Best thing is to drive both. The maverick has more power, better suspension and stronger rear diff. The bed is tiny though. The commander has a more usable bed and basically the same cockpit as the maverick.

 

Commander suspension sucks at high speed in big whoops and such, the Maverick shines there.

 

The power difference and suspension are two big selling points on the maverick. You need to really think about what you will be doing with it. What do you consider fun? Do you like ripping trails at high speeds and throwing the machine sideways in the corners? Get a maverick then. If you like semi-aggressive trails on a long day ride then you might want to look into the commander for the bed capabilities. Don't let the commander fool you, it's a very capable machine in its own. The limited suspension travel, though, will makes big hits much less fun.

 

I have a 2015 Commander 1000 and I really like it but I also use it for utility duty....gather wood and messing around at my camp.

I got 1,400 trouble free miles on it. Love it, works for me.

 

I am also retired and own a Commander # 800 which is a great all around machine / work horse , and if you have the need for speed and like to play very very hard on the trails i would go with the Mav .................just my 2 cents which is three cents short of a nickel . LOL