I bought the Kubota B7610 to landscape and mow my new property, and maintain a 250' drive. Looked at sub-compacts as well as compacts up to 30 hp. I opted out of the sub-compacts due to lack of ground clearance and overly tight 3ph geometry. The decision came down to Kubota 7500 or 7610, Case DX24/NH TC24, and Deere 4115. I liked them all, and preferred individual aspects of each, but found Kubota to strike the best balance of features, value, and specs overall.

I purchased it with a Land Pride FDR16-60 RFM, and a Woods GB48 box blade, neither of which are included in the cited price. The price of the tractor did include filled R4s, a rear worklight, block heater, and Kubota's LA-352 FL-1 loader with 3 welded hooks (dealer-added). Actually, it's a little hard to cite an exact price. While I was writing down prices of the individual items in the order during the process, the dealer ended up taking several hundred more off the overall order when all was said and done. The price I've given reflects most, but not all of that discount as applied to his tractor price alone.

The tractor is very responsive, including its ability to deliver power quickly, quickness and ease of steering, and impressions of control. The engine is very smooth and relatively quiet. PTO and range engagement are both very smooth. There is no jerkiness or touchiness at all in the clutch or HST drive pedals. The tractor will creep just a bit on a hill without the parking brake engaged. 4-Wheel drive is so smooth that I've left it on more than once without realizing it. No laboring and sound clues, at least on my tractor.

The 3ph is easy to deal with - I'm glad I didn't go with a sub-compact in this regard. I don't feel the need for a quick-hitch either as I find the turnbuckles and top link quick and easy to adjust, even swinging/centering a heavy implement.

The seat is comfortable, though I don't find myself sitting back much to take advantage of the high back. All controls feel like they're just in the right spot, except perhaps the parking brake lever, which could be higher. I don't use the cruise control lever, which is right next to it.

I find I can mow comfortably and with plenty of power in the high range with the rear 60" mower, including at or near transport speed on flat, smooth areas. My property is slightly hilly, again, plenty of power going uphill in high. I do mow low and slow on the front yard slope, which is something just above 15 degrees, and along the ditch and fenceline. Personally, I'd like to see 3 ranges, and the mid would be perfect for mowing with this tractor, but high works well for 90%.

The quarter-inching valve is a compromise, neither as good as position control in most respects, but much better than a simple up-and-down. It works well once the stops are set properly. As delivered, the "up" stop didn't properly allow the handle to bounce back and deliver its quarter-inch movement. I found the stop fussy to adjust to just the right spot, but now that it's there, the valve works well. Fast up and down is -fast-. The hydraulic control of the 3ph seems to require a lighter touch than the rest of the tractor.

Loader de-installation and installation is simple and takes less than a minute. You do need a level, firm surface, however. Don't try this on gravel or soft ground! Mowing is noticibly more comfortable with the loader off. I haven't found the need to have the loader on for box blade work, but then, I tend not to work the box too hard, either. It could be that the loader frame is providing a degree of front weight sufficient for my usage.

I've seen a lot of discussion and comparisons concerning front-end loaders. The LA352 seems to be able to easily deal with a full load of anything, including gravel. I'm not really sure what more capacity would add. The rollback and dump angles work well for me, and the loader easily clears and allows me to dump in the bed of my 3/4 ton pickup. Control is smooth, with easy feathering.

Lighting is good but not great. The headlights are improved somewhat over previous models, but a light bar on the ROPS would still be welcome. I had the dealer add a rear Kubota worklight, which works well and has its own switch.

Minor irritations - the toolbox under the seat is only big enough for pins and a few small tools. I may put on a bracket for a larger box behind the seat, but will need to relocate lights and the SMV bracket to do it. Similarly, I can't find a place to put a cupholder or chain box. Availability to 12v power at the back of the tractor would be a plus. Last, vibration of the loader joystick box at idle is excessive - I'll probably come up with a brace to take care of that.

I'm very happy with the tractor and would buy again. I found driving those I was interested in to be the most valuable thing I could do, spending at least a half-hour or so with each (actually several sessions for some of them) evaluating visibility, controls, ride, noise, etc.

Date Purchased: 4/2004
Purchased: New
Price Paid: US$10200
Pros: Fit and finish is uniformly excellent, comfortable, controls all handy, very spacious, quieter than most, plenty of power, adj. rear tread, quarter-in
Cons: No cupholder, small under-seat toolbox, pwr steering almost TOO good (little feedback), 3ph capacity less than B2410 which is same size, no way to use
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