The brand founded in innovation, Segway, is about to make huge inroads in the New Zealand UTV (side by side) market.
At the close of 2023, NZ4WD was invited to a launch event in ‘the bush’ outside Melbourne, a slick event that included an overnight stay at the Pentridge Adina, an apartment development set with in the blue stone walls of the former prison.
The briefing and drive/ride part of the launch event was held at Seven Hills, Tallarook, Victoria. It was a chance for media to sample Segway’s ATV (quad) range and the Fugleman utility side-by-sides.
The quads and UTVs will be of interest to Kiwi farmers as they are priced well below the offerings of established brands, but lack nothing in tech, spec or power and torque.
Part of the comprehensive media briefing was also a look at the near future: the arrival of the Villain range of recreational UTVs.
Flagship among the latter is the Super Villain, the first ever hybrid quad, and first to break the 300bhp barrier.
After the briefing, there was an opportunity to ride the AT5 and AT6 quads, and to ride in the UT10 and UT10 Crew UTVs.
The loop course wound through open fields and sparse eucalypt bush, up hills strewn with loose flinty rocks and through sandy gullies that never once presented a problem to the quads. All quads have a rollover protection pole at the rear that provides survivable space for the rider/s in the event of a roll.
Throttles are thumb-activated, and the transmissions are simple to use. Most of the media spent most of the drive in low gear, the choice being that or high and the up-and-down trail being fairly tight.
Where quad technology shines through is in the info display and the connectivity of each vehicle. That can be tracked from the Segway app, and the same app can be used to remotely tune settings like the electric power steering. This has three levels of assistance from comfort to sport, though after trying other settings we found comfort worked best (bearing in mind the last time we sampled a quad was when Honda’s Big Red was fresh on the market).
Classic Aussie – the riders were watched by a fine mob of farm goats, mad parrots clowned in the eucalyptus trees, and at the lunch break a mob of about 40 kangaroos hopped silently past.
The AT5 quad has a 500cc 29kW DOHC single cylinder engine, electric power steering, an 1134kg rated winch and front and rear diff locks. The big single throbs its power through a CVT transmission and even inexperienced riders can tackle difficult tracks using the grippy balloon tyres and those diff locks.
The AT5 has 250mm ground clearance and there are short and long wheelbase versions.
Segway’s T-Box Smart Feature app allows owners/drivers to access driving settings, a wireless team up function, real time data tracking, incident SOS and Airlock remote unlock.
Versions of the AT6 are called ‘Snarler’. The AT6 steps up the performance matrix with a 32kW 570cc engine, again DOHC and a single cylinder unit. The front and rear air shock absorbers are adjustable and ground clearance is 180mm front and 220mm rear. Payloads are 80kg rear and 40 kg front. Like the AT5, the AT6 is available in short (1.3m) and long wheelbase (1.45m) versions. The shorties run on 12” rims, the LWB versions are on 14s.
The UT10 two-seater UTV leans toward the work-horse end of the UTV world. The engine is a 1000CC liquid cooled twin cylinder DOHC unit that makes 78kW and 93.5Nm of torque. It has a payload capacity of 680kg, a towing capacity of 700kg, and its winch is rated at 2041kg. Ground clearance is 320mm.
The UT10 Crew is a six-seater with a rear tray to carry up to 450kg and tow 1134kg.
Its 1000cc engine makes 78kW and 95Nm.
It will tackle a gradient of up to 30 degrees.
This year looks set to be a big one for Segway, with strong pushes into New Zealand and expansion in Australia.
Next up: the Villain and Super Villain recreational UTVs.
