Buyer's Guide · The Trailhead
Kawasaki MULE Lineup Explained: 4010 vs PRO-FXT vs PRO-MX vs SX, and Which Work UTV to Buy
Four letters, three engine families, and seating that runs from two to six. The MULE range is the least glamorous and most misunderstood lineup on the floor.
By The Outpost CrewUpdated 10 min read
If you want the short answer: most people buy the MULE 4010, most people who work a machine hard should buy a PRO 1000, and the MULE SX exists for people whose real constraint is a gate or a budget. Everything else on this page is the reasoning.
The MULE range is the oldest working nameplate in the category and it has grown into a lineup that genuinely confuses people. Two-seat and six-seat. A 401cc single and a 999cc twin. Bed ratings from 399 to 999 pounds. Four letters — SX, MX, FX, FXT — that look like trim codes and are actually different vehicles. Eleven MULEs are on the Bonita Springs floor as of September 2026, spanning $9,199 to $20,499 as listed, and they are not interchangeable.
One thing worth putting up front, because it is unusual and it is verified on the spec sheets: three years of factory warranty — 36 months limited on the SX, 4010 and PRO-MX sheets, Kawasaki Strong 3-Year Limited on the PRO 1000s (confirm the term on the one prior-year 820 at the desk). That is six times what Kawasaki puts on its own KRX sport machine and it is a real part of the value argument in this class.
How to think about it: four decisions
Everything in the MULE range resolves to four questions, in this order.
How many people, and do they change? Two, three, four, or six. If the crew size changes daily, Kawasaki’s Trans Cab convertible models solve that better than anything else on the floor — you get seats when you need them and bed back when you do not.
How much do you actually tow? The spread is real: 1,100 pounds on the MULE SX with an optional hitch, 1,200 on the 4010, 1,500 on the PRO-MX, and 2,000 on the PRO 1000 and PRO-FXT 820. If a loaded equipment trailer is a weekly event, that number is the whole decision.
How rough is the ground? This is where the range separates most sharply. The 4010 has 7.1 inches of ground clearance and 3.9 inches of front wheel travel — it is a job-site and flat-property machine. The PRO-MX has 10.6 inches, and the PRO 1000 models run to 13.2. On rutted lease roads that gap decides whether the day is comfortable.
How wide can it be? 52.6 inches for the SX, 58.5 for the 4010, 60 for the PRO-MX, 64 for the PRO 1000s. Gates, trailers, and barn doors all have opinions about this, and it is the one specification nobody measures until after they buy.
MULE SX 4x4: the small, cheap, narrow one
Four hundred one cubic centimeters, 13.3 horsepower, 1,031.9 pounds curb, and 52.6 inches wide. The MULE SX is the entry point and it is honest about what it is: a two-seat yard and job-site machine with a 399-pound bed, 1,100 pounds of towing with an optional hitch, 6.7 inches of ground clearance, and a 4.2-gallon tank. One 2027 unit is on the floor listed at $9,199.
Buy it if the machine lives on a small property, a job site, or a campground, and if width is a hard constraint. Do not buy it expecting to work a wet-season lease road — 6.7 inches of clearance is the least in the range, and 13.3 horsepower is a genuinely small engine for Florida sand.
MULE 4010 4x4 and Trans4x4: the one most people should buy
The 4010 is the volume MULE and the machine the nameplate’s reputation is built on. A 617cc OHV V-twin making 20 horsepower and 34.7 lb-ft, a CVT with high, low, neutral and reverse, selectable 2WD and 4WD with a dual-mode rear differential lock, 1,200 pounds of towing, and an 800-pound bed in two-seat form.
The Trans4x4 version is the one to understand. Its Trans Cab converts between two and four seats in seconds, and the bed capacity moves with it — 800 pounds as a two-seater, 401 pounds as a four. One machine, two jobs, no compromise you have to commit to at purchase. On the floor: one 2027 Trans4x4 listed at $12,799 and one 2027 4010 4x4 two-seater at $11,599.
UTV Guide’s coverage of the 2027 MULE 4000 range frames it exactly right: this is a work-first classic that prioritizes durability, cargo, and low-speed control over speed, with the work-tuned 20 horsepower and 1,200-pound tow rating aimed at farms, groves, and job sites. Twenty horsepower sounds absurd next to a 95-horsepower Can-Am. It is also geared and governed for a machine that spends its life at 12 mph with a load, and that is a deliberate choice rather than a limitation.
The honest weakness is suspension. MacPherson struts with 3.9 inches of travel up front and a De Dion rear with 2.8 inches, on 7.1 inches of clearance, is a flat-ground setup. On a graded grove road it is fine. On a rutted lease road in October it will remind you what you paid.
