The endorsement came when we were headed home from a Can-Am event in Quebec, riding back to the airport in a shuttle along with a fellow editor. That editor and I were talking about the CFMoto side-by-sides when the driver, in broken English (the driver was French-Canadian), told us how much he enjoys his CFMoto side-by-side and how he has never had any issues with it.

All this before we even had some decent seat time in our demo unit.

We’ve now had several rides in the mountains of eastern and central Idaho in our CFMoto ZForce 1000 and can also say we have enjoyed our rides. We haven’t experienced anything overly difficult in the CFMoto but we haven’t babied it either. We’ve driven through snow (plenty of it) where we could, crossed creeks, drove over rough, rock-strewn trails and rallied on mountain roads.

We are well aware of the debate about Chinese-made dirt powersports vehicles and their shortcomings (perceived and otherwise) compared to North American-made vehicles. We’re not going there today. We will, however, point out our favorite features on the ZForce 1000 and maybe a thing or two we’re not crazy about.

1. Feature Rich

The ZForce 1000 is not a stripped down side-by-side. You would pay hundreds of dollars for aftermarket products that comes stock on this vehicle. The side-by-side comes stock with a roof, 3,000-lb. winch, mirrors, a rear cargo net (which was a blessing and a curse at times), tilt steering and power steering and LED headlight accents.

We appreciated the roof on more than one ride. We used the winch on a handful of occasions (remember the snow we drove through?). The mirrors are handy when you’re guiding and we’ll always choose power steering over no power steering and it doesn’t matter what the vehicle is.

The bucket seats are also decent and add to the comfort and looks of the ZForce 1000.

2. Price Is Right

This goes hand-in-hand with No. 1. All those features comes stock on the ZForce 1000, which has an MSRP of $13,999. The price tag puts it between the (2020) Kawasaki Teryx ($12,999) and Honda Pioneer 1000 ($15,799). Again, we’re not making any detailed comparisons between all these vehicles, just using them as an example of MSRP pricing.

It’s hard to ignore the MSRP of the ZForce 1000, which makes it an attractive option when shopping for side-by-sides. You get what you pay for, but as it as been pointed out by others, today’s CFMoto vehicles are not the same as those manufactured five or six years ago. The company has come a long way in quality and looks.

3. Outside The Box

It’s the looks thing we’re zeroing in on here. Gone are the boxy/awkward looking side-by-sides that were common years ago among some foreign manufactures. The styling on the ZForce is sleek and isn’t a RZR knockoff like you find with some side-by-sides.

We’re know CFMoto calls the doors half doors, but we’re going with quarter doors and they don’t offer much protection when you’re splashing through a puddle or creek or driving across some debris that likes to bounce up on occasion.

Still, we are bigger fans of the styling than we were years ago when we first saw CFMoto side-by-sides at Rally on the Rocks in Moab, UT. We also like the styling and feel of the cockpit.