Forward facing 4 Seater Golf Cart?
 

We will be coming to TV for Good in June and we are thinking we may want a 4 seater golf cart with seats facing forward.

I know one of the cons may be parking as they look pretty long.

Anybody that has one like this can you give me some insight on what I can expect with these models

Also who makes these in a Gas Model and how hard are they to find?

Thanks

I have an Evolution d5, 4 forward facing but its electric. The handling difference between the 2 different styles is what sold me on this one. Yamaha makes a 4 forward but its pretty long, mine is 11 inches longer than a 2 forward/2 reward Yamaha, I don't know about the big Yamaha.

Yes I have seen those and they are sharp for sure.

I really want a gas one though.

Wish they made them in Gas

I am a gas powered person, lots of motorcycles, and hot rods in my past and I didn't think I'd ever consider electric. Nothing sounds better than a good ole v8 with loud pipes. After test driving everything an electric cart (with good range) fit our needs. We really enjoy the quiet, simple that this cart brings. Since we got this we have even discussed the possibility of an electric powered car someday, if they ever figure out the range/recharge challenge.

You will soon see that the electric/gas war is a pretty emotional one for some folks, be sure to wear asbestos undies if you wander into that conversation.

I considered a 4 seater when I was buying, but if its to accommodate guests, do the math; it would take a lot of guest visits to make up the difference vs renting. Those 4 seaters are expensive. I was looking at Yamaha gas. But 4 seaters to rent are at a premium during March/spring break.

The forward 4's (limo style, some people call them) are harder to turn onto the trails; I've hit a few curbs with the rear wheel in the rentals.

I am considering a 2 forward/2 rear facing with the rear convertible to a flatbed for hauling (groceries, dogs) and depending on how its built, it won't have the longer wheel base.

Enjoy.

Don’t know about any one else but we got a letter that State Farm will not be renewing rear facing 4 seat golf carts. No reason given, since we don’t have one had the letter shredded.

We have a Yamaha gas 4 front. Love it.
It’s only 2 feet longer than 2 seater, so parking not bad.
Tight turns are harder
Rides nice.

We had a 2 front/2back - and hated it (2 back seat are great for kids, but adults dont like it), traded it in for the 4 front.

We also have a 2 seater, so this is extra.

We got our 2 seater Yamaha converted to a 2+2 (rear facing) at Carts and Clubs (Ocala). Works well with the extra storage and it's nice to have when we have guests not having to scramble around worrying about renting another cart. We never had a problem getting 2 "volunteers" out of the 4 people to ride on the back, it's not bad at all if you have armrests.

We bought a 4-seater Yesteryear in 2007. Rear seat faces back and can be used to carry golf bags. Since purchased, used rear seat 3 to 5 times for short trips.

When we were looking for a cart, a salesman said "You must have grandkids or a dog. No other reason for a four-seater. Can't use it for a foursome at golf. If you have adult company you could always borrow a cart for the experience of letting the guests drive, but use your car to go to dinner or touring the expanse of The Villages.

If you get the Evolution D5 Ranger with the larger 205ah battery your range will be around 70 miles - you can get anywhere and back in The Villages from end to end. The 205ah battery adds $2K to the price for a total of $11,495. That's about $10K LESS than a Star or Club Car Liberty with similar options (I say similar because the D5 has a few more options than either of those carts).

I live as far North as you can get in The Villages - in Phillips Villas just off hwy 42 near the VA. Tuesday I drove to Southern Oaks (currently farthest south championship course), played 18 and after returning I still had 42% battery remaining.

We have a Yamaha with the rear facing fold down seat. The additional seat added about 2 to 3 inches to the cart. We had to get a heavy duty suspension due to the additional seat. Since 2017, we have probably used the rear seats a dozen times but used the cart hundreds of times for golf. With the seat up, it holds 2 sets of golf clubs.
My point think about how often you really expect to use the second set of seats, we have had guests that actually wanted the experience of driving the cart themselves, so renting a second cart would be a better alternative.

These do look really sharp. I took a look at the dimensions on the D5-Ranger 4 and they list as 114.6×55.8×79.5 inch (L x W x H). When you did that drive, I gather you would likely have crossed the bridge at LSL and hit the northern tunnels that have lower clearances. What issues, if any, did you encounter with either the height or width in those cases?

