So you're expecting Kubota to take the old GM stance "as long as we're selling cars, who cares if our cars are competitive" ? I'm not sure what the mix is of 23e's to 26r's, but my Deere dealer seems to be selling a lot of BOTH. I can definitely understand wanting a low cost model similar to the current BX's that competes with the 1023e, but it would be bad to ignore the premium 1026r tractors as it seems there are a lot of people out there that want the premium features in a sub-compact and are willing to pay for them. And I assume like cars that Deere's profits on a premium tractor are greater than on the low end models.
I ended up going with a 1026r. I really only NEED a 1023e, but when you weighed the purchase price over the life of the tractor, the ~$1400 difference seemed more than worth it. Larger displacement engine means lower RPM's will be needed for most jobs, comfortable seat with suspension, and position control are the features I was most interested in. The seat is probably the only thing that matters for the 90% of the time that I'm mowing, but the other two features will be nice for the other 10% and may proove very advantageous in the future as I can see this tractor outliving my current house.
Other specs:
H120 loader ($360 upgrade, figured I'll give it a try, if I still prefer to leave the arms on when mowing it didn't cost that much more and it also means the tractor is less likely to be obsoleted in the future if I move to a different house).
60" deck with mechanical lift and mulch kit.
Power beyond (probably going to buy a 2 spool valve now and add a hydraulic top cylinder, leaving the 2nd spool open for grapple attachment or tilt cylinder).
Frontier 48" box blade.
JD pallet forks.
Turf tires.
Dealer said it'll be about 2 weeks out as all his stock units have the R4 tires so he has to order the tractor in (guessing gear ratio change with the R3's?).
Sure a little buyers remorse may set in over the next two weeks, but those first couple of hours getting to know your R will be so worth it. It's just like going on a first date all over again. Good job getting the forks with the initial purchase. I've been meaning to get myself a set, but that extra dough always seems to go somewhere else. Can't wait to see the picks!
