Favorite Subcompact Color? 😁

[Jchonline]

Those are riding lawn mowers, not tractors.

 

[Paystar]

Which is why they are perfect for many people that live in the cities or have small yards. They can mow and garden like a lawn tractor but also do many jobs a lawn tractor can't.

Not everyone needs to impress their neighbors by mowing a 1 acre lawn with a 60 horse tractor.

 

[WinterDeere]

You can't see the appeal of a 4x4 lawn mower with FEL? You must have never pushed a wheelbarrow around on a 1 acre lot. Pound per dollar a larger tractor is indeed a 'better' value, but may not be needed for some users.

I have actually pushed many hundreds of wheelbarrow loads of firewood around a 1 acre lot, I grew up on a lot that size. Subcompacts were not really a "thing" back then, but we got a garden tractor when I was in my teens, which with a wagon was honestly more than we really ever needed for such a small lot.

And don't take this as some "my tractor is bigger than your tractor" BS, because it's not that, at all. I think subcompacts look like great fun, and could be useful for many tasks, my objection to them is 100% based on cost/value. These little subcompacts run nearly the price of compact tractors, but are so much less capable. For the aforementioned 1 acre lot, you could have a nice garden tractor, a wheelbarrow, a zero-turn, AND a snowblower, for much less than the cost of some sub-compact tractors that don't do any of those individual jobs nearly as well as those individual purpose-built tools.

But on my original point, I paid less for a new 60" JD 757 ZTrak zero turn + a low-hours JD 855 MFWD + model 52 FEL + a Woods SB64S 3-point snowblower, than the cost of one new subcompact, at the time. It was a simple decision, for me, and so I have trouble understanding most cases where people go the subcompact route.

I'm sure millions of people can answer that for you. LOL

True! They wouldn't be making them, if no one was buying them. I also see a lot of guys with jacked up trucks wearing $5k - $10k in expensive offroad tires and suspension work, who will never leave the pavement. The fact that it exists and sells, by itself, is not a very good argument for its sensibility.

 

[polarred21]

^^^ Great point! That's why I stopped and took these pics, they were free!

I really want one and the Massey is first choice. Not off the table and may end up being a retirement toy for me. They went from $16.5k to $22.5k in the last 5 years!

The ones pictured are 15 minutes apart at 3 different dealers so I have options including Mahindra same driving distance in a different direction.

What is everyone seeing for local pricing these days?

 

[PJRAM]

I looked at all of those 4 colors, but went with red. Mostly because I liked the dealer, the price and the reviews on the Massey 1700 series. My house sits on a 2-1/2 acre, heavily wooded lot, with a 400 foot long gravel driveway that needs constant maintenance. My subcompact with a box blade works wonders on my driveway. I don't mow with it. I use a riding mower. I use the tractor for everything else. From pulling tree stumps, to clearing brush, to moving rocks, to regrading areas of my yard, etc. I would have loved to have purchased a larger tractor, but I wouldn't be able to maneuver it around my property and for what I use mine for, there is no need for anything larger.

 

[polarred21]

^^^ That's a good looking ride and a great choice!

 

[Blue Mule]

Never saw any appeal in any sub-compact. I honesty don't know why they're as popular as they seem to be. Very poor value, when compared to any regular cat.1 CUT.

Well, when I was shopping I could have bought a sub-compact as pictured above with loader, bucket, AND backhoe for less money than a 40 HP compact tractor. So I'm not sure there isn't value there.

The question is, will a sub-compact get real work done? That was what changed my mind at the last minute. I couldn't picture a sub-compact dragging a 5 foot box blade full of gravel uphill.

 

[nrosario]

You can't go wrong with any of them.
If money wasn't an issue, deer 1025r.
If you can, take a look at the LS MT225S, is a small frame compact, not much bigger than a sub-compact, and the price is comparable.

Also, a good dealer makes a difference.

Take your time and try every single model you can.


Enjoy.

 

[WinterDeere]

Well, when I was shopping I could have bought a sub-compact as pictured above with loader, bucket, AND backhoe for less money than a 40 HP compact tractor. So I'm not sure there isn't value there.

The question is, will a sub-compact get real work done? That was what changed my mind at the last minute. I couldn't picture a sub-compact dragging a 5 foot box blade full of gravel uphill.

As always, in the effort of making and sticking to a point, we can over-state things. I'm surely guilty of that to some degree, but it doesn't invalidate the point.

But back when I made the sub-compact vs. CUT evaluation, I wasn't comparing 40 hp machines to sub-compacts, either! I was looking at 25 hp CUT's vs. 25 hp SCUT's, because the implements I wanted to drive required 15-20 PTO hp. The issue for me, at the time, was there was an endless supply of nice low-hours used CUT's in this class, but nearly no good 2nd hand SCUT's. So, I was able to pick up a 2nd hand CUT in excellent condition, for far less than a SCUT.

But even if buying new, the price difference between them at the time was too small to really justify the lack of weight and added frustration of a non-standard 3-point hitch on the SCUT. This was more than ten years ago, and if "cat.0" even existed then, it certainly wasn't commonly available in the implements I was shopping.

To be completely fair, it'd be interesting to have a fresh look at it in today's market, CUT + SCUT all-in price, with a typical assortment of implements. Keep in mind you can find many of the required implements lightly used in cat.1 for half the price of new, whereas cat.0 may still be too new to have much 2nd-hand market availability.

 

[crashz]

I think people that don't see the value in a SCUT are trying to picture using it on their property and for their purposes. What they don't see is the immeasurable capability over a riding lawn mower and a shovel. If you have a 1-3 acre spot, these can do a lot of work. I think if I were to only use my tractor on my property at home, a SCUT would be good. Other than dealing with some pretty large trees from time to time, my tractor is a bit larger for my place.