The new Toro riders come out of the MTD factory. MTD products are Cub, White, Troy, Yardman, Yard Machines... As an entry level rider- the machines built by Electrolux do well. These would include Some Sears, Husqvarna, Poulan, and the Areins at least that I saw in HD last year. They are easier to work on that your XL too. Did you get not the brakes fixed?

The temp dropped about 25 degrees or I'd be out there trying the brake adjustment...hopefully this weekend. I saw a Poulan for $699 at HD. The nice thing was it was smaller...38". I have to admit it looked cheesey. The deck looked real thin. I saw a lot of exosed wires on the front sides...unless a cowl or something was missing. I looked harder at the Ariens gear drive and Hydro...they look to be completely different units...maybe even different manufaturers. The deck area, engine area etc etc looked different. If I can not get the Toro safely going I may have some more questions on these models. I am gussing the Husky's at Lowes are likely the same thing.

Ariens is HOP, so a better choice then MTD offerings.

I don't know if the coupon code still works, but I got the 1400 model for about 1250 after tax, plus 160 in bing cashback. (also bought an ariens tiller with a subaru engine)

My mother's poulan is going strong for the third year now, and she doesn't do any blade sharpening ever on it, or anything besides change the oil, and they have 2 acres to mow. I believe they are more durable then some make them out to be, but certainly not made the way they were in the past.

Gear and hydro are equally good. You can find good ones and cheap ones. I was impressed by a Sears craftsman hydro tractor made by Husqvarna - it was $1400. Sorry, I forget the exact model. It was a step or two up from their least expensive rider. Very nice for the price, but I'm volunteering your money. $400 makes a difference.

No problems with an inexpensive tractor. I have a $999 (including cart) MTD cheapie from Wal-Mart that has done well for 10 years on my 1.5 acres. Change the oil, sharpen the blades, and replace any wires chewed by mice over the winter (sigh).

I'm not so sure that gear and hydro are the same as far as reliability and durability. If the gears are halfway decent, they should be more durable in hilly terrain or pulling loaded carts, etc.

The TuffTorq K46 is the ubiquitous hydro found on pretty much every tractor under $3k. I know there are others, but the K46 seems to be the standard and the most durable of the lot. With that being said, its durability is questionable when consistently working steep hills or heavy attachments. You need to bump up to the Garden Tractors to get more durable hydros. Mfrs. will not put an expensive durable hydro in a low-priced tractor as they will not meet the price point they need to keep volume sales - as long as cheap hydros are available, that is what you'll get on a cheap tractor, regardless of durability. The hydros are the weak link in pretty much all lawn tractors.

I thought about that as I've read people having problems with their hydros after a while who have hilly lawns, but my yard is pretty much completely flat, so I thought the risk would be more mitigated.