My driveway's only about 350 feet, but I keep a path open all round the house and have a large open area in front of the garage. It was expensive, but I never thought about anything but a front-mount blower; that's really the main reason I got the tractor.
It works very well, chews through anything I've pushed it into so far, and I've found I really don't need the FEL except maybe a couple of times during the winter and spring. Even then, it doesn't take me long to switch them at all, so that hasn't been an issue for me.
Mine has electric chute controls-- a bit slow, but handy, and they don't change position during operation due to normal vibration.