Just bought a 1635 HST bout a month ago. Was in the same boat you're in against the powershuttle. All I do is use a finish mower and a box blade for now.....might push a bit of snow this winter with the FEL. Just mowed 9 acres today with it. So far so good. When pulling hard or going up a slope you get the whine everyone will tell you about. Noticed a lot at first now not nearly as much. Don't know if it's getting quieter or I'm getting used to it. Did a lot of trimming along the woods and a sharp drop off backing up and pulling away and the hydro made it very easy and it seemed a lot safer also. The cruise control lever is nice also as it lets you set the speed and just kick back and ride as you would with a regular transmission. On a note....If you've got a lot of fairly steep hills or slopes to mow a lot you might consider the shuttle. It tends to want to power out on a steep grade while mowing. But other than that I really like mine. I also have a 2000 foot driveway too grade and upkeep with the before mentioned box blade and it works miracles. Here's a couple of pics of part of what I mowed today. Gonna build a house in the middle in the spring. Don't know anything about a Kioti. No dealers near me. Probably a good tractor also though.
<img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=333801"/><img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=333802"/><img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=333803"/>
