First Drive: The 2027 Kawasaki Teryx H2 Is A Supercharged, Mud-Flinging Delight
Raw power is one thing, but harnessing and handling refinements that let drivers get the most out of all that power is another planet.
I may not always have been a driver, or a motorcyclist, or anything else to do with piloting anything vehicular, but you know what I have always been, long before any of that? An enthusiast.
That means I want to know all there is to know about the machines I'm enjoying, and also that I want them to be the best like no one ever was they can possibly be. And also, it means that I'll be the first to give constructive criticism when it's due, all in the hope of helping these things I enjoy to become better.
It also means, in my case, that I especially value accessibility to fun.
As a person of a shorter stature (5'3" on a good day, with a surely-you-must-be-joking 27" inseam), it should be pretty clear to my fellow motorcyclists that indeed, not every motorcycle is going to be easy (or even advisable) for me to ride. Not without serious modifications, anyway. And you know what? It might be frustrating sometimes, but ultimately, I think it's okay.
I especially think it's okay when it means that at last, I finally get to put my teeny, tiny hands on a Kawasaki H2. And not just any Kawasaki H2, mind you; the all-new 2027 Kawasaki Teryx H2 supercharged monster of a side-by-side. Boasting a 250-horsepower, supercharged inline four-cylinder, 999cc engine derived from the Kawasaki Ninja H2 SX, Team Green says that this baby has a 9,500 RPM redline and that it makes its peak power at 9,000 rpm.
While I've been told that it is, in fact, possible to be too short to drive a side-by-side, this is an H2 I am not too short for. And for that, I'm grateful, because it's a seriously fun machine that a lot of drivers of most experience levels will probably get ample giggles and grins from driving.
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Opening The Door
When you first approach the 2027 Kawasaki Teryx H2, depending on your experience with other side-by-sides, you might notice something that may, at first, seem minor. Indeed, the Teryx H2 gives you an entire door, both on the driver's and the passenger's sides of the vehicle.
Not a half-door packaged with advice to look in the accessories catalog if you want to buy the other half of the door as an available accessory. The 2027 Kawasaki Teryx H2 instead has a full, robust-and-yet-lightweight door.
Sure, one could make the argument that this might result in reduced airflow if you're hitting the trails on hot days. But then again, one could also make the argument that it means you're far less likely to lose something out the bottom of your half-door while you're riding if you neglected to have it securely buckled in place or tucked away in a lockable storage compartment. (To which a petty person might then argue back that "you should've had your stuff buckled in all the way; it's all your fault," but seriously, do you do everything perfectly every single time? No, you don't. Sit down and be a human.)
You might also notice another small thing here: There's a door handle on the outside. So you can open the door and get in, like a person. I don't know why or when or how someone decided that having door handles on the outside of a vehicle door is a poor design choice, but whoever that person is needs a good slapping. You shouldn't need to press a button to get the door handle to pop out just to have the privilege of entering the bloody vehicle; it's one more stupid thing that can break. Something something do we really need to reinvent the wheel? No, we do NOT.
I digress.
You Have Now Entered Supercharger Central
Climbing into the cab is a cinch. While I don't personally have an issue with grabbing various bits of rollcage on the outside to clamber up into some other side-by-sides I've driven, I also recognize that this can present a challenge to some drivers. And I believe fun, if you're willing to have it, should be for everyone. So I appreciate that Kawasaki made an effort to incorporate this level of ease and comfort into the simple experience of getting into the Teryx H2.
Also, buckling yourself into place is similarly easy, and it's done with a four-point harness system that splits the difference between a more complicated five-point harness system and a much more relaxed car seat belt. Padded straps go over both of your shoulders, and there's a top buckle and a bottom buckle. The bottom buckle, which you do up so it's low and tight across your lap, is the primary load-bearing element. You loosen both sides up bigger than you need them to be, buckle them, and then pull the two tails until they're nice and snug against your lap.
It's both simple and secure, and once you set it up for yourself, you can easily forget about it as you hop out, hop in, and hop back out again while you're out having fun. In fact, that harness system might be a good analogy for this entire Teryx H2 driving experience. The more I think about it, there's a real depth of power there, but it's refined and easily controlled to the point where after you acclimate to it, it nearly becomes second nature. Set and forget; just go out and have fun.
A Potent And Confidence-Inspiring Mixture
I could tell you about its short wheelbase (101 inches) and its impressive power-to-weight ratio (0.1087 hp/lb, which puts it in a class with BMWs that cost two and three times as much, and which definitely aren't built to get anywhere near as dirty as this lil guy).
But instead, I'm going to tell you a story. It's about an experience that I had, completely by accident.
You see, the Kawasaki Teryx H2 Limited eS comes standard with a 10-inch Garmin Tread off-road nav system. It's bright, easy to read, and allows you and your friends to easily connect up to one another so you can see where each of you is on the map. That makes it super handy for exploring trail systems together, so hopefully you can all make it to the same place at your own pace.
