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Age: new
Cost: about £2000
Insurance: £240 TPFT
Economy: about 60 mpg
Good points: inexpensive, lightweight, simple
Bad points: long-term reliability uncertain
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But you get what you pay for, don't you? There are reasons why these ATVs are so cheap; whether these reasons are sufficient to deter you from buying one depends on your needs and expectations.
Overview
The Quadzilla 300E SUV is a two-wheel drive ATV with a 280cc engine, chain drive, and a single-range manual gearbox with five forward gears and one reverse gear. It is marketed as a `utility' vehicle, and it certainly has `utility' styling. However, a `sport' version is available with almost exactly the same characteristics: the `sport' has the same engine, gearbox, wheels, tyres, suspension, and transmision; it is, in fact, identical except for the bodywork. In reality, the `sport' and the `utility' models are both a compromise between a true sports and a true utility ATV, allowing the same major components to be used for both models. This, of course, reduces costs to the manufacturer.Is this a bad thing? I would say that it isn't entirely a bad thing. The 300E SUV is over a foot shorter than the Honda Fourtrax 250S, which makes it more useable in confined spaces, and perhaps better able to cope with undulating ground. The 300E, as delivered, has a top speed of about 60mph, compared to about 40mph for the Honda. In practice, many Quadzilla owners fiddle with the gearing to increase the top speed even further, as the stock gearing is more suited for `utility' than the `sport' usage. The 300E is quite large enough for me to sit on comfortably -- and I'm 6'5" tall -- but will fit in a 6'x4' trailer.
On the other hand, the shorter frame does limit the carrying capacity. The front rack, for example, is not long enough to carry the proverbial bail of hay. What's more, there is no internal storage space -- not even room under the seat for your lunch. And the list of desirable `utility' features that is missing from the Quadzilla does not stop there: there is no fuel gauage, no accessory socket, no oil or temperature warning lights, no carb heater, no hour counter, and no manual backup starter. Of course, you can fit an accessory socket for a few pounds in an evening, but fitting a manual starter is a bigger job altogether.
General handling
The Quadzilla is car-shaped, but has motorcycle-style controls. In particular, it has foot-operated gears and a hand-operated clutch, along with both foot and hand bakes. This means that, although you can, in principle, operate it on the road on a car licence, unless you're familiar with motorcycles you're going to find the controls extremely unfamiliar. For my part, I prefer motorcycle-style manual gearing on an ATV, particularly for towing and negotiating obstructions. And it's almost certainly easier and cheaper to service than the various automatic systems on offer. But if you've never ridden a motorcycle, you shouldn't expect to be able to drive this ATV away from the dealership with only a few minutes' familiarization.The 300E has five forward gears and one reverse gear. First gear is very low -- necessary for towing and negotiating steep hills, but not much use on the road. Engaging reverse is a bit of a pain, and not something you'd want to do in a hurry. The procedure is to disengage a separate clutch, which is coupled to the main clutch lever with a button catch thingie, then pull a big lever on the side of the engine. In practice you then have to engage the clutch(es) slightly while maintaining tension on the lever, otherwise the reverse gear doesn't engage properly. You know when it's engaged -- there is a very obvious clonk from the gearbox. One small, but deeply irritating, observation is that if you stall in reverse, you can't start the engine even with the clutch pulled in. I don't know if this is a safety feature -- you can start the engine in forward gear without restriction. Anyway, it's a real nuisance because, if you stall, you have to go back into forward gear, start the engine, and do it all again.
There is a neutral indicator on the control pod because, unlike a car, a motorcycle-type gearbox gives no positional feedback of the gear selected. You can, as mentioned earlier, start the vehicle in gear, provided the clutch is pulled in.
Like the gears, the brakes are similar to those on a motorcycle. The similarity in this case, however, is superficial. On most bikes, the hand lever operates the front brake, while the foot pedal operates the rear. On the Quadzilla, the foot pedal operates both front and rear brakes, while the hand lever only operates the rear. In practice you don't get much braking traction from the rear brake, because the centre of gravity is usually forward of the midpoint -- even more so under braking action. I think the hand lever is really only intended as a parking brake: it even says `parking brake' on it, and there is a catch on the lever that allows it to be locked in the braked position for parking. I wonder if this arrangement is a concession to car drivers, who are used to braking with their feet? In any event, you'll need to use the foot brake on the Quadzilla more than you would on a motorcycle.
The Quadzilla runs on ordinary unleaded petrol, and has a capacity of 8L, which should be sufficient for at least 80 miles of moderate driving. There is no fuel gauge, but there is a reserve tank.
On the road
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This odd handling is a partly a consequence of the fact that the Quadzilla -- like most ATVs -- has a solid rear axle. There is no differential gear to allow the wheels to turn at different speeds. But that isn't the only reason: the ATV is only three feet wide, and the centre of gravity of the vehicle-rider combination is probably four feet above the axles. Compare this to a typical family car: the centre of gravity is probably only a few inches above the axle, and the wheels are five feet apart. What this means in practice is that a car's wheels will almost certainly break traction in a corner far earlier than the inside wheels will lift. An ATV however, is almost impossible to slide on a dry road. Its high centre of gravity and narrow axles make for a powerful levering action that lifts the inside wheels very readily. Ignorance of this basic principle of physics has led to a number of fatalities, particularly when riding (or driving) with a passenger. If the passenger does not shift weight in sync with the driver, the driver alone may not be sufficiently heavy to keep the centre of gravity over the axles.
