I have a 2011 Z-Foece S60 Commercial.
My vote would be the Pro Z160. Or wait for the Pro Z 500,700, to 900. It looks to me like they are stepping up to play in the commercial markets with these machines.
Now, let's talk about steering wheel zero turns. I have long said that if John Deere had developed the zero turn steering wheel they would far outsell the stick mowers. It won't surprise me that when cub starts to gain traction in the commercial market, John Deere will bring out a machine like the zero turn steering wheel. Anyone notice Toro has entered on some of their consumer machines? My acreage has 3 acres that I finish mow with lots of trees. I had a fair amount of " turfing" with my stick zero turn. The steering wheel machine has all but eliminated that. I have a friend with a John Deere 997. Nice machine and 3x the price of my Cub. He is very fussy about how straight he mows. He talks about the challenges of doing that with the stick machines. I just hold the steering wheel straight and cut a straight pass. My wife mows with it, as well as my 10'year old once in a while. Not hard to get the hang of. I doubt my buddy is going to put his 11 year old on that 997 for a while.
Now, let's talk about engines. Mine has a Kohler Command Pro. When it was new, it ticked. Dealer said it was valves, others have said it is lifters. Every so often it still does it. Nobody seems too worried. My previous mower had a Kawi. Never had any trouble with that engine. My point is this-I think engine mgrs make good and bad engines. Can anyone say Kohler Courage? I think Cub is picking higher end engines from both Kohler and Kawi in these new mowers, so would feel confident in either.
I mow my ditch bank. I acquired a John Deere X748 2 falls ago. I intended it to be my fall leaf clean up machine for pulling a cyclone rake. I also thought it could be my ditch bank mower because of the 4x4. The Cub has a lower center of gravity. I have tried the John Deere multiple times and I have always found it better to do with the Cub. It amazes me how it hugs the ditch bank and climbs back out of the ditch.
Last spring I took my mower back to my dealer for a look over and to get it ready for mowing season. He told me they lubed some linkages, made some adjustments and looked everything over and she was ready to go. This was the first time I had taken it back since new. I wouldn't say I thought there was anything wrong with it before they looked at it. I really felt like they brought it back to new. I can't pinpoint it exactly, but it really worked well last summer. My dealer is my hometown dealer, not my local. They sell over 200 new units per year and you can tell. When you get within 10 miles of their dealership, it seems like every place you pass by is running Cub. This is farm country in Iowa. John Deere's strength has a lot to do with their parts and service. They break and the local dealer can have you up and running the next day because they can get parts quickly. Pick a solid dealership that knows what they are doing.
Good luck in your decision.
