All my experience has been with EZGO carts. I had an old model resistor cart that I used over 15 years. I would stay away from those. In the modern carts that use a controller, you will find the TXT style and the RXV. The RXV is an AC cart and I've heard a lot of folks praise them. But understand this before you buy one - they are extremely complicated and it's difficult for a shade tree guy to keep them up. My uncle bought one and really likes it, but if he has a problem he loads it up and takes it to the dealer to get it fixed.

The TXT style has both series carts and PDS carts. Some have compared the series carts to tractors; they are generally slower than the PDS, but can work well in certain areas. I have owned a couple of the PDS styles. With a 500 amp.controller and 22" tires they will run about 25 mph. You can convert a 36 volt to 42 or 48, but I'd look for one that was 48 already. I am not much of a mechanic, but so far I have been able to keep mine up myself without taking them to a dealer.

Carts get a bad rep because so many have been lifted and fixed up to look pretty, yet underneath everything is still stock, just like it was on the golf course. The only question about one of those is when it's going to die, not if. If you are gonna lift one and put on big tires, the electrical components have to be upgraded. Fix it up properly, or buy one already fixed, and it should be very reliable. I have always gotten either 7 or 8 years out of my battery packs, but I treat them right. That is an expense that works out to about $100 a year, and you can't get out of paying that.