MULE PRO-MX: the mid-size with real clearance
The PRO-MX is the most overlooked machine in the range and the answer for a specific buyer. A 695cc SOHC single making 44 horsepower and 42.7 lb-ft, two seats, a 699-pound bed, 1,500 pounds of towing, 10.6 inches of ground clearance, 60 inches wide, and a 9.5-gallon tank. One 2027 PRO-MX LE is on the floor listed at $15,099.
Read those numbers against the 4010 and the case makes itself: more than double the horsepower, 3.5 more inches of clearance, 300 more pounds of towing, and a tank half again as large — in a body only 1.5 inches wider. If your property is rough and your crew is two, this is the MULE, and most shoppers walk right past it on the way to the PRO-FXT they do not need.
MULE PRO-FX, PRO-FXR and PRO-FXT: the full-size PRO 1000 family
This is where the letters matter. All three run the same 999cc DOHC twin making 61.5 lb-ft at 4,500 rpm, all three tow 2,000 pounds, and all three carry the Kawasaki Strong 3-Year warranty. The bodies are what differ.
PRO-FXR 1000 is the short one: three seats, 122 inches long, 64 inches wide, 1,759.6 pounds curb, a 600-pound bed, and 13.2 inches of maximum ground clearance — the most in the MULE range. It is the PRO 1000 for people who want the big engine and the clearance without the wheelbase. One 2026 unit is listed at $14,499 against a $15,999 retail, and a 2027 LE at $17,099.
PRO-FXT 1000 is the long, convertible one: Trans Cab seating from three to six, 140.2 inches long, 2,072.7 pounds curb, a 999-pound bed in three-seat form dropping to 350 as a six-seater, 12.6 inches of maximum clearance, and a 1,466.3-pound payload. This is the crew machine. On the floor: a 2026 Platinum Ranch Edition listed at $20,499 against $22,499 retail, a 2026 LE Ranch Edition at $18,999, and a 2024 LE Camo at $14,995.
The Platinum Ranch package is worth itemizing because it is unusually substantive: premium contoured seats, cast aluminum wheels, quad LED headlights, a rearview mirror, a steel rear bumper, brush and headlight guards, a WARN VRX 45 winch, and self-leveling rear suspension. A factory winch and self-leveling rear springs on a work machine are the two accessories buyers add first anyway.
PRO-FX 1000 is the third body in the family. One HD Edition is on the floor listed at $16,699 for the 2026 model; read the spec sheet on that specific unit for its bed and seating, which differ from the FXR’s.
The 812cc PRO-FXT 820 EPS is the older three-cylinder version of the same idea, still a genuinely good machine: 48 lb-ft, three-to-six Trans Cab seating, a 999-pound bed, 2,000 pounds of towing, 10.2 inches of clearance, and electric power steering with a tilt wheel. One 2025 unit is listed at $16,399 against a $16,999 MSRP for the 2026 model. Dirt Wheels called the platform about as good as utility gets for six people, praising the smooth, torquey triple, with ground clearance as the limiting factor on rough trails.
Which one for which buyer
| If you are | Buy | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A homeowner with five acres | MULE SX 4x4 or 4010 4x4 | Enough machine, narrow, cheapest entry |
| A landscaper or job-site crew | MULE 4010 Trans4x4 | Crew changes daily; Trans Cab handles it |
| Running a grove or ranch on rough ground | MULE PRO-MX | 10.6 in clearance and 44 hp in a two-seat body |
| Moving a six-person crew and a full bed | MULE PRO-FXT 1000 | 999-lb bed, 2,000-lb tow, Trans Cab |
| Hunting a lease with two people | MULE PRO-FXR 1000 | 13.2 in of clearance, short wheelbase, big engine |
| Managing an HOA or municipal property | MULE 4010 Trans4x4 or PRO-FXT 820 | Low speed, high hours, long warranty |
Mistakes people make
Buying seats you use four days a year. Six-seat capacity costs bed capacity — 999 pounds drops to 350 on a PRO-FXT when the rear bench is up. The Trans Cab exists precisely so you do not have to choose permanently, but plenty of buyers pay for the long body and never fold the seats down.
Ignoring ground clearance because the property looks flat in January. Southwest Florida ruts up between June and November. The 3.5-inch gap between a 4010 and a PRO-MX is the difference between a comfortable wet-season and a machine you avoid using.
Assuming horsepower is the spec that matters. A 20-horsepower 4010 outworks plenty of machines with three times the output, because the gearing, the diff lock, and the low-speed manners are what a work UTV is judged on. UTV Guide’s read on the 4010 makes this point directly.
Shopping the MULE against a sport machine. These are different products. If you want travel and speed, the Teryx KRX4 1000 eS is Kawasaki’s answer and it is a completely different purchase.
Forgetting to measure the gate. Sixty-four inches is wider than a lot of Florida farm gates and a lot of trailer fender wells.
