A bit long-winded, but maybe relevant;
Have you considered a quality self-propelled walk-behind lawnmower? Perhaps a commercial 32"-36" unit? The "control" is there, as is "quality of cut". With a reasonably small area to mow, that cut- quality may outweigh the implied time-saving of a tractor, especially if you have to go back to trim the places that the tractor could not access, or mow well.''
Like yourself, I'm also in the market for a lawn-management solution. I have 2/3 of an acre, of which 1/2 an acre is mowable. Half of that is reasonably "flat", while the other half is steeply sloped. With my old push-mower, it was talking me 5 hours to do the job (1 1/2hrs of the flats, 3 1/2hrs for the slopes.) The slopes are VERY steep, and I have to wear golf-shoes for traction.
I initially started looking for a tractor, solely to reduce the time-factor involved. All the research I did suggested that I needed a very capable tractor to deal with the slopes, and that I'd probably regret going with a consumer-level tractor. I started looking at tractors with beefier trannies (X-320), then to a garden-tractor with a locked differential and serviceable tranny (X-500)
JD and Kubota both sent reps to my place, to look at my slopes, and both agreed that they were too steep , even for a 4wd tractor. I'd be able to descend the slopes, but not come back up the slope. I decided to order an X-500, and a self-propelled commercial 21" mower for the more difficult part of my slopes. My X-500 hasn't arrived yet, but the self-propelled mower was such a success at reducing the time and effort of dealing with my slopes, that I've now started to question whether or not I really needed a tractor.
While waiting for the X-500, Kubota came by with their 4wd GR-2110. Good Lord, what an amazing tractor. I couldn't believe it when that tractor managed to climb some of my slopes. Unfortunately, the slopes are built on landfill, with a rather thin coating of top-soil and grass, so there was some tear-out, and rocks started poking through and popping out. It was evident to me, that despite the hill-climbing capability, that this was not the right machine for the job. Because my slopes are "tiered" (short steep slope/flat narrow ledge/short steep slope/ flat yard) the deck could not follow the contours very well, so the slopes will be assigned to the self-propelled mower.
That leaves the flat part of my yard, which is roughly a 1/4 acre. Now ordinarily, I would have said, I'll use the self-propelled to do the flats too, and be done with it, but I have a back injury which makes walking difficult at the moment. I figure a tractor may help for the time being, but I'm now totally reconsidering the need for a Garden-Tractor. As much as I L-O-V-E the GR-2110, and the concept of a "beefy garden-tractor", it was immediately evident to me, that this tractor was complete and utter overkill for the flat part of my lawn. I have no intention of using a tractor for snow-removal, so I'm presently re-evaluating the need for such a heavy-duty tractor(X-500), if used strictly as a mower.
I spoke to the JD dealer about the Kubota experience, and told him about my concerns, so he has offered to deliver my X-500, and an X-320, so we can see first-hand how that works out. To be honest, I'm even thinking about down-sizing to a D-series for that flat area, or buying a 32"-36" 15hp commercial self-propelled walk-behind mower. A dealer recently offered me a re-built Toro ProLine(?) with a brand new 15hp Kawasaki motor, for $2200.
The new 21" self-propelled I bought, reduced my mowing time from 5hrs to 2 1/2hrs, so I presume a 36" walk-behind would further reduce the time required to half of that, with very little effort involved, and deliver a top-notch cut-quality to boot.
