Here’s a 2003 article to illustrate the market before the great UTV boom of the early 2000’s.
http://www.hobbyfarms.com/farm-equipment-and-tools/farm-utility-vehicles-14957.aspx
The Club Car Carryall and its equivalents the Kawasaki Mule and the John Deere Gator were modified golf carts built to capture the small-acreage utility vehicle market in the late 1990’s. Polaris had a fine ATV line at the time, but needed to enter this price-sensitive market as well.
The Polaris Ranger TM was cobbled together from the parts bin of the Ranger 500 6X6 with the addition of a less expensive Robin 18 hp lawn and garden engine and drive clutch assembly.
Their 9 hp air cooled engine long a staple of the EZ-Go line of golf carts, Wisconsin/Robin/Subaru also produces the rest of the Polaris ATV and gas UTV engines, though it’s hard to find this information online.
Here’s an informative review of the 2006 TM. The Gator seems to be firmly in the reviewer’s sights.
the Walnut Diary 