I have an old SQ84, which I think is Hog's medium duty RC. It was part of a package deal on an old 1969 IH 504 tractor which I bought a number of years ago so I can't comment on the pricing part of your question. I can tell you though, that I have beat the crap out of the mower and it continues to work great. I changed the oil in the gear boxes this Spring for the first time. I grease it regularly. I've done no other maintenance on it other than to blow off the grass and debris which builds up on the deck (to avoid holding moisture on it - I keep it outside).
I run it on a Kubota L5030 which replaced the old International. I tried it on a L3530 before deciding on the L5030. The smaller machine ran the mower OK, but not as quickly as I was used to on the IH.