The front wheels also struggled to hold their line under hard braking, despite the stiffer suspension on the smaller quad.

On tar the Adly is less forgiving than the big Bombardier and less fun to ride.

On the soft sands of the Atlantis dunes, however, things are different; the lighter weight and gentler power delivery of the budget sportster allow it to scuttle over the top of the sand while seldom digging in.

The suspension's limited travel makes the ride quite harsh, even on the relatively smooth surfaces of the dunes. It must be a real bone-shaker ridden fast on broken ground.

But the steering is always accurate and the Adly goes exactly where you point it with a torquey response out of all proportion to its 282cc.

The clutch is light, smooth and progressive and the five-speed transmission, while a little notchy, is firm and positive.

It also has something the bigger quad doesn't - a reverse gear. It's a bit of a mission to engage, requiring the rider to find neutral, set a special lock on the rear brake and operate by hand a long, rather agricultural lever mounted on the fuel tank.

Nevertheless it's there, and I blessed it every time I ran the Adly into something (or somewhere!) I couldn't handle.

The seat is wide and flat, if not as soft as on the Bombardier – although I found that I spent more time standing on the footpegs than I did sitting on it.

The relationship of seat to handlebars to footpegs is spacious enough that adults won't feel out of place on the 300 Sport, while even younger teens will find everything well within their reach.

Despite its physical limitations – or perhaps because of them – the Adly will teach you more about the special skills of quad riding than the astonishingly competent Bombardier.

• Test quad from Waterworld, Cape Town.