I used a 51" meteor this year. Once I lined it with UWMW polyethylene, it hasn't clogged at all even with wet snow. I'm very pleased with it, especially since I found it locally on ebay used for a little more than a third of the price you found. New, a local dealer wanted nearly $1700. My yanmar tractor is 15HP, an did OK with it, but a little more HP would be a plus.
If you search for 51" meteor, you'll find a thread about how I added the PE.