I am on the wait list for a 25 footer at my local dealer. I am looking at either the AR250 or the 252S. I have used the comparison tool and I know the 252 has better upholstery, the sea dek flooring, an extra speaker, the different bimini, the fresh water shower, yamaha i drive and a few other thing but I find myself questioning the 20k price difference?
Am I missing something?
I must admit I have not followed all the new developments, just hopping around various yammies, an old habit, at various recent boats shows (NYC, NJ, AC) - to me there is a pretty substantial difference between basic 250s and the upscale 252 models, with the nicest 252s (whatever the letters are) being very impressive to me.
the standard 250 is just so plain
We got a AR240 in 2016, at the time I did not feel like I needed all the upgrades; also their fly-by-wire design was brand new - released that year for the first time (and it was not the system they have used in outboards for many years) so I didn't want to take chances on totally untested electronic package.
The big towers scared me and I felt those would be a liability on trips in rougher water like Bimini crossings... Boy, was I wrong about the towers, lol.
Those large towers with large biminis turned out to be outstanding value. I considered an upgrade a couple of years ago but it would had been about 15k plus the install, so that did not make too much sense.
The e-throttles also turned out to be great, albeit I'm very happy with mine after I added RideSteady - my mechanical throttles - best of both worlds, R-S is the best cruise control for water sports, and provide electronic engine synch and smooth as silk operation with a knob.
If I was in the market right now, I wouldn't even look at the AR250s; if I had to get one, RideSTeady would be the first mod; I think the upgrades in the top-level 252s are very substantial, especially the tower and e-throttles, also sliding aft seats etc. it feels like a different boat frankly.
I don;t understand the pricing structure/logic they use very well, and some of it especially in the "wake" segment models makes no sense to me, but I did not spent too much time trying to understand it, or to spec it, either.
All I know, the high end 252s have so much appeal to me, I was actually considering an upgrade this year...
well, that consideration lasted very very briefly; the moment my wife noticed what was going through my brain at one of those boat shows, our eyes met, and... We are keeping our 2016 AR240, lol.
THe 252s are like eye candy
And this X is pretty hot, too
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. I really wanted the gray interior and don’t care for the baby blue on the 240 either.
