2012 Honda Foreman Review

Honda has been in the ATV game since the beginning. It gave birth to the industry with its three-wheeled creations of the ’70s and early ’80s, debuting its first four-wheeled ATV in 1984. The Foreman sport-utility quad came around not long after, in 1987. The popular model has survived 25 years and five design cycles, with the 2012 Foreman the latest incarnation. This new Honda is notable as the first-ever complete redesign overseen by the Japanese giant’s Ohio-based R&D department. The American ATV connection runs deeper, as the new model is manufactured in Honda’s Timmonsville, South Carolina plant.

Changes begin on the visual level, with this Foreman sporting more aggressive lines than its predecessor, shrugging at the utilitarian nature of its sport-utility calling. That’s not to say Honda has forgotten the practical requirements of its ATV design. Owners purchase Foremans as fuel efficient farm hands, patrolling fence lines for repairs, running across fields during irrigation chores, or assisting in any of the various and sundry duties called upon ranchers, dirt farmers and other fine folks in the practical trades. When the day is done, however, work and play can mix as the Foreman is more than capable on the trails.

A revised 475cc longitudinal Single powers the Foreman. This engine wasn’t just ferried across the Pacific and assembled in South Carolina, we saw the molten aluminum poured into the castings to make the engine cases on the assembly line. Power from the Single, while not overwhelming, proved bullish enough to get the claimed 644 pounds (curb weight) of our test unit around the Carolina Adventure World trails with some gusto (non-power steering version 628-pound curb weight). We heard murmurs from a couple fellow journos about top-end high-speed performance, but the Foreman isn’t made for WFO bombing and we found the power more than adequate. » Read more: 2012 Honda Foreman ATV First Ride