Pros - They're relatively cheap right now, they can haul plenty (5/4 ton rated), they can easily fit four (normal sized) people in seats, or about ten or so on rear benches, depending on how you set it up, they are very capable off-road, they have high ground clearance.

Cons - they are fairly maintenance intensive, many parts aren't available at local parts stores, they use a complicated drivetrain, they are WIIIIIIIIDE compared to just about any other vehicle, especially in tight, wooded trails.

While i see the appeal in any UTV my question is why would you go a UTV over any used 4x4? A UTV has no benefit.

Part of my job is talk dealing and selling to shops. 2 of the shops i deal with is a Yamaha dealership and a bike repair shop (mostly bikes but work on any small engine). Their primary suppliers is usually a 2 day turn around. While 2 days doesnt sound like much that is just to get the part in, not when its able to get worked on. Now my place of buisness is starting to get into selling UTV and other off road equipment parts but is still very far from the normal suppliers.

Now if you go 4x4 SUV Truck etc. You are able to have 1 parts available much quicker (exception of Pep Boys). 2 if you are not mechanically inclined you have a lot more places to have it worked on. Remember if the UTV dealership is bunch of (bleep)holes or have bad reviews on service your next place to have it worked on is the next town over or further. Bad car garage, no problem there is usually something else down the street. 3 costs. Depending on age of course but primarily any old vehicle will be cheaper. A utv is not just look at some of the oils needed for a utv. Some shops have the oil and not the filter or visa versa. Walmart carries what lubes you need for the 4x4suv/truck not your utv.

Now my suggestions are pretty simple. Id go with any that have an inline engine 4 or 6 cylinder. Yes an 8 cylinder truck will work but more cylinders do add to more cost.

Now you said 4 people, how many people are able to drive? If more than 2 are able to drive id look for the single cab trucks like the Toyota T 100 Nissan pickup ford ranger even the s10.

If only 1 can drive id look at the Jeep Cherokee Ford Bronco or Chevy K5.

In simple UTV are a waste of money. If they were lets say 5k new id have a lot less issues. They are too expensive for what they are.

Down time is what kills them here. We have the dealer and One repair dude. And the dealers is 2 weeks out and the repair dude is 4 weeks out just cause he does a better job and people are happy with him. Now if this is just a recreational vehicle down time is nothing but when your checking cows guess what down time becomes an Issue. Why pay for down time? Like I stated above they are nice for recreational pleasure. And Yes I'll probably have one but I prefer the jeep at the moment for the comfort and reliability. I just sold the Mule Transport and I was really glad to see it go.

I have a John Deere gator 850 Diesel (the side by side style) that is an absolute workhorse.  Love that thing.

Most of this debate stops when you said heavily wooded.  
A Ranger or other UTV would work the best.  I have 42 acres of my own that is wooded and another 75 that is attached I get to use from my friends who own it.
  I have a 1000xp RZR that is great for riding around ;) and a 55hp Tractor for actual work.  My neighbors 800 Ranger serves him very well and is several years old with no problems.
Will it hold up to daily farm use probably not without plenty of maintenance.  My neighbor uses his about twice a week to check his land and haul chainsaws for downed trees etc.
     Even the Jeep with it's tight turn ratio can't hang with a good utv.  A old farm truck is great for open land but on my property it would not make it a 100 yards before it was stuck in the mud 4x4 or not.
My buddies father in law has a diesel Mule that he seems to love.  He has road on my trails with no problems getting stuck etc but it's to new and lightly used for me to comment on durability


As far as UTV pricing goes some people have more money than others.  I don't want to sound like one of the Go be poor elsewhere dicks on the GD but it's reality.
If the OP owns 55 acres that is not being used for farming or cattle he probably isn't broke and can make the best choice not the most affordable one.
   It bugs the crap out of me on this site how much bitching about ATV/UTV pricing is...  If they were overpriced they would not sell which they clearly do. They are not overpriced they're just not a good value

Where abouts in Ohio are you located? I've been thinking about picking one up for snow plowing. How much are you plowing? I have about 1900' foot of driveway.

Are the front springs heavy duty enough to run the weight of a heavy plow?

So I was going through the same decision over the last several months.  I've got a little over 27 acres but very wooded and steep in places.  Wanted something I could drag goat sheds around with, do the small chores with, and tool around with as needed.

Initially I was very in favor of a jeep, I looked at several in the $2k-8k range.  I was pretty disappointed with what was out there.  If it was just me running it I probably would have done a jeep or old land cruiser but I travel a lot with work so reliability has a big play and in the price range I just couldn't find something that was in a condition that would run with little/no issues for months at a time.  Polaris did their cash end of model year rebates and that pushed me over the edge.  We got the Ranger 1000xp crew.

I'm not disappointed in it's capabilities other than I can't drive it the few miles on road to get to my hunting area and in stock configuration the clearance is pretty minimal  I love how quite it is, it's less noise than my four wheeler and I'm pretty sure quieter than any of the jeeps I test drove.  It came stock with a 2" receiver which is a big deal (most of the older jeeps had nothing or just a hitch on the bumper), seating for 6 (four children here), more room in the driver seat than a jeep, and most importantly 6 says it's easy to drive.

@sea2summit What was their rebate if you don't mind me asking?

$4k, got a few more dollars off that from my dealer.

ETA: had to get the 1000 for the $4k rebate.

Did you consider any other brand or were you sold on Polaris?

I looked at Yamaha (my quad is a Yamaha and the dirt bikes), looked at Canam and Kubota.  Really it came down to the boss wanting 6 seats then the price.  Doesn't hurt that I've been running one Polaris or another since '91 on three continents

Yamaha didn't seem well laid out to me.  Canam looked pretty competitive but I have no history with them...I'd love to have an excuse for a Maverick.  Kubota would have won but their top speed is like 12mph and if I'm spending that much money it better be able to move.

Wow, that's great. I'll certainly keep that in mind when I got to purchase one in the next year or two.