Let me make things a little more difficult for you. I can provide testiment to how great a machine Honda makes. I ride ATV's for my job- so I'd say I spend roughly 40 hours a week riding ATV's for half of the year. Half of these days I put 60+ miles on my machine. The other three guys at work put on just as many or more miles. Three of us ride Honda Foreman 450's- two with the ESP option, the other a foot shift. The fourth guy rides a Kawasaki Prairie 650. For the first part of the summer, we spend much of the day climbing in and out of washes in the desert and bouncing over sagebrush. Temperatures much of the time reach 100 degrees. The Kawasaki Prairie 650 is an awesome machine, but such hard riding will cause it to over-heat from time to time. None of the Hondas have any issues at all.

The second part of the summer is even harder on the machines. We strap 25 gallon spray tanks onto the back racks and spray weeds on the side of the mountain and in the foothills all day. Temperatures are over 100 degrees, and the terrain is very rough. We crawl over boulders and logs, we jump small ditches, we ford creeks, we climb hills so steep that they cannot be driven up without the added weight of the spray, and we drive through the middle of the brush. Almost none of our time is spent on trails; we make our own. At least half our time spraying is spent with 3 wheels on the ground. After subjecting all four machines to such abuse for the entire summer, we took them in to get serviced. All three Hondas passed with near-clean bills of health, as they have since the business has owned them. They just needed their brakes tightened. The Kawi, on the other hand, is in need of some suspension repairs, and we cannot get the belt to stop whining because all of the hard work is too much for the automatic transmission. Only the manual transmissions of the Hondas are cut out for that much abuse. If it weren't for the lack of a title, the Kawasaki would have been traded in for a new Honda months ago.

Just for reference, the Hondas are all different ages. One is a 99, one is a 2000, and one is a 2004. The 99 and 2000 have several thousand miles on them and look like they've been through a war zone. Both have been wrecked multiple times. The 2004 has only been rolled once into a ravine, so it still looks presentable. My personal machine that I ride when not working is a 2003 Kawasaki Prairie 650, and it opperates flawlesly because I only use it for ice fishing and trail riding.

The moral of the story: While they may not be as plush a ride as the Yamahas, Kawasakis, and other machines, they are much more cut out for work and will last a lot longer. The automatic transmissions of the competitors just don't cut it, even if they are great machines. And ground clearance is not that important so long as you have a good set of skid plates and you know how to ride.

No doubt others will disagree, but these have been my experiences and observations. I'm not a professional ATV tester by any means. Just someone who spends a lot of time riding.

Go with the Honda.
I don't ride mine as hard as wyotimberghost but ride it pretty hard and use it for everything.
Mine is the 99 Foreman 450. From plowing snow to last weeks packing out of 300 pounds of Elk in one shot. You can't go wrong as the others here can attest.

I am going tomorrow to check them out. I have been looking at them in the web and they seem to have everything I am looking for. I really wanted IRS for the ground clearance due to deep snow here and EFI in case I take it out west to a high altitude elk hunt next year.

OHHhhhhhhhhh... my head hurts. Make it stop. Info overload...info overload. I started out thinking of one or two and now I have 5 or 6 to think about.

Back to the basics for a moment. Remember, I'm a novice/beginner/no nothing about ATV's.
EFI... I take it that's some sort of electonic engine carburation adjustment???
Automatic vs. manual????? So what would be ideal for normal running around and doing some plowing? Am I wrong in assuming auto for runabout but to plow I should really have manual????

EFI = Electronic fuel injection. Manual versus Auto = just like a car. Just go to some dealers of different brands and take a look at atv's. You can also look for or at least keep an eye out for used ones as well. There are many good atv's made, so you will have many choices.

Most people prefer the auto's as not shifting involved, as if shifting is ever really a problem.

The advantage of EFI is that you don't have to re-jet for large changes in elevation. As far as automatic vs. manual, the only time you'll notice a difference is when you're dealing with large amounts of weight, i.e. a 1500lb trailer. For ease of use, an auto is what you want for running around, and you could do simple tasks like plowing snow with an automatic without any problem. The automatic in the Honda Rubicon doesn't run on the belts like most automatics, so it could probably do everything you want it to do without issue. And unless you're hauling around a lot of weight every day, the standard CVT (continuously variable transmission) automatic transmission that all of the other manufactures' machines have should be just fine for you. Again, the only time you'd definately want to buy a manual instead of an automatic is if you were planning on frequently carrying a lot of weight like a trailer loaded with irrigation pipe, large tanks of spray, ect. For what you plan on doing, an automatic will be fine.

I had a yamaha 250 4X4 (Timberwolf)for years. Great machine, very few problems. It is small enough so you can take it off the beaten path to get your game out, but has plenty of power. Bought it new in 1997 for about $4000.

I went to the Honda/ Suzuki/ Can Am dealership today and got some info and quotes. I looked at Honda 400 Rancher and Foreman 500 and a Rubicon and they are all well built but all have the straight rear axle with 7.5" of clearance and only the Rubicon had high low range and was liquid cooled. It was more money but was well built and looked great. They offered some great deals on left over 2006 machines. The Can Am (Bombardier) didn't really knock my socks off because they were expensive and the reviews I have read aren't all that good. Lots of bells and whistles but that might give them more shop time according to the salesman. I really liked the Suzuki King Quad but they didn't have a 450 yet out on the floor. I guess the 2007 machines are just starting to come in and I should be able to see one in a week or less. I looked at the Powersports on line tool and compared them to the 700 King Quad and they look feature wise like the same machine except for a smaller engine and about a grand less in price.
Electronic Fuel injection
Front and rear independent suspension 10'5" clearance
dual disc hydraulic brakes
Liquid cooled
Same body size as the 700 King Quad
Digital instrument package
Automatic with high/ low sub tranny

According to the Powersports site the Suzuki ATV's were rated highest followed closely by Yamaha andHonda for what that is worth.
http://www.powersportsnetwork.com/enthusiasts/review_list.asp

I am leaning that way….today.

Up here I run a Honda Rancher 350 and it does all I need it for without any problems. I once had a 1987 Honda Fourtrax and never had a single problem with it. So myself I am a Honda man.