Comparison Exmark Pioneer vs Toro Titan vs Ferris IS

[MrTrinity]

I am brand new to the mowing world. I bought an old historic house on 3.5 acres of tree covered land (probably 20 trees spread apart) and it is 95% flat. Last summer I had my friend, who owns a landscaping company, cut my lawn while I fixed up the house. Now I am done with the fixing up and I am buying a ZTR. I have tried all of these out, and loved them all, but the kicker is I tested them on a parking lot, until the Ferris. They had a gravel area that was naturally bumpy. I drove a scag with over the gravel and was thrown around going full speed. I drove the Ferris over the same area and it felt like i was on a cloud.

My comparison: (all have 60"-61" decks)

Exmark Pioneer S Series $6,999
I liked this one mainly because its an Exmark and everywhere I read says these are the best. No suspension. Dealer is closest to my house
Toro Titan MX $6,100
This one felt great and I almost bought on the spot. Has a very nice seat. This is a newer dealer and my lawn mowing buddy says he is worried if they'd make it. They have been in business for a few years and I think that is some gossip.
Ferris IS 2100 $8,500
The price is the killer on this one. I am also worried about so many moving parts with the suspension. The dealer is one of the biggest in town with a solid reputation but mainly cater to the pros.

Hearing all of this do you think the suspension is overplayed? I would say my lawn is dead in the middle of a farm and a neighborhood lawn as far as smoothness. Would the Toro seat do the trick to help with the bumps? Any insight would be great as I plan on having this thing for years to come.

PS- my friend says go with the exmark but he has only had exmarks and doesn't have a great idea of the other options. Also all his mowers are $15,000+ so he hasn't tried the mid range out.

 

[MESSMAKER]

I would go with the Toro. Exmark is owned by Toro. Toro has a better warranty and is cheaper. Specs are pretty close. I would not worry that much about suspension. $2400 is a chunk of cash. Lots of good mowers out there in your price range. Hustler,Bobcat.Bad Boy,John Deere,Kubota and Snapper Pro make very good products. I know you did not care for the Scag, but they are well built and very durable.

 

[oldnslo]

Possibly dumb question but.. will you be mowing at full speed? Just because the ride is better how will the mower cut while bouncing at this speed?

 

[MrTrinity]

Thanks, Messmaker! oldnslo, I have no idea if I will go full speed but I will try because that is my personality. That being said, what would you pick?

 

[Gary Fowler]

I wouldn't trade my Ferris for two of any other brand. The ride makes the difference and Ferris has a 3 year warranty so I am not sure what Toro has that is better.
All of the major brands cut grass equally well and most have the same engine options so the difference is basically ride quality & price. That is my opinion and I am sticking to it.

By the way, do you really need that big of a mower for only 3.5 acres. I cut almost 6 acres with my Ferris IS 700 with 52" deck & 23 HP Kawasaki engine in as little as 2.5 hours if I am in a hurry. It will run at over 9 MPH at top speed but I rarely do that because I have so many trees and shrubs to go around and crawfish mounds make it really bumpy which is why I have the Ferris with shock/spring suspension frame. There are really not a lot more parts to wear out on a Ferris than any other mower and I cant believe the shocks would wear out any faster than an automobile suspension.

 

[Olympus]

I think "best" is pretty subjective. I consider Grasshopper to have the best cut quality of any brand. A Grasshopper will naturally stripe better than any other brand I've seen, and I've pretty much seen them all.

That being said, if you're concerned about budget you should take a look at Bad Boy mowers. You get a lot of mower for the price. Another great choice would be Hustler.

Ferris is a very nice mower, that's for sure. You end up paying through the nose for the suspension though. A neighbor has a Ferris and his cut isn't very impressive. I think if you had back problems or if you were spending all day in the seat like a commercial cutter, the suspension would be worth the cost. But for the average homeowner I'm not so sure.

And FWIW, I mow 3.5 to 4 acres with a diesel Grasshopper 61" deck.

 

[MrTrinity]

I'll look at the Grasshopper. i have tried the Hustler and it was a little smaller for me because I am a bigger guy. I didn't like the bad boy too much.

 

[Olympus]

Grasshopper is truly commercial grade machine, but they just came out with the 226V which is geared more towards homeowners. The Grasshopper 300 series will be the larger sized machines. That's what mine is.

In Bad Boy, you should look at the Outlaw series.

In Hustler, look at the X-One and Super Z models.

 

[KYDan]

I presently have 2 zero turns, a JD 757 (60") with 650 + hours with no suspension and it is pretty rough riding. I also have an Exmark Laser (60") with the suspension seat, a special limited edition price point machine, and I had an older Ferris walk behind 36" cut. They have all served me well. If you are mowing large areas 5+ acres the Exmark is by far the best that I have used. Time does matter and it is fast. Most of the commercial lawn services in my area have Exmarks, followed by Scag. When I was shopping for mowers last year I checked a lot of different machines and narrowed it down to the Scag and Exmark and finally settled on the Exmark because of the features, reputation, and speed for the price. I have not regretted it. I usually mow the steeper banks with the JD as it is slower and not as quick to turn. There is a difference between the suspension seat system and full blown suspension, but the suspension seat will keep your teeth from jarring. I mow about 15 acres as lawn and it takes my wife and I about 2 days to do it all including the trim mowing and weeding.

 

[KYDan]

Another point that I forgot to add in my original post is the Exmark is incredibly easy to service. It has a well thought out design and has a lot of nice features that make servicing it simple and fast.