Polaris Slingshot SL Review: SoCal Beach Cruising

Traffic in Southern California is an absolute given. It is a slow, gridlocked tax you pay for 70-degree winter days and beautiful coastlines. But sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic takes on a whole different flavor when you are behind the wheel of a 2025 Polaris Slingshot SL.

With an open-air autocycle cockpit, a manual transmission, and Van Halen blasting through the marine-grade speakers, you aren’t just commuting—you are putting on a public show.

We strapped a longboard surfboard out the back, loaded up a cooler, threw in an umbrella, and pointed the three-wheeled autocycle down to San Onofre State Beach to clock some seat time ahead of the annual Surfercross competition. Here is what it’s like to live the open-air lifestyle on the tarmac.

The Open-Air Cockpit Experience

Sliding into the bucket seats of the Slingshot SL instantly feels familiar if you have ever spent time in a modern side-by-side. The entire switchgear and dash layout is borrowed from the Polaris RZR UTV lineup. While it is getting a little long in the tooth by modern automotive standards, it is highly functional, weatherproof, and dead simple to use while driving.

The SL trim comes equipped with a proximity key fob for keyless entry and a push-button start. It also features built-in traction control—though with a single rear wheel tasked with handling all the power, turning it off is always an option for those who like to slide.

The real joy of the SL model is the standard Rockford Fosgate audio system. Sitting on the freeway, stuck between crossovers, cranking the volume automatically adjusts for ambient wind noise. It completely alters the mood of sitting in a mind-boggling amount of Southern California gridlock.

Carving Back Roads to San Onofre

Once the coastal traffic finally cleared and opened up into clean real estate, the Slingshot SL came alive. This model sports a traditional five-speed manual gearbox, which connects you to the machine in a way the AutoDrive version simply cannot match. Dropping a gear and hammering the throttle rewards you with a pure, mechanical connection to the road.

Because it sits so incredibly low to the ground, a casual 50 mph feels like you are flying. The wind management from the clear windscreen keeps the worst of the blast off your chest while preserving the raw, open-air vulnerability that makes autocycles so popular.

We pulled into San Onofre State Beach with the longboard protruding proudly over the rear swingarm, attracting plenty of waves and nods from local surfers. After meeting up with some industry friends from the Suzuki Motor crew to catch a few head-high practice waves for the upcoming Surfercross dirt bike and surf event, it was time to climb the notoriously steep “Mountain Man” cliff section back to the parking lot. Windded and exhausted from paddling, hitting that keyless ignition button and sinking back into the Slingshot’s cockpit felt like absolute luxury.

The Verdict

The Polaris Slingshot remains an uncompromising machine. It doesn’t lane-split like a standard sportbike, and it doesn’t shield you from the elements like a traditional convertible. But as a purely experiential vehicle built to turn a simple drive to the beach into an absolute event, it continues to carve out a unique space on American roads.

2025 Polaris Slingshot SL Technical Specifications