2024 Can-Am Maverick R and 2023 Can-Am Maverick X3 Review -- Getting Dusted in the Desert

No wildlife -- or city-slicker humans, or utility-terrain vehicles -- were damaged by the encounter. The hawk, as surprised as I was, pulled up like Maverick launching from the carrier. I looked at my passenger, professional UTV racer Phil Blurton, eked out the word "hawk" as loudly as I could over the engine roar, and continued on through the corner.

There's lots to see in the Nevada high desert -- and sometimes, a UTV/side-by-side is the best vehicle to use on the trails. And sometimes, a car guy whose off-road experience has heretofore been limited to testing Wranglers, Broncos, and pickup trucks (sometimes getting them stuck) at off-road parks and in cornfields gets to learn about a totally different type of driving.

Not that it's that difficult to learn how to drive a side-by-side. There's no need to learn balancing or how to use handlebar controls. Open the suicide doors and climb in, which is a bit tricky -- you need to step up but also not whack your head on the roll cage. Once you're in, you sit behind a steering wheel and manipulate accelerator and brake pedals with your feet, just like you do in a car. As far as I know, most of these rigs use the same types of manual and automatic transmissions you see in street vehicles. The two Mavericks we drove had automatics -- one a continuously-variable and one a dual-clutch. More specs to come.

While side-by-sides might be car-like in operation, you'll have to check with your location jurisdiction on licensing and permitting requirements.

While the setup seemed easy to learn, this isn't to say we could just jump in and drive. Blurton gave us a rundown of the controls -- how to put it in gear, which switch controls which drive-mode or suspension/steering/throttle response setting, that sort of thing -- and provided two key safety tips. One: If the rig is going to roll, don't stick your arm outside the cage to stop it, since you will not stop the roll and you will break your arm. Two: Don't do donuts, because with the short wheelbase, you'll tip when you lift the throttle. Like this guy did.

If you're hoping I went wrong-side up, sorry to disappoint. Novice skill level and occasional ability to drive in a ham-fisted manner aside, I never found myself looking up at dirt and down at clouds.

Our day went like this -- drive from Reno to the desert in Blurton's Ford Raptor, meet up with a photog and a couple of people working support, get the quick lesson on safety and control operation from Blurton, get suited up, and go play. Blurton showed myself and another journalist the route one-by-one, at speed. Serious speed -- Blurton said he hit about 70 mph in some stretches and the Mavericks are capable of about 90.

I don't often get motion sick, but I did have a moment when I wondered whether country-fried steak was the best breakfast choice. Thankfully, my body quickly got used to the speed and motions of the Maverick and any potential embarrassment was averted. The only brown marks on my blue jeans at day's end came from good old Nevada dust.

From there I swapped into the more-expensive, higher-feature Maverick R. This one has a 999-cc three-cylinder engine making 240 horsepower and a seven-speed DCT automatic with paddle shifters. It had a nice center screen (and there was a Garmin GPS mounted to the dash, I believe that was aftermarket) and it's wider than the X3 -- the only components the two share are the seats.

These being side-by-sides, both have off-road-ready shocks -- Fox shocks with "smart-shox" technology. Essentially, the shocks are continually adjusting as you drive.

Out on the trails, I found the R to be my favorite of the two. After the orientation laps, we road in threes -- Blurton leading with the PR rep riding shotgun, another journalist following, and yours truly bringing up the rear -- and you quickly learn that you must give the rig in front plenty of space. If not, you'll get hit with so much dust that you cannot see the trail in front you. It's downright dangerous.

So, between the dust and a bit of conservative driving befitting my rookie status, plus the occasional misjudgment of a corner, I sometimes needed to kick the spurs in the straights to keep up with the group. The extra power offered by the R made this much easier to do than in the X3.

It wasn't just about power, though. The R's steering required me to work the wheel a lot less. It had better engine braking when heading downhill, and the paddle shifters helped to find the right gear. The center screen was easy to see at a glance and helpful when the sun's light washed out the main gauges. Its wider frame was more accommodating of my body -- my knees weren't smacking the dashboard as they did in the X3. I was more confident in the R, and thus, faster in the corners.

I didn't need to use the brakes a ton in either rig -- unless you come in to a corner way too hot or need to come to a complete stop, you can coast and engine brake when you need to slow up -- but I used them far less often in the R.

When it was time to switch to the X3 from the R, I found I had to work harder to keep up and I wasn't quite as confident in corners as I had been. Impacts from rocks and hard ground were felt a bit more keenly.

That's not to say the X3 is bad. It is a bit more nimble in tight spaces, thanks to its narrower dimensions. It still has guts a plenty. It's still loads of fun. It's just that the R is worth the higher price -- the X3 X RC Turbo RR 72 I drove starts at $33,499 for the 2025 model while a 2025 version of the Maverick R X RS with Smart-Shox is $44,299. The X3 I drove was a 2023 and the R a 2024, but both are mechanically the same as the 2025s.

It's a bit like how some sports cars that are built for advanced, experienced, talented drivers are so well-engineered that they make even the novice look better. That was the R -- it made me look and feel far more experienced than I actually am.

Blurton also put on a ride-along demonstration for rock-crawling, and the Maverick handed the low speed rock-climbing with aplomb. If you have access to an off-road park with rocks but little in the way of open desert, take note.

As much fun as we had blasting around the desert, most side-by-sides are used for actual utility. Think of the farmer checking on his cattle out in the field or maybe someone delivering small loads of cargo to loggers in the woods. To that end, there is a cargo area mounted in the rear. Oh, and there are even cupholders.

Since I don't have experience with other side-by-sides, I obviously don't have a frame of reference for comparison to competitors like Polaris. What I can tell you is that both the Maverick X3 and R are really, really capable when it comes to high-speed desert running and low-speed rock crawling. The suspension articulation lets you do crazy things -- you can lean a lot without tipping -- and while both Mavericks are novice-friendly, one can also see how an experienced, accomplished off-roader could really maximize their potential.