johntlyon
New member
We are considering an XUV550, and would like to get some other folk's impressions. We are also considering Kubota RTV500 or 400Ci. There is some info on this forum about the XUV550, but not so much -- I believe it's only been out for a year or so? Our purpose is for use around an 11-acre ranch in the Sierra Nevada foothills, "Gold Country" in California; about half is hilly, some fairly steep. We have horses to care for, and general ranch chores and repairs. We are not so interested in sport/trail use, just a work vehicle.
Some friends have had Gators for some time, the older "traditional" ones, and we liked these. We think we need 4WD and it looks like the XUV550 is the lowest in JD's lineup with 4WD. We looked at some of the bigger ones (XUV825i) -- impressive, but we want to fit through 5' gates, so we need to keep in the 55-56" width range. From what I can tell, that limits us to XUV550, as far as the JD lineup.
First of all, legroom is better in the XUV550, and there's more room for the driver's left foot, passenger's right foot -- wheel wells aren't in the way so much as with other vehicles. I'm 6'-3" so this is pretty important (BTW I did see another thread on this forum about legroom), and my first impression was "Wow, it's the XUV550 hands down." After the dealer rep managed to get it started, however, my thought changed to "Well, we already have an old riding mower with a carbuerated Briggs & Stratton engine, and it sounds like it runs better than this!" Also, a lot of plastic; lightweight chassis construction is ??? -- we just didn't get a favorable impression as far as durability (although SO says rates high on the cuteness scale!).
An important question -- is air-cooled OK for these vehicles? It gets very hot here sometimes in the summer, not consistently, and we would plan to have it idling sometimes (stop in pasture to muck, etc.). Do we have to worry about overheating? Or, is liquid-cooled the way to go? If so, that would point us away from the XUV550 (1-cylinder air-cooled Briggs & Stratton engine) and the Kubota RTV400Ci (1-cylinder air-cooled fuel-injected Subaru engine), and towards the Kubota RTV500 (2-cylinder liquid-cooled fuel-injected Kubota engine).
Our impression of the RTV500 is favorable overall; engine runs and sounds good, ride, handling, power is OK, and overall construction/impression of durability is OK. BUT, still crampy for me, I can fit in but tight on legroom, and exactly where I am suppose to put my left foot when driving it?
I have gone through a lot of threads and found a lot of good info on the Kubota offerings, as well as many others, just fishing for more thoughts on the the JD Gator XUV550 in particular. Thanks in advance!
Some friends have had Gators for some time, the older "traditional" ones, and we liked these. We think we need 4WD and it looks like the XUV550 is the lowest in JD's lineup with 4WD. We looked at some of the bigger ones (XUV825i) -- impressive, but we want to fit through 5' gates, so we need to keep in the 55-56" width range. From what I can tell, that limits us to XUV550, as far as the JD lineup.
First of all, legroom is better in the XUV550, and there's more room for the driver's left foot, passenger's right foot -- wheel wells aren't in the way so much as with other vehicles. I'm 6'-3" so this is pretty important (BTW I did see another thread on this forum about legroom), and my first impression was "Wow, it's the XUV550 hands down." After the dealer rep managed to get it started, however, my thought changed to "Well, we already have an old riding mower with a carbuerated Briggs & Stratton engine, and it sounds like it runs better than this!" Also, a lot of plastic; lightweight chassis construction is ??? -- we just didn't get a favorable impression as far as durability (although SO says rates high on the cuteness scale!).
An important question -- is air-cooled OK for these vehicles? It gets very hot here sometimes in the summer, not consistently, and we would plan to have it idling sometimes (stop in pasture to muck, etc.). Do we have to worry about overheating? Or, is liquid-cooled the way to go? If so, that would point us away from the XUV550 (1-cylinder air-cooled Briggs & Stratton engine) and the Kubota RTV400Ci (1-cylinder air-cooled fuel-injected Subaru engine), and towards the Kubota RTV500 (2-cylinder liquid-cooled fuel-injected Kubota engine).
Our impression of the RTV500 is favorable overall; engine runs and sounds good, ride, handling, power is OK, and overall construction/impression of durability is OK. BUT, still crampy for me, I can fit in but tight on legroom, and exactly where I am suppose to put my left foot when driving it?
I have gone through a lot of threads and found a lot of good info on the Kubota offerings, as well as many others, just fishing for more thoughts on the the JD Gator XUV550 in particular. Thanks in advance!