Still, as with any group ride situation, humans can (and do) make wrong turns. Not all of them result in you accidentally doing a bit of rock crawling; it's true. But even though I put my little Teryx through something that wasn't on our scheduled route, it all worked out just fine in the end.
Why? Because this accidental test of all the cool new features of the Teryx H2 Limited eS, with its Kawasaki Electronic Control Suspension (KECS, which on the Limited eS specifically uses FOX Podium 3.0 internal bypass shocks) and E-Sway Bar, as well as the Maxxis Carnivore Plus tires that come standard, was honestly pretty freaking awesome.
I took it slow and steady, and when the chase guys from Kawasaki told me we needed to turn around and rejoin the group, they were able to help me successfully navigate between some tight trees. So we went over those rocks twice with absolutely no uncertainty or trouble. And although I could have switched to 4WD if I'd wanted to, there was no need. The different systems all just worked together nicely to make the whole experience seem fun and exhilarating, rather than nerve-wracking.
As we rejoined the group and got back to our scheduled route, I settled into the seat and completely relaxed into the day's experience. See, whenever I get into or onto a new thing I haven't driven or ridden before, there's always a mix of excitement and nerves until I feel like we're properly acquainted. And after my accidental rock-crawling excursion, I now felt like the H2 and I knew each other sufficiently well.
Grins and Giggles Galore
I'll be honest; following signs on trails is still a little easier for me than using a navigation screen. That's a personal thing, of course; being able to see where the signs told me to go and then cross-reference it with the nav screen was extra reassurance, particularly later in the day when I was trying to hang back out of someone's dust at least a little. A feat at which I did not completely succeed, as anyone who follows us on Instagram already saw in our Stories last week. I still say mud is good for the skin!
After crawling over those rocks, the rest of the trail seemed comparatively like cake. Under cover of the massive and beautiful trees of the Durhamtown Off-Road Park, we continued to make the most of an incredibly hot and sticky mid-August Georgia day. Both the birds and the superchargers were chirping, and with plentiful hydration on hand, everyone I spoke to later seemed to have had just as good a time as I did behind the wheel.
Track Testing Time
For the Teryx H2 Limited eS, Kawasaki didn't content itself with slapping on any old suspension and traction control and ride modes and calling it a day. One of the things that's important to know about the way the company approaches things is that there will be a noticeable difference between settings. None of this vague, "oh, I think I should feel something, so maybe I'm feeling something?"
To ensure that all of us had the chance to truly feel the difference between the drive modes (Comfort/Sport/Firm), traction control settings (Off, 1, and 2), power modes (Low/Mid/Full), and also what 2WD/4WD felt like, we spent half the day on a dirt track. All of us did individual sets of 3 laps apiece with different settings engaged; that way, we could concentrate on the difference in responsiveness and feel between those settings, without anyone's competitive streaks getting in the way.
Conditions were quite dry and even a bit dusty, so the traction control test may not have been as dramatic as it would have been if we'd had a wet lap when we were driving with traction control level 2 (the most invasive one, which is meant precisely for muddy, slippery conditions). Still, the differences felt between all modes were very noticeable, and knowing when and where to use them would no doubt help drivers so they're prepared for those situations when they come to them.
If the wooded trails were tight and windy and full of sun-dappled greenery, the track was a wide-open wonderland, where you could easily go flat-out without worrying that you were going to wrap yourself around anything. We could, and I did. And let me tell you, a Teryx H2 Limited eS in full power mode on a track like this, in clear and dry conditions, is a beautiful thing.
Conclusions
Other journalists at this event are more experienced side-by-side drivers than I am; full stop.
As with motorcycles, that has always been and will always be the case. I was born when I was born, and you were born when you were born, and we all started doing whatever powersports we do when we started doing them. Unless you can time-travel, that's something you can't change.
The thing that makes the Kawasaki Teryx H2 special, though, is how approachable it is. Not dumbed down; not in the least. Rather, it's a performance side-by-side that's ready and willing to grow with you, as your experience grows. And it's built to actively encourage you to go further and do more, just because it's so unobtrusively capable.
When you're in the driver's seat, everything feels incredibly well-put-together, considered, and complete. Obviously, I can't speak to longevity, as this isn't a long-term review. But it's clear that a lot of thought and care went into details both big and small with the Teryx H2; that includes the copious amounts of storage nooks and crannies that are included, even though this is a two-seater and not a four- or five-seater SxS. There's even a nice little bit of pretty secure storage space to stick a backpack or other smaller bag right behind the two seats in this thing! The standard speakers don't sound too bad, either; definitely a plus if you like jamming out to your favorite tunes while you're playing in the dirt.
In the US, the base 2027 Kawasaki Teryx H2 starts at US $32,899, and the Teryx H2 Limited eS that I drove starts at US $41,399. Is it pocket change? No. But is it a pocket rocket? Yes, yes it is.
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