I put together a spec sheet when comparing the 5425 to several makes and models of tractors. While an important part of any tractor shopping adventure, spec sheets only tell part of the story. Luckily, most of the tractors I was considering had been reviewed by either Nebraska or the European equilevant.
For the most part, the spec sheets provided by the manufacturers mirrored what the tests demonstrated. Interesting things to note are torque numbers, torque rise, hydraulic flow rates & pressures, and fuel consumption at rated PTO rpms in different gears.
Once you've picked out the tractors you are interested in and you feel confident the specs are comparable, it is time to drive them. This is when you get an idea of which dealer you want to work with and which tractor you want on your farm.
Since I've had the JD 5425 on our farm, a few things have stood out compared to the Kubota
M6800 (caveat, remember, this a
M6800 and NOT a
M7040. Kubota has improved the model line); 1) The JD out pulls the
M6800. When using the Reveal 4-N-1 with the
M6800, I was not able to use the chisel plow feature of the 4-N-1. The 5425 pulls it with no problem in midrange gears. 2) When a heavy load is placed on the JD and you start to lose some rpm, the JD will keep pulling. In these types of situations, the
M6800 would have to be put in a lower gear or the tractor would stall. 3) The hydraulics on the 5425 are quicker. The cycle times on the FEL are faster than the
M6800's. The tractor has an easier time lifting heavy implements with the 3pt hitch and, when in the travel setting, carries the implement higher off the ground. 4) The 5425 feels smoother when traveling over the fields (unfair comparison as the Kubota was an open station and the JD has an air ride seat). 5) The shift throws on the JD feel more precise and are shorter throws (the
M6800 does not share the same type of shifting levers as the
M7040). 6) Access to the engine compartment is far, far better on the JD than the
M6800. Even with the FEL removed, the
M6800's FEL mounting brackets blocked access to the engine compartment on both sides of the tractor. If you needed to clean the radiator's pull-out screen, you had to remove 8 to 10 large bolts and remove part of the FEL's mounting bracking. Of course, this was after removing the FEL itself. In addition, the grill guard blocked access to the battery and made changing the air filter a bit more difficult. These problems do not exist on the 5425. It also appears the FEL issue has been addressed on the
M7040.
In the end, real world experience is the only way you're going to really tell which tractor is right for you. You gotta drive them - ideally, on your farm with some implements attached to them.
When building a JD 5425 and the
M7040 using the respective configurators, I came up with about a $5,500 difference between the two tractors (I don't think I need to tell anyone the JD's was the higher price). However, the JD 5425 still had more options. The price I actually paid for the JD 5425 was about $1,500 less than the
M7040's configurator price. Another interesting data point, but it might not really mean that much.