What it costs
MSRP and floor listings as of September 2026, with model years labelled:
| Model | On the floor, as listed |
|---|---|
| MULE SX 4x4 (2027) | $9,199 |
| MULE 4010 4x4 (2027) | $11,599 |
| MULE 4010 Trans4x4 (2027) | $12,799 |
| MULE PRO-FXR 1000 (2026) | $14,499 (retail $15,999) |
| MULE PRO-FXT 1000 LE Camo (2024) | $14,995 |
| MULE PRO-MX LE (2027) | $15,099 |
| MULE PRO-FXT 820 EPS (2025) | $16,399 |
| MULE PRO-FX 1000 HD Edition (2026) | $16,699 |
| MULE PRO-FXR 1000 LE (2027) | $17,099 |
| MULE PRO-FXT 1000 LE Ranch Edition (2026) | $18,999 |
| MULE PRO-FXT 1000 Platinum Ranch Edition (2026) | $20,499 (retail $22,499) |
MSRP references: the PRO-FXT 820 EPS is $16,999 for the 2026 model. Freight, prep, and Florida sales tax are separate — the math is on our sales tax guide.
Above the MULE range sits the RIDGE CREW HVAC, which is a different family and the answer to a different question: a 999cc inline-four making 116 horsepower, six seats in a sealed air-conditioned cab, a 2,500-pound tow rating, a 1,000-pound bed, and a standard 4,500-pound winch. One 2026 unit is listed at $31,799 against a $32,999 MSRP on Kawasaki’s 2027 page. If August is what ends your working day, that is where to look, and we compared it against Can-Am’s air-conditioned cab at UTVs with air conditioning.
Recalls and reliability
No current recalls found for the MULE 4010 in the CPSC recall database as of September 2026. Two historical campaigns are worth running a VIN against on anything used: #24312, July 2024, covering MULE PRO 1000 models for a fire hazard, and #20726 and #20727, March 2020, covering 2015–2020 PRO-FX, PRO-FXR and PRO-FXT models for a steering issue and a fuel leak. The 2020 stop-sale generated a 284-reply owner thread, which is a fair measure of how much that one stung.
Off-highway vehicles are recalled through the Consumer Product Safety Commission rather than NHTSA, so search cpsc.gov and saferproducts.gov and register the VIN with Kawasaki.
On long-term reliability, the owner picture is the strongest argument in the MULE’s favor: Kawasaki forums are full of decades-old machines still in daily service, and the complaints that surface are aging-unit issues — a seized power-steering rack on a 2009, that kind of thing — rather than defects in current production.
Where to go next
If the MULE range is not quite it, the honest alternatives on the floor are the geared Honda Pioneer 700, which trades capacity for a belt-free driveline; the Can-Am Defender family, which brings more power and clearance at every price point; and the best UTVs under $15,000 if the budget is the constraint. Shoppers cross-shopping a Polaris Ranger are usually weighing the same crew-cab-versus-bed question this page opens with.
Before you buy anything: Florida titles all of these as off-highway vehicles with a title and no plate — see OHV title and registration — and every MULE is well over the state’s 55-inch ATV width line, which settles the road question on are UTVs street legal in Florida.
Eleven on the floor in Bonita Springs across the whole range, with live pricing.
Quick answers
- What is the difference between the Kawasaki MULE 4010 and the PRO-FXT?
- Size and capacity. The 4010 Trans4x4 is a 617cc V-twin seating two to four, with an 800-pound bed and 1,200 pounds of towing. The PRO-FXT is the full-size machine seating three to six, with a 999-pound bed and 2,000 pounds of towing, on a longer, taller chassis.
- What does Trans4x4 or Trans Cab mean on a Kawasaki MULE?
- A convertible cab. The rear bench folds away and the bed wall moves, so one machine runs as a short-bed people carrier or a long-bed hauler. The 4010 Trans4x4 converts between two and four seats; the PRO-FXT converts between three and six.
- Does the Kawasaki MULE come with a 3-year warranty?
- Yes. The specification sheets on the MULE SX, 4010 Trans4x4 and PRO-MX list 36 months limited, and the PRO 1000 models list Kawasaki Strong 3-Year Limited coverage. That is unusually long for this category — Kawasaki's own Teryx KRX4 sport machine carries six months.
- Which Kawasaki MULE tows the most?
- The PRO 1000 and PRO-FXT 820 models, all rated 2,000 pounds. The PRO-MX is rated 1,500 pounds, the 4010 at 1,200, and the MULE SX at 1,100 pounds with an optional hitch. No MULE matches the RIDGE CREW's 2,500-pound rating.
- Which Kawasaki MULE should I buy for a small property?
- The MULE SX 4x4 if you need something narrow and cheap, at $9,199 as listed for the 2027 model. The 4010 4x4 if you want a real V-twin and more bed, at $11,599. Most five-to-twenty-acre buyers land on the 4010 and stop looking.
