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Here's my story - I've push mowed my lot that is just under an acre now for two years. I'll still need to push mow the one lot line, and around some trees - but it's time to get a rider for the bulk of the mowing. My lot isn't perfectly flat either, it's a little hilly (heavy slope off to one side in the back corner, and a heavy rise in the front yard to the house.)

I've been looking at the Cub Cadet tractors. Specifically the 42 or 46" XT1 or XT2 - looks like the price different isn't much between the XT1 or XT2 - around $2-300. Is it worth the upgrade? What are the major differences here?

Are there any other mowers I should consider? Of course I looked at John Deere too, looks like TroyBilt and the XT1/XT2 mowers are exactly the same minus color and badging. Simpilicty looks good too - but likely out of my price range as I am hoping to stay under $2,000

Thoughts?

The XT2, besides being available only at a dealer, provides you with arm rests on the seat and bearings in the front wheels instead of bushings, a high output battery, front bumper and possibly a different tire tread that provides better traction. I would definitely step up to the XT2 if I were you, especially since you then have a dealer to work with for any warranty issues or maintenance down the road.

cruzenmike said:

The XT2, besides being available only at a dealer, provides you with arm rests on the seat and bearings in the front wheels instead of bushings, a high output battery, front bumper and possibly a different tire tread that provides better traction. I would definitely step up to the XT2 if I were you, especially since you then have a dealer to work with for any warranty issues or maintenance down the road.

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The dealer side of things hasn't been a concern, but that would be a concern having bushing instead of bearings. I can't imagine it'd take all that long for those bushings to get sloppy?

The bushings themselves are not that bad to change, but as a package, the extra stuff you get with the XT2, you might want to have anyway like the bumper or the arm rests. I personally think that the XT2 is slightly limited in options as the XT1 seems to have just as many, if not more variants available to the consumer. It's a shame they do not make a heavier duty Hydrostatic standard on the XT2, even if it means passing that cost on to the customer. The XT1 and XT2 are priced so closely together anyway.

After doing a much of research pre-season last year, I decided on a Cub Cadet and bought it from a local dealer rather than a big box store. The dealer set it, adjusted the deck and delivered it. I went with the XT 2 that has the Kohler Courage twin cylinder.

So far, I think it’s a really nice machine for the price.

I feel that the XT2 is a worth-while upgrade over the XT1, especially considering that you have a dealer network for support. The minor differences between the two lines may matter little for most users, but with everything, you get what you pay for.