Kioti DK-35
Model Year: 2006
My third tractor, and the best value of any I have owned. I shopped Kubotas, Deere, Ford-New Holland, and Massey, before selecting the Kioti for its strength (build quality), HP for the price, features, and simplicity for maintenance. It has all the power I need to mow, landscape and maintain a 30 acre horse farm. It came with a Woods FEL for about $4000 less than a nearly identical Kubota that was slightly used. I use a 6" bush hog, 7' finish mower, large rotary spreader, 7' box and scraper blades, 7' york rake, quick attach forks and bucket, 6' cultivator, 6' rotary tiller, and a pto chipper. It does well with all of them, and has moved over 45 tandem truckloads of Carolina "red dirt" for landscaping. The only gripe I have is the difficulty getting it into and out of FWD - - they have since come up with an electric switch to replace the manual "push / pull" handle in my tractor. The power is honest - - it willl do everything advertised and more. Led me to put my 60HP 2WD up for sale - - just didn't need it anymore. Initially I was torn between a DK 45 and the 35 --- as you can tell, I'm very happy with the choice I made.
Pros: Cost, build quality, dependable, fuel efficient, and easy to maintain.
Cons: Poorly designed shifter for 2WD to 4WD shifting (since redesigned to electric).