Well I ordered an X394 at the dealer on Friday...Primary features of the 394 are power steering, power deck lift.
Well I don't think you needed the power deck lift or steering, at least you don't on the 2 wheel steering model. That would have saved you $1,000 plus future maintenance/repair risks. I have a brand new X380 with a 48" deck and power blower/bagger for mowing my 1 acre of mixed flat and slopes. First once you set your deck height you will rarely change it and the manual foot operated deck lift doesn't take any more effort than your average clutch pedal. So far I have only raised my deck when pulling the spreader and there's a handy lock right on the dash to lock it in the upright position, simple and easy to operate. As for power steering the revised manual steering on these lawn tractors takes little effort, I don't even notice it. The whole lawn tractor only weighs like 650 lbs and has a short wheel base. I have power steering, lift, hydraulics on my larger Kubota
B2920 at nearly 4,000 lbs with the FEL and backhoe the power steering makes more sense.
I kicked around the idea of 4 wheel steering but liked the tires on the 2 wheel better. I can't imagine turning tighter than the 2 wheel steering radius and had read about some issues with the 4 wheel tearing up grass and issues trying to get it aligned so it steers straight.
So far the power blower/bagger works awesome. I think the 48" deck is a good fit for it. Like you I need it in the spring when the grass grows crazy and it rains here for sometimes a week or more straight so the grass is pretty long by the time it dries out enough to mow. I was previously limited how I could mow since I had to always mow in certain directions so I'm not blowing clippings over the top of uncut grass. With the power blower/bagger I can mow in any direction without regard to clippings. For my 1 acre I am emptying the bags frequently when the grass is tall, but the system is pretty well designed and there's a handle on the bottom of the bags so you can lift them from the bottom to empty. The whole bagging system including the blower can be quickly removed without tools for cleaning or if you want to pull a spreader around, a few minutes tops. Its also pretty lightweight. The X380 has plenty of power, it hasn't bogged down in tall grass or damp grass. It has enough power to vacuum up pine cones. The blower blades are thick plastic, so far they seem impervious to chopped up branches and pine cones.
WARNING: They will cut a big chunk out of the deck chute guard to clear the blower belt, the idiots at my JD dealer did a crap job of this AND it still rubs on the blower belt. I'm surprised JD doesn't make a chute guard for the blower vs hacking up the standard chute guard. So when you remove the blower for mulching there's going to be a chunk missing from the chute guard and they cut away the part with ridges that gives the thing some rigidity. I may go yell at my JD dealer and make them order me a new one. The dealer also failed to install the blower belt guard properly and the belt nearly cut the thing in half so keep an eye on that. The dealer ordered a new one at their cost.
My biggest fear is that I'll have traction problems with the X394 and won't have diff lock.
I have some slopes and have mowed up hill, down hill, and side hill on them in damp grass, damp enough that the tires are wet. Traction has not been a problem the tires have a lot of grip in the grass.
Annoying Things...
1. The stupid reverse safety button nonsense
I hate it. You have to press and hold this button down BEFORE pressing on the reverse pedal or it turns the mower deck off. Once you get moving in reverse you can release the button but if you let off and press the reverse pedal again without holding the button down it turns off the mower deck. See #2 which goes hand in hand with this annoyance.
2. Hydro-static transmissions are great but...its like having 6 piston Brembo brakes when you let off the pedal I mean its WHAM like slamming on the brakes. So they design them so that when you lift off the pedal the transmission eases off otherwise it would pitch you right off the tractor. On the X380 this is fine when moving forward, on a down hill slope the tractor will even coast forward a bit with your foot off the pedal. But in reverse good grief you let off the reverse pedal and there's no give its like slamming on the brakes. So you held in the reverse safety button, got going in reverse, try to let off the pedal the hydro-static trans slams on the brakes which gives you some whiplash and your foot hits the reverse pedal again turning off the mowing deck
I have not inquired about whether this can be adjusted yet but its pretty annoying. Its mostly a problem when reversing down a slope, I can tell you getting this whiplash is already on my last nerve, as is the reverse safety switch.
