I took delivery today of a Z121S (48 in. suspension seat, LED lights, Kohler 21 hp engine) and traded in a 50in. Cub Cadet RZT with a 22hp Kawasaki engine that I had for about 10 years.
The difference between the Kubota and Cub Cadet is like night and day. You feel the quality of the Kubota as soon as you sit in it. The deck height adjustment and foot pedal for raising/lowering the deck works great. The seat is super comfortable and can be easily adjusted to suit your preference. Power transfer to the blades and drive wheels is amazingly efficient. Although this engine is about the same size as the Cubs, the mower feels like it has twice the power! The control handles have dampers, and require very little movement forward/backward compared to the Cub.
I couldn't wait to try it, and even though the grass was damp and about 7 in. long (I cut it to 3 in.) this thing just powered through it without any sign of change in engine noise ..it was like the grass wasn't even there. what normally took me 1 1/2 hour with the Cub, this thing did in a little over an hour. It wants to go faster, I think its designed to go fast. and the fact that its 2 in. smaller than the cub, is an advantage because I have a couple of tight spots that I can barely get the Cub through.
Now the Cub has grease fittings, and the Kubota does not. I thought this was a good feature on the Cub until the time the zerk popped out of the mower spindle (they are pressed, not screwed on). So the Kubota bearings are sealed, and no maintenance is needed. Here I'm counting/hoping on Kubota quality.
This machine is clearly in a different class than the zero turn mowers you buy in the big box stores. And if you can swing it (and 48mo 0% financing makes it easier), I'd highly recommend it. I could easily see this thing lasting 15-20 years with recommended maintenance.
