Rolling into a turn shoulder first at high speed yields a truly exhilarating sensation even for those of us who ride often, but the XP will slide out if handled incorrectly. The XP's high center of gravity, shock absorber suspension and unique hull design provide a lean-into-the-turn driving experience that's about as motorcycle-like as it gets. The all-new XP, the fastest and most unconventional runabout of the trio, captured the hearts of veterans but failed to rouse those with less skill.
Here now are the opinions of our fearless crew. In the end, each craft took top honors in several categories, with one emerging as the landslide favorite among beginner and novice riders. (I wouldn't dare tell them then, but a 2,000-pound Great White shark was caught off the Keys a few days before the test.) A four-buoy slalom course was set up in a remote area to help characterize handling and several drag races were organized to determine the fastest in calm, choppy and rough seas. Every few minutes, test riders jumped into the water and climbed aboard a different craft to evaluate under similar conditions. The proving grounds stretched from the choppy Florida Bay to five miles out in the Atlantic Ocean, where nasty sea conditions reached proportions few will ever tackle on a watercraft. In the hands of beginner, novice and advanced riders, each watercraft was put through a rigorous battery of tests with single and tandem passengers. Ride quality in choppy water ranked highest in the selection process, but ergonomics for single and dual passengers, stability, ease of operation and the overall fun factor were also considered. Obviously, no PWC is going to cruise like the QE II, but these are about as good as it gets in a 10-foot boat. If you"re tired of banging over boat wakes, wiping water from bloodshot eyes, stuffing the bow in a following sea and having passengers ejected into frothy swells, the Sea-Doo XP, Kawasaki 750 ZXi and Yamaha WaveRunner GP 760 reviewed here should be tops on your list. While we auditioned the entire cast of 1997 two-passenger runabouts, only the best rough-water performers were selected to compete in this head-to-head showdown. "Invitation Only" read the sign at the gate.