The brakes are exceptionally sharp. Combined with the grippiness of the soft tyres, this means that if you stamp hard on the brake pedal you can easily pitch yourself over the handlebars, as I discovered to my annoyance when a car pulled out in front of me this morning. If you brake harshly when cornering, you'd better brace yourself for an uncomfortable landing. Having said all that, I should point out that the Quadzilla is straightforward and enjoyable to ride on the road if you're in no particular hurry, once you've got the hang of the weight shift; and the physical effort makes a pleasant change from sitting in a car. With a big lummox like me riding it, the practical top speed of the 300E is about 60 mph, but it's noisy and tiring at this speed. I wouldn't recommend long motorway journeys unless you had no alternative transport -- it's possible, but not agreeable.
Around town the Quadzilla is practical and highly manoeverable. It's much wider than a motorbike, so the scope for squeezing between lanes of traffic is reduced, but not eliminated. Naturally it can be parked in much smaller spaces than a car. Whether it's reasonable to park in dedicated motorcycle spaces, I'm not sure.
Off the road
The Quadzilla is relatively light compared to the surface area of its tyres, which are knobbly as well as large and soft. Consequently, it handles wet, soggy, rutted ground with comparative ease. It is not particularly easy to handle in such circumstances, but nothing is. The manual clutch allows fine, incremental control of the power delivery (if you're familiar with it), so you can pick up speed gradually by inching forward on very difficult ground. My (limited) experience of ATVs without automatic gearboxes is that they don't always provide fine control of very low speeds (but modern ones might be better).The Quadzilla is able to negotiate pools of standing water about a foot deep, although care is needed because this submerges the chain and brake disks. It may tolerate deeper water than this, but I haven't been brave enough to try. The brake cyliners themselves are sensibly mounted on the highest point of the disks, so they don't get too wet in normal circumstances. I should point out that when riding through pools of water, I got absolutely soaked to the skin, even with my feet up on the front rack.
Because of the chain drive and large rear sprocket, among other things, the ground clearance is only about six inches. More up-market utility ATVs typically offer seven to ten inches of clearance.
What's more, because the chain is exposed, there's nothing to stop the chain and rear sprocket being literally dragged through the mud. This doesn't stop the machine working, but it won't do the running gear any good. Aftermarket skid pans are available to reduce this problem, although they might reduce the ground clearance still further. In practice it is relatively unusual for the chain and sprocket to hit dirt, simply because they are higher up than the bottom of the rear tyres.
Because the Quadzilla has a relatively short wheelbase for a utility vehicle, the comparatively low ground clearance is not really a problem, where tackling uneven terrain is concerned. It might be more a problem when negotiating discrete obstacles like logs, but this isn't something I've had to put to the test yet.
Construction quality, reliability, servicing, etc
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To my (not very expert) eye, the build quality, as such, looks satisfactory. All the nuts and bolts were tight when delivered, and appear properly sized for their respective jobs. The frame members seem properly welded and are substantial. The cables and electrical wiring are properly strapped down; electrical connections are well sleeved to keep water out. Nothing has flapped loose or fallen off so far. Where I am less impressed is in two areas: the quality of the metal parts themselves, and the evidence of cost-cutting by reducing the number of non-essential components.
As to the first problem, I had a nasty surprise when I removed the bolt holding the horn to get to the ignition switch wiring (fitting the missing accessory socket!) When I put the bolt back, the head sheared off when I tightened it. Happily, that particular bolt was not holding anything but the horn, so it's not a tragedy. But I've never known a new bolt head shear off before. Old, rusty, gunged up bolts, yes. But not brand-new shiny ones. To be fair to the manufacturer, there is a table of tightening torques in the service manual (if you can get one -- more on this point later). But most manufacturers over-engineer inexpensive parts like nuts and bolts. I'll certainly be more cautious with the wrench in future, but I hope the bolts that hold the engine in the frame are made of sterner stuff.
The second problem -- elimination of non-essential components -- manifests itself in a number of ways. There are, for example, no individual fuses on electrical circuits. What this means is that a short circuit in, say, an indicator lamp will shut down the entire electrical system. As previously mentioned, there is no back-up manual starter, although it appears that earlier versions of the 300E did have one. No tools are supplied and, even if they were, the vehicle is not provided with even the most rudimentary servicing instructions. There is no indication, for example, how to check or adjust the chain tension (or even that it is necessary to do so). Then there is the issue of servicing and obtaining spare parts. There are places in the UK that can, and will, do routine servicing on these machines; but there aren't many authorised Adly/Her-Chee dealers. It is not easy to get spares, where they are for proprietary components. It's not difficult to get spare brake pads, or bulbs, or matching mirrors; but there are few dealers who can source a spare crank case or ignition module.
On the positive side, however, the 300E is an extremely simple machine, by modern standards. If you have some basic tools and a service manual, it's not difficult to do routine servicing and simple repairs. But you might find it tricky to get a service manual, as I did: it's not the kind of thing you'll be able to buy in Halfords.
Conclusion
At present, if you want a road-legal quad-bike, you are probably constrained to a mass-market Chinese or Taiwanese model. The more established vehicle manufacturers haven't really got into this market yet, although I wouldn't be surprised to find them doing so in the near future.I have heard expressed the sentiment that a road-legal ATV, from any manufacturer, can be little more than a toy. It certainly can be argued that the characteristics that a utility ATV needs are necessarily in conflict with the needs of a road-going vehicle. For example, it is not easy to make a gearbox with sufficient range to cope with both towing a trailer full of logs up a muddy slope, and driving on a motorway.
On the other hand, if you have sensible expectations, the Quadzilla is a useful vehicle. It will never be as useful on the road as a car, nor as useful off the road as a single-use off-road ATV. But it can manage light agricultural and forestry work, and you can drive it to where the work is, so long as it isn't too far.
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