I purchased a UXV SE about 6 months ago. I have friends who have Rhinos and RZRs and I wanted to drive a side x side rather than my ATV. The Rhinos and RZRs are all great machines but I didn't want to spend the money on a machine I ride once a month or so. I also didn't want to buy someone's used junk. There is plenty of that out there for $7k to $9k or more. Most of them in that price range have high miles or have been so modified they are money pits.
I stopped at a local dealer and saw the Kymcos. My wife asked me about them and I dismissed them as a Chinese knock-off. I took a closer look and was surprised at how well they seemed to be build. I spoke with the dealer, he showed me several things, and stated, "Do some research on them." I did just that. I found info here and other sources that made me want one. I couldn't beat the price and the only thing holding me back was the fact it was a 500 cc.
Over 200 miles later I can honestly say these are very good machines. I recently did a 2 day ride on the Piute trail in Utah and put over 150 miles on it. That may not seem like much but if you have ever ridden the Piute, you know the terrain goes from high mountains (over 11k feet) to desert to steep and rocky cliff trails. The UXV went everywhere and performed better than I expected. It even kept right up with the Rhino 700 I was following. At one point I encountered a very steep and winding trail (about 45 deg. estimate). The Rhino went up and my buddy looked over the edge as if to say, "you'll never make it." I put it in low, laughed a bit, and went right up. Needless to say I think everyone was impressed. A family member of mine bought one and has had similar experiences. He has even more trouble free miles on his. The only thing we both have done is swap the front 2 ply tires for good 6 ply, otherwise they're both stock. I also plan to do the clutch kit just to get a little more torque and keep the power band up longer on the long climbs.
The bottom line is, in my opinion, this machine is well built and will go just about anywhere. There are times when I can tell it's a 500 but it hasn't kept me from climbing anything. I'm happy with it. It's a shame Kymco doesn't do a little more marketing to get the word out about these little jewels so more accessories show up on the market.
