpy bits. Ride quality turned out to be pretty damn good. The suspension layout is what you’d expect, independent front and rear, but this model gets larger shock absorbers for longer wheel travel and a superior ride over rough ground. The powerplant drives the 4×4 system through a ‘CVT Plus’ transmission, the same as that used in Kubota’s smallest utility vehicle, the RTV400. Two standard models come with either road-oriented or AV tyres The big difference is that the Sidekick has a two-cylinder, liquid-cooled petrol engine from Subaru. The chassis, suspension, steel tray and 60-40 seating arrangement are the same, so all the heavy lifting is being done by a proven platform. The Sidekick has much in common with Kubota’s diesel-powered 1120 utility vehicle. The orange models retail here for $23,500 and Black Bert for $25,000. In some parts of the world they get a RealTree Camo or a green paint-job as well but we don’t get those. Three models are available here: two orange ones with the choice of ATV or worksite tyres and steel wheels, and a spiffy-looking black model with black alloy wheels and a black spray-on bed liner. The 851cc Sidekick is actually made in the USA, near Atlanta (Georgia) and has already been released worldwide. And it’s done a pretty good job of getting recreational riders as well as property managers interested in its latest side-by-side. To catch up with the rest of the mob then, Kubota had to break with tradition to tempt those who associate the company with tractors and nothing else. Just about everyone these days makes a so-called ‘cross-over’ utility vehicle with a petrol engine and a lot more performance than your average humpy-dump diesel. That’s not following market trends though. Kubota, more than any other Japanese manufacturer, has till now persisted in the belief that UTVs, side-by-sides, RTVs, whatever you want to call them, are for work not play.
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