Hey now,
You know, I was in the same situation.
I mow a little over a half acre with lots of obstacles and have used two 42" tractors and, most recently, a 30" rear engine rider. All were difficult to steer and didn't turn around fast enough. Plus, when I wanted to slow down or reverse, I had to stop and change gears.
The nearest dealer to me handles Ariens and Snapper. I stopped in and, in a moment of wanting to make this decision and get it over with, purchased a new SPX-46 last week. They had it on sale for under $2,000.
OK, right after they delivered it I made a quick run to my mailbox, which is a block away. I like to mow one width to and from to keep the grass from going onto the pavement of the road and just look nicer coming to our house. I was impressed at how fast I could mow that rough of a grass. The 23 HP engine and three blades worked very well.
Yesterday I mowed my entire yard for the first time. What was taking well over an hour, took only about a half hour. And this is before I really have gotten that familiar with the mower.
I've never had this type of mower before. It has an electric blade engagement that is simple. It has two pedals, one for forward and one for reverse that work like car gas pedals so you can easily slow down or speed up as necessary.
And the steering? The handling is incredible and it turns almost as sharp as I've seen zero turn mowers turn.
I have a corner lot with a drainage ditch on two sides and mowing along the incline was also an issue. I was concerned but this one is just as stable as my others were.
I was hesitant about a zero turn because of having to get accustomed to the two handle steering. I have seen some with steering wheels though. Now, like I mentioned, I'm having to get accustomed to the foot pedals and other controls but that's nothing compared to getting used to handles.
Oh, and lastly, the cleanup... It has a deck washout and it really works!
OK, hope this was helpful.