2008 Sea-Doo GTX Limited Preview

Luxury, style and performance put this PWC in a class of its own

With its GTX Limited, Sea-Doo has decided to offer as much luxury and performance as possible into a three-passenger cruiser.

It is hoped that consumers will crave every last feature the unit has to offer, and there is plenty. Luxury, however, costs—the GTX Limited is priced at US$13,599, highest of any PWC from the major manufacturers.

“Within the luxury and performance line, the GTX Limited is the upper echelon,” BRP district sales manager Scott MacWilliam told PersonalWatercraft.com. “It’s the perfect blend of luxury, style and performance.”

Equipped with a 215-horsepwer, turbocharged, intercooled, Rotax 4-TEC engine, Sea-Doo claims the unit is very efficient and produces low emissions and little noise.

“It’s quiet enough that if you want to have a conference call on the unit, nobody will know the difference (provided it’s in idle),” says MacWilliam.

That might be overstating things a touch, though it is a very quiet motor. Still, we don’t suggest calling in sick and talking to your boss from the middle of the lake with the engine running–even if it is in idle. Do yourself a favor and just turn it off.

Beyond the powerful motor, the GTX Limited features frills that you don’t see anywhere else.

“First and foremost is a fully-integrated color GPS built right into the front dashboard that can be removed if you want,” says MacWilliam. “In addition to that, this comes with anything you would need with respect to Sea-Dooing.”

MacWilliam refers to the all the creature comforts as a ‘bag of goodies’ and he isn’t too shy to tell you about them.

“In the bag of goodies you have a waterproof cell phone holder, you have mooring line, a sand anchor…you have anything you would need to take with you on a beautiful day of Sea-Dooing.

Just in case you decide to bring a few items of your own along for a ride – lunch, towels, snorkeling gear–you won’t have much trouble storing them. The GTX Limited has more than 34 gallons of storage space, more than any other vehicle in the Sea-Doo line.

Rider comfort was also addressed with wider, adjustable handlebars and a comfortable cruiser seat.

If you are the type that likes to jump off and have a swim in the middle of the lake, it’s easy enough to get back on board thanks to the reboarding step and grab handle at the back of the seat.

With a 15.9-gallon fuel tank, the GTX Limited will have plenty of gas for a long day of cruising around the lake.

Sea-Doo addressed the issue of low-speed steering with its Off-Power Assisted Steering (OPAS). As the name suggests, this assists the driver with steering during off-power and off-throttle situations.

The multifunction digital information center reports 19 operating functions, including speed, compass, fuel level, overheat, hour meter and check engine.

The GTX Limited It really has everything you could reasonably need in a personal watercraft. If the price doesn’t scare you away and you are in the market for a top of the line vehicle, than it’s worth going for a test ride.

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