Asking for a friend. Thanks in advance! :icon_wink:

We have an extra older model two seater our guests can use. I prefer driving a two seater and wouldn’t want to get a four seater for the two or three times per year the extra seats would get used. Plus, our guests very much enjoy driving a cart (they are typically following me). And as a bonus, it can occasionally come in very handy to have an extra cart if your working on the other one or your guests all want to play golf, which you can’t do in a four seater.

The D5 Ranger with the standard tires (225/55r14) will NOT go under two tunnels at all - the Saddlebrook tunnel (which is the shortest), and the tunnel under Buena Vista Blvd at Talley Ridge Dr - and will be close to scraping at many more tunnels.

Note that you would have the same issue with Star EV carts and the EZ-Go Liberty (EZ-Go's 4 forward seat cart). I have no idea why they make the roofs so high on these carts.

I had the dealer swap out my tires for 205/45r12 tires (went from a 14" rim to 12" rim). The dealer (Botero Carts Ocala) did this for free, and it lowers the cart by 2.2". With these tires I can get through the two shortest tunnels without scraping - but I have to be careful.

My wife still thought it was too close for comfort and didn't want to worry when driving the cart. The rear of the roof is 2.5" higher than the front. The struts go straight to the roof with no bends. I removed the bolt for the struts, lifted the back of the roof, then cut 2.25" off of each strut, drilled a new hole and re-attached the roof. The cart now clears the two lowest tunnels by over 2". It's not much taller than a standard Yamaha! Now we can zip through any tunnel without any worries. (Note: If you're going to lower the roof, do it BEFORE you get your rain enclosure. I had to take mine back to get snaps moved and material taken off the bottom :))

Absolutely love this cart. I've had it 5 months and have over 1,500 miles on it. Wouldn't go back to my Yamaha Drive 2 - the ride is better and way more features.

Great information -- thanks so much. I'm not going to guess at this but have you crossed the Morse Bridge and had any issues that people complain about with the wider carts like the Atomics and others? If none, I definitely have something to put at the top of the list when buying.

So after doing my research, I pulled the trigger on this cart, but made a few changes to Poolbrew's very helpful recommendations.
First, I went with Hidden Creek Golf Carts in Wildwood, he was more open and helpful. Botero wanted 995 just to change the tires(Their quote was $1000 more WITHOUT the enclosure on it). Here is what I learned-
1. The 205 is not available and it might be a year. They have a 160 Amp hour which runs 50-60 miles and that is plenty for us.
2. We went with a 205/65R10 tire which is basically the tires that come on a Yamaha cart. He said the bigger sidewall gives a much smoother ride than the 205/45R12s and only 3/4" bigger. He had a nice selection of rims and made the switch for $200.
3. He recommended adding a Canopy mounted brake light/turn signal setup for safety - $200. I did it. Lots of half blind people in TV.
4. He is dropping the back and reprogramming to 24 MPH top speed (that is what I want) for free.
5. Custom Villages made Sunbrella enclosure color matched to cart included.

Just over $13K including tax with free delivery. I know it is painful compared to the $20K+ the TV golf cart store wants for a Star, but I guess I will have to use my savings on something else.

My wife and I test drove one in Wisconsin, and she fell totally in love with it. Her comment - It is perfect, quiet and no gas smell like the Yamaha's (we have a 2018 Quietech).

Can't wait to get it.

Ed

What dealer did you buy from? I understand some dealers will lower roof for you
Were the smaller tires at same price.
Want to buy D5 if can get this taken care of.
Main concern at this point. I assume you now happy with cart?

1) Botero Carts of Ocala
2) They swapped mine for free, but I was one of their early customers.
3) I lowered my own roof.
4) Love it so far. Coming up on 2,500 miles.

I can't say enough about service from Botero. They have been extremely responsive. The primary reason I went with Botero is that they have locations in 7 different states, have been around for quite a while, and only sell Evolutions carts - so they know the product and are obviously successful with it. I didn't want to get in a situation where my dealer suddenly stops supporting the product (i.e. The Villages Discount Carts). I don't know enough about Hidden Creek carts to go with them, but have heard nothing but good things about them.

Gem carts are the worst on the MMP's. The 4 seaters take up a lot of space.

D5 foot print is 1” wider than a Yamaha quietec.

No problem with width. It's about the same width as a Yamaha.