My brother traded in his 2015 Cforce 500 for the new XC. I helped him install directionals and heated grips  yesterday so I got a good "up close and personal" look at the machine. I'm impressed!

It isn't fair to compare the XC to the standard Cforce because they are completely different machines, but I'm going to do it anyway :-)

Pros:

Smart layout. Moving the gas tank allowed the air box to be mounted higher with an added snorkel brought to the highest point possible. Fuel capacity was increased to ~7 gallons. Placement of the components is well thought out and the plastics in the wheel wells will better protect them. Much improved seating position. Lot's of heat shielding.

Better quality Components: The electric steering and differentials appear bigger/beefier. Transmission shifts are smooth and easy. Engine runs smooth and surprisingly quiet with less vibration. Very comfortable padded seating with the passenger seat up several inches higher than the driver's position. Fully adjustable shocks all around with variable rate springs. The hydraulic brake system is greatly improved and quite stout, and the new mechanical parking brake is a welcomed addition. OBD-II compliant !!!

Exceptional looks! This thing just looks aggressive with much more modern styling.

Installing the directionals and grips took a few hours with much of that time spent being very careful in figuring out how to take things apart. New head and tail lamps were easy to install. The only issue was not being able to find the mounting tab for the flasher, so it's been tie-wrapped in place for now.

The only CON I could find was the very narrow rear deck. It will be interesting to see what kind of storage box he finds for this and how he mounts it as it is sure to overhang the rear of the machine.

Here is what I did to make my rear rack more usable.  I made it with spare plywood, an old dog run cable and paint I had laying around my shop.  The only thing I needed to buy is metric bolts to attach it to to the factory rack (I removed four of the bolts holding the plastic cap on the factory metal rack and used those holes to bolt my homemade extension on).  Since I used existing mounting holes it is total removable with out leaving any signs of modification to the original factory rack.  I also needed to purchase eye bolts to create posts to hold the cable.  The cable provides infinite tie down points for anything I need to strap into the rack.

[2015 Z Force 800 53/Trail EPS]

There's always more then one way to skin a cat. When CFM came up with the XC models it was for the rider that partook in the XXC and Hunt The Wolf events and to line up with Can Am's Xxc's which also were targeted for these types of events and also have almost no racks just for that reason. No one uses them for a utility machine so they don't add boxes or bags so what racks they have usually come off.

Pretty tough on these machines...check this one out from last year's Hunt The Wolf.