While I agree generally with the idea that renting a larger piece of equipment to clear land is a good idea, the problem is that you need to know how to use such a piece of equipment and be comfortable doing so. There isn't much time for a learning curve if you have an expensive mini excavator sitting in your driveway costing you $200/day. Not only do you need to know how to operate the equipment efficiently, but you also need to know exactly what it can be expected to do and to have a strategy to get the work done within the allotted time.
I have gained a lot of experience over the past ten years clearing land with a compact utility tractor. If I'd had that experience before I started, I could have done in a week or so with a mini excavator what took me months with a small CUT. However, if I hadn't done the work with the CUT, I wouldn't have known what to do with the excavator to efficiently clear land. Chicken and Egg problem. Also, if you rent a big machine for a week, you really have to work the whole week to make it pay. If you intended to work just weekends or in shorter bits of time, renting big equipment is more difficult and expensive.
You have only 1.5 acres of land to clear and maintain. That is a big plus as you can manage that size plot with even the smallest CUT (maybe even a sub compact). There may well be a few large trees/stumps that you could not easily handle with a small tractor (I'm talking less than 30 hp) and front end loader but that size tractor is more than enough to maintain 1.5 acres once it is fully cleared. While a larger tractor would allow you to push over fairly large trees, you might need to cut them down and slowly dig out the stump with a small tractor. It can be done however even with a small tractor. I'd suggest, as an alternative to renting an excavator, buying the basic type of tractor you will eventually need to maintain the land. Anything in the 20-30hp range with a front end loader and a few attachments can clear the type of brush in the provided photos. I did similar work with a 20hp Kioti CK20 with a small backhoe attachment and front end loader. A grapple and bush hog helped immensely. Would I do it again with that size equipment? No, or at least not necessarily. Because I now have the experience to know that bumping up to 40hp gets about four times as much work done in a day. However, I am quite sure you can clear that land with a 20-25hp tractor if you take your time and that is the correct size tractor for land maintenance of a 1.5 acre plot. A 40hp machine would be stupid once the land was cleared.
If I was on a tight budget (who isn't?), I'd buy a used Kubota BX 24 or 25 which is a subcompact tractor/loader/backhoe. It would take longer but you can do the work with that size machine. The other benefit is that you can buy those used in very good condition for $12,000-14,000, use it for two years and sell it for almost the same. At that point you would have cleared the land and have a very good idea of what size tractor you wanted to maintain it (maybe a
BX24/25). Other machines to look at would be the Kioti CK line, the Mahindras, MF, Kubota, NH and JD. You will find more used Kubotas than anything else in the sub 30hp size range but be aware that the Kioti and Mahindras are generally equipped with stronger loaders in that size tractor and you will depend a lot on the power of your loader when clearing brush.
To get back to the "rent big vs buy small" question, if you have experience with clearing land and you have a week to dedicate to the task, I certainly agree that renting big makes sense. However, if you don't have experience and/or don't have a full week to devote to the project, it might make a lot more sense to buy small and take your time clearing the plot. Either strategy works.
