Yamaha Drive2 PTV Golf Cart Review

Since 1887, Yamaha has been a name of innovation and integrity. They have been providing their customers products that spread a wide variety of industries from musical equipment to power sports equipment. They can be regarded as pioneers for the advancement of technology.

The first golf cart by Yamaha was introduced in the US market in 1978 well after the market had initially started. It was named the G1 and it worked via a 2-cycle gas engine. In 1979, Yamaha introduced their first electrical golf cart and from there the journey began.

The Yamaha Drive Personal continues the long standing tradition of for Yamaha. They have introduced electronic fuel injection into their gas models which has helped reduce the noise created by their gas engine significantly. Still not as quiet as electric, but definitely an improvement. Yamaha definitely leads the pack in the best performing gas golf cart by a decent margin with Club Car not terribly too far behind. A nice feature is their rain drain system that allows for water to filter through the struts versus streaming off the back off the roof onto your bags.

In terms of suspension, depending on your tires, the ride will vary. It is impossible to perfectly align the front end leaving a ride that can feel unresponsive at higher speeds. Going back to tires, the higher the profile on the tires, the better ride you will experience. With the Drive Personal unit, the standard tires are 8” and do not provide a whole of added comfort to the ride.

On the electric golf cart side, Yamaha does not have much to brag about since they are not experts in this field. They are experts in engine building and not electrical components. They have developed an AC Motor system that utilizes a 5 Kwh motor which is larger than what E-Z-GO and Club Car are using giving it a great ability to climb very steep hills and provide a little extra get up and go off the line with a higher top speed of 19 MPH. This is an improvement over the Yamaha Drive Fleet version which utilizes a 2.6 Kwh motor. Other than the motor size difference between the electric models, they are predominately the same unit.

If living in a small gated community, the electric Yamaha Drive Personal is a good fit and is limited on its overall range. If intended to be used in communities that offer great distances that can be travelled, then it may be wise to take a look at the gas version of the Yamaha and not worry about range.

The one downside of a Yamaha in comparison to an E-Z-GO is there limitations on color offerings from the Manufacturer. Not to worry though as most dealers offer custom paint jobs if that is something you are looking for.

Pros

• Quiet Gas Engine
• Strong brand identity
• Consistently innovating
• Larger Electric Motor for Performance

Cons

• Limited standard colors
• Limited experience with electric vehicles
• Standard golf cart look