Buying new tractor - Kioti vs Mahindra

[Catch95]

Hi - looking for some opinions. I have had a Chinese Jinma 28 hp for 10 years which has been great in terms of learning how to fix tractors! It has done most things - slashing, post hole digger, grading etc but no loader. But finally have the money saved for a new tractor. I live in Australia. Property is 130 acres. Just a hobby farm / retirement place. 60 acres of paddocks and the rest forest/bush. Some flat areas but the rest quite hilly. I run cattle, so the tractor is mainly used for pasture management, fencing, driveway maintenance etc.

Budget is less than AUD$30,000 incl the loader. Needs to be 4WD, ideally around 40hp. I'm happy with a manual.

I don't want to go Chinese again, so have eliminated all those. The compact New Holland/Case tractors don't work as I'm too tall (6' 3"). John Deere, Kubota, TYM are too $$ for that HP. So I've narrowed it down to the Kioti CK4210 and the Mahindra 4025. But they are very different tractors - the Mahindra is a full size and the Kioti a compact. The finish is far better on the Kioti, without being full of electronics that I'm sure will ultimately be a pain. Price is within $1,000 of each other and good, long standing dealers for both close by.

The Kioti is half the weight, but the Mahindra can lift a lot more - but I want the loader mainly for moving round bales of hay/silage, so the Kioti can handle those. Love the feel of the Mahindra's size, but the Kioti is small enough that my wife could use it in the house paddock without tearing up the grass.

So completely unsure.

Wondering if anyone else has pondered these two choices?

 

[Textom]

I bought a Kioti CK27 with a front loader for US$20,000 after comparative research with Mahindra and others. I am very pleased with it -- using it on my 25-acre horse farm and forest land. Now I'm desiring to buy a Kioti backhoe attachment which will be about US$8,000. A Kioti CK30 might be better for you on your large property for a little more $$$ for the horsepower.

 

[Creamer]

i don't have any personal experience with them but have friends with both brands. The Kioti owners absolutely can't say enough good about them the Mahindra owners don't complain but have not real effusive with the praise either. From looking at them and how they work I would definitely go Kioti.

 

[VictorW]

He's looking for a 40hp and the CK30 is 30hp and couldn't handle round bales with a spear on the loader. My CK30hst has served me well for 10 years. I don't know anyone who has a Mahindra to comment.

 

[KiwiBro]

I've owned both. One I'm now contractually obliged to not talk about. The Kioti on the other hand, thus far, has been great.

 

[KiwiBro]

There's a DK551 on gumtree with 6 hrs on the clock that I'm pretty sure you could get within your budget.

Not sure where in Oz you are but there's a dealer in SA (Mt Barker) that seems to have the best Kioti deals I've seen anywhere in NZ or Oz when I was looking. No idea if they are a good or bad dealer though.

 

[taw1126]

I looked at both Kioti & Mahindra when I was tractor-shopping a couple of years ago (along with Deere, New Holland, Kubota, and Case). As you noted, fit & finish of the Kioti is leaps ahead of Mahindra. I especially thought the Mahindra paint coverage & quality was bad...most of the "new" tractors I looked at had rust in various places. I also thought Kioti integrated the FEL controls better than any other company.

What is the price difference between the CK4210 and the DKSE series? If they are still available, the DK40SE is probably a better comparison to the Mahindra 4025.

To date I have been very, very happy with my DK45SE. There may be similar-sized tractors that are as good, but I doubt there are any better.

 

[12Bravo]

I've owned both. One I'm now contractually obliged to not talk about. The Kioti on the other hand, thus far, has been great.

That just made me laugh.....:thumbsup:

 

[oldpilgrim]

I went back and forth between a Kioti and a Mahindra for several months. I finally decided I liked the extra weight and the extra lift capacity of the Mahindra. It's been a year and a half now and I have no regrets. It's a great machine in every respect.

 

[JMC68301]

I just recently did the tractor research gig for about 3 months before finally choosing the Mahindra. My options looked at were Kubota, Kioti, Mahindra, Massey. I was looking for a 65 to 75 hp tractor for use on my small cattle operation and some field work. In comparing the Kioti and Mahindra, while the finish might appear better on the Kioti the feel of sitting on the Mahindra was much different and better in my opinion. It just felt way more solid. Being that a major purpose of my new tractor would be big round bales (up to 1,800) the weight and the lift capacity of the Mahindra was also determinative. Coming from a 1963 1800 Oliver to todays modern tractors I was not going to give up the weight that I loved in the old behemoth for a bit of spit and polish. The final straw was I spoke with a friend of mine that used his Kioti for similar work and he liked his Kioti - but ended by saying he'd bought a monster of a skid loader and that is what he used to move bales now rather than the Kioti. End of my search. I've had my Mahindra mPower 75p for just 4 months but it has been the most wet, sloshy, muddy, icy, morass of a winter to feed cattle in our 20 years and I have absolutely loved using my solid, heavy, functional Mahindra and pat myself on the back for going for substance. Enthusiastic enough? :cool2: