Help me think of what I have not thought of please.
This will be a cash purchase so financing deals are not a consideration. We will probably keep the machine 10 years, so that will be the minimum age at resale.
We have decided to replace our aging lawn tractor with a small ( think bx size ) tractor with belly mower and loader.
I have looked at Mahindra, Kioti and Kubota. I won't consider Deere although they have a very popular small series machine with great aftermarket support. There is a bobcat dealer 30 miles away and a Massey dealer about the same, but I've looked at Massey before and they never made my top 3 in anything I've looked at before.
I have a mahindra 1526 already, but it is too large for mowing my land and no mid PTO. It does have Loader, Backhoe, hydraulic top link and third function.
The smaller tractor can use my cat one pto attachments as well as most of my SSQA attachments. I understand the limitations of the smaller machine.
The brands I looked at have a good dealer and service departments, but the Kubota is the best of the bunch by a good bit and it is local to me. The others are in a neighboring town. Primary use will be cutting the grass, but there will be a lot of light loader work and dressing the Gravel driveway and paths in the woods. The machine is small enough to fit into the chicken run to clean out the coops. I also grade driveways all over my ( call it a neighborhood ) area that I can drive the tractor to, as well as downed tree clean up, clean drainage ditches ect. The smaller machine may get some of that work also.
I will dress out the machine as follows
HST
Max hp for the series
Third function
At least one rear remotes ( hydraulic top link )
R14 tires ( not an option with the red machine ) not liquid filled, my choice.
60 inch belly mover ( no drive over deck for kioti ) drive over. I have a finish mower, but the lay of the land makes it difficult to use.
quick hitch
no one offers a hydraulic top link, so will be sourcing that on my own.
The Kubota looks and feels like the best machine, but has the lowest lift capacity. Best feel in the hydraulic controls. 3k higher price
Kioti has the loudest hydro screech by far and the poorest mower deck and no drive over. Lowest price... 3k less than Kubota
Mahindra has the best lift capacities and a full fab deck, second best hydraulic feel. Middle price of the three. I'm not sure who is making it for Mahindra.
Hydraulcc flow seems acceptable across the board so we can call this a tie.
What am I forgetting to think about here? I won't be buying any other attachments at the time of purchase, so the deals offered to buy extras don't mean anything.
I feel, right now, that the Kubota is the top machine, followed by the mahindra. The kioti is the bottom of my list right now.
Any and all feedback is appreciated.
I had a sub compact kioti CS2410 for 7 years, 2014-2021. It was a fabulous machine and sold quickly for the same price that I paid for it. I purchased a second kioti to replace it, a new CX2510 compact.
Both machines had 25 horse engines, loaders and the 60"mmm.
The CX2510 went much further in other areas that I wanted. The quick attach loader plate, third function, suspension seat, 1100 pound loader rating (up from 700), almost twice the hydraulic flow, a drive over mowing deck, a category 1 3 pt hitch that is simply more usable and capable, cruise control, tilt steering and larger tires, all while maintaining the approximate width of the smaller sub compact. It's been a good tractor so far. But dealers aren't as good as Kubota or JD and it can be hard getting parts and service.
Im at 300 hours that have been generally trouble free, although I did have a problem with the 4x4 lever getting stiff. But all I had to do was work it back and forth while I had it on the lift to free it up, kind of like a use it or lose it thing. Although it surprised me since my tractor rarely spends a night outside and and almost exclusively when and only when its not expected to rain or snow.
When I was looking, I looked at bobcat, jd and Kubota.
-Jd was just too expensive for me
-Kubota had an aluminum rear axle and the HST uses the shuttle pedal that just doesn't work with my ankles and it was about 5000 more than a kioti
-Bobcat (made by kioti) had the 60"mmm on an even bigger tractor, the mower width was only a couple inches on either side larger than the tractor and was unfortunately not good for my mowing purposes. Although the bobcat was the only one that had a 3 speed HST that I wish they all had. My CX2510 has low and high, low is certainly low and high is only good for high speed travel on a smooth surface and not on my lawn, it also struggles in high with a full bucket load.
The one thing the CX2510 has, is an engine that was built to produce 35-45 horsepower and its been detuned to meet the epa requirements for emissions. Some people have modified their engines to get up to that level. Something you may want to consider when the warranty is off.
Overall im happy with my purchase and im happy that kioti seems to be gaining market share, which will only help with the parts availability.
Hope this helps
