I'm thinking there you had a couple earlier threads; so you may have already posted why you want a lawn tractor, but if not, let me throw a twist in things.
The fact you're not looking at GTs, I'm guessing that it doesn't have in ground engaging activities in store. If it is just for cutting grass and maybe a light trailer or something, the $4K marker gets into ZTR machines designed for a couple acres.
These machines have their negatives too [handle different on slopes ect.], but if you have many obstacles it will cetainly save time which also should cut some hours the engine has to run for your mowing tasks.
You're looking at JD, but the Z-Force comes to mind in the CC line up, not to mention a whole slew of commericial manufacturers now marketing "transition" units as well.
Good Luck!