I should note that I had a JD 755 for twenty years before I bought the 2520. I used the 755 for lawn maintenance, light logging in my own woods, and snow removal. While I bought the 2520 in NH, within a few months I moved to NC, so I'll use the new JD for everything but snow removal.
I ordered it with R3 turf tires, the independent lift kit, diverter kit, 210C FEL, 62D MM deck, rear lighting kit and brush guard kit, and omit the ballast box. (It arrived WITH the ballast box.)
I have my doubts about the diverter kit. The selling dealer's prep crew installed the lines wrong; at least one hydraulic line leaks (5 drops a day); and I don't feel that the FEL has the same lifting capacity as my old 755 and 70 quick disconnect FEL.
We built a 32' farmers porch on our NH house and I had granite steps cut from the local quarry. My JD 755 had no problem lifting and positioning the new steps, which the quarry had labeled with their exact weights, all between 620 and 740 lbs. With the 2520 I'm having trouble burying the bucket in a mound of heavy wet loam and lifting a full bucket (60") of dirt.
I find the 4wd selector lever inconveniently placed; I'm sorely tempted to use my left boot to engage 4wd but manual warns against doing that. I also find the diverter kit handle inconveniently place. I can kick it backward with my right heel and select the belly mount lift arms, but then it's hard to reach down to use just two fingers (small handle) to pull the diverter back forward to re-engage the FEL roll/tilt control.
I have the "rear lighting kit" lights pointed 30 degrees to either side of straight ahead, and that solves the problem of the headlights being masked by the FEL bucket. In the dark I travel in a near circle of bright light that is delightful --- and productive.
It turns out that while turf tires were advantageous in NH, they are awful in the NC clay. They load up within one rotation in the slimey clay down here, and then they're like racing slicks.
I have traveled on the road several times, going to help neighbors with this or that, and if I make any abrupt turns within my lane (which swings the 3pt hitcharms) the hitch arms absolutely rub on the inside of the rear tires, with chunks of rubber flying off.
Those things sound negative, but this tractor fires up at all temps and all weather, works hard for me, and in general pleases me. The PTO power is impressive for a compact tractor. I have a PTO chipper that chips up to 5-1/2 inch trees and it chews that stuff up like it's mashed potatoes. The low range pulling power is great (while I have traction).
Thank you, John Deere, for relocating the fuel filler cap!
This tractor will outlast me.