2026 Can-Am Defender Provides A Third Cylinder For Even Extra Functionality

In the event you spend lots of your time properly off the overwhelmed path, hauling mulch or sowing seeds, likelihood is you are not doing it in a large pickup truck. You are doubtless in a side-by-side or UTVthese long-suspension four-wheelers with windshields and beds which can be more and more consuming up the “individuals who really do work exterior” market as soon as held by pickups — from farmers to the Bureau of Land Administration. In the event you’re trying to begin doing that type of work, Can-Am needs to be your UTV of selection with the 2026 Defender HD11. The corporate’s even added an additional cylinder to indicate you the way severe it’s.

Since its introduction, the Can-Am Defender formulation has been largely unchanged, utilizing a single cylinder or V-twin engine with its energy despatched to all 4 wheels by way of a CVT. With the HD11 motor, the primary three-cylinder for the mannequin, Can-Am needs to up the potential of the brand new Defender by including that third cylinder to the equation with out altering displacement all that a lot. The brand new engine displaces 999 cc’s, up from 976 cc within the HD10 V-Twin engine, and torque is almost unchanged between the 2 with 70 pound-feet for the HD11 versus 69 lb-ft for the HD10. Horsepower, although, sees the massive distinction: The HD11 makes 95 hp to the HD10’s 82 hp. That each one makes the Defender able to 2,500 kilos of towing and 1,500 kilos of payload capability.

The Defender HD11 nonetheless makes use of a CVT, however Can-Am claims it is a new unit to match the brand new engine. The corporate says its aim with the brand new powertrain was to scrub up low-speed energy supply, which must be easy over terrain like mud or unfastened dust. That powertrain is held on beefed-up suspension, with Can-Am claiming 50% bigger double A arms for optimum clearance. The brand new suspension has 12 inches of journey entrance and rear, just like the 2025 mannequin, with 15 inches of floor clearance being a 1-inch enhance over final 12 months. That is all stopped by larger brakes with twin-piston calipers, upped to 10.3-inch rotors in entrance from the previous mannequin’s 8.6-inch items.

Inside, Can-Am claims the brand new Defender is the neatest but. It options 10.25 inches of touchscreen within the heart of the sprint, with options from a back-up digicam and music to GPS monitoring for different side-by-sides in your space. It will even do navigation, when you’ve got the related BRP app in your cellphone to tug instructions from. Oddly, regardless of all of the cellphone connectivity, Can-Am does not declare CarPlay on the brand new display, though it is obtainable on the identical-looking touchscreen used on the corporate’s bikes.

The Can-Am Defender HD11 guarantees to be the corporate’s greatest utility UTV but, however that comes at a value. Whereas the 2026 Defender begins at $13,399, the HD11 fashions begin at $22,699 and attain as much as $39,699 for the top-spec Defender Max Lone Star Cab HD11. Granted, the next-step-down HD10 engine cannot be had for lower than $19,599, however the improve remains to be a fairly penny. In the event you’re a farmer on a large, sprawling farm, it is in all probability value it. In any other case, it may be a harder promote to improve to the most recent and best.