Ledgemere Farm,
I own both a Mahindra Max 24 TLB and a Kubota M59 TLB. While there is huge difference in both price, weight, and horsepower when comparing the two tractors there are some general take-a ways.
First: Mahindra loves to use hydraulic hose everywhere while Kubota uses tubing where flex is not needed and hose where flex required ( backhoe and FEL joints ). I became aware of the use of hose everywhere when the Mahindra lost a huge amount of hydraulic fluid when I drove over a stick and it speared a hose underneath the tractor and hose tore open. Mahindra did not have any provisions for protecting the underside of the tractor from damage.
Mahindra uses poor quality hydraulic valves whereas Kubota valves appear to be higher quality. If I partially raise the Mahindra outrigger legs on the back hoe or curl the backhoe bucket up, after a few hours the legs will be on the ground and the hoe bucket will have uncurled to hang at lowest point. I have curled the Kubota backhoe bucket and come back a month later and it hasn't moved from where I left it.
Mahindra makes no attempt to protect the hydraulic hoses being routed to the various cylinders on the tractor while Kubota places metal shields or wire wraps over hoses and tubing runs out to hydraulics that could be exposed to damage. I had a hose ripped off an outrigger leg when a large stick became jammed between leg and hydraulic line and I was raising the leg.
The Mahindra's FEL has a significantly smaller curl range than the Kubota. The Kubota will curl in (curl towards the operator) much further than the Mahindra. Helps when transporting a heaped bucket so the load doesn't fall out of the bucket.
The Mitsubishi engine in the Mahindra seems solid so no complaints/ concerns there.
Based on my above 5 years experience with Mahindra Max 24 TLB, I would NOT buy another Mahindra tractor. I would absolutely buy another Kubota, based on my 8 year experience, because the Kubota engineering and build quality appears to be worth the additional expense, ability to do work, and peace of mind that I won't be damaging something while using tractor.
