My opinion is that there is no such thing as the best. It all depends on what you desire. You can only make a good decision if you have experiences with a lot of Zero-turn mowers. Just testing them is not enough. If you set up some standards as to what you want, that will weed out a lot of them. I rode/cut with Dixie Choppers for about 18 years, and could fix anything on the machine. and sometimes I did it on the customers property. They don't push or pull very well. I used both the 42 in, and the 60 in. On one of my Choppers, I had a vacuum system, It worked too good, as you had to dump or bag the leaves about every 15 min. I am not saying it is the best, but it is one good cutting machine, The Kohler engines hold up very well. The only problem that I had here in Florida, was the sand would eat the blades and deck as the bld tip velocity was high. I also used the Gator blades for the leaves. Try one if you get the chance. Look for the thickness of the deck, check brand name on the hyd motors, talk to the service people. If you as a home owner purchase a commercial unit, it should last a long time. I would sometimes put about 6 to 8 hours a day on mine.