"I do more hauling and moving of stuff than mowing. Our 3 acres is heavily wooded so there is always plenty of wood to cut and haul as well as 1-2 acres to mow. The 60" deck handles whatever I can throw at it and the material handling/pickup takes care of leaves in the spring. This is Florida, all of our leaves fall in February/March time frame. I tried to spend at least 4-6 weeks picking up as many as possible and hauling to the back corner. My X748SE handles it better than any of the other yard tractors that I have had. My only regret is I did not get the front-end loader for it and they are no longer built."

"If you can find one in years from '06-'08 I.M.O. these are the best years. Many will disagree with this but this is why I got my 2007. First, it has the largest YANMAR 1.1l same as the JD2305. Second, it has a live front axle which I feel is stronger than the hydro ones. Larger tractors all still use a drive shaft so I.M.O. again there has to be something to this or it's cheaper for the hydro front AWD. Third, as of now the new X758s can't take a loader and if and when they do add one it's going to add more cost and be pain to put on and take off. Fourth, JD had to cut weight in 2013 they DID make a thinner gauge steel frame, but also used the YANMAR motor to be part of the frame. Fifth, will say on the positive side, I like the new decks, but that's it. If you read this please understand it's just my opinion and others have a right to have theirs. Sixth, JD still make the best garden tractor out there, but also how many are left making these? Simplicity? maybe more but that's all I can think of. If you can get a used one and save. Thanks for your time. ss"

"I wanted a commercial grade cut and speed for 2+ acres of lawn and needed to be able to maintain a 1/4 mi gravel lane as well. I went whole hog and got the SE along with the 3-point and the 540 PTO, as I expect this to be the last machine I will ever purchase. For that reason, the diesel was the only option for me. I bought the 60" 7-Iron mower deck since I had been disappointed with the cut of the JD yellow deck in the past. The cut of this deck rivals the Grasshopper and Turf Tiger I demo'd, even at full speed. The roll-on/roll-off feature of mounting the deck alone is worth the price of admission. What really justified this purchase for me was the quick-mount front blade, since we got hammered with some great snow this year. I plowed snow at my place of work with a JD 445 with chains and weights. When I got home and broke out the X748 it far outshined the ole 445 and I don't have any chains or weights on it. The 4WD really helped and it made plowing the lane a dream, whether it was the 4" of fresh snow or the 2' of drifted snow across our lane through the course of the winter. I have the 3 pt because I want a box blade to crown and shape the lane, which I still really need. I imagine I'll need weights once I pick up one of those. For now the front blade has done a good job of leveling out the pot holes and ruts and pushing around the gravel. The front class II hitch mount on the front has proven to be super useful for pushing around loaded utility trailers between the house and the shop. I have been very impressed with the tight turning radius of this tractor, even after testing out the Z-turns. I can hardly imagine how the X749 with all-wheel steer turns. The Michigan seat on the SE is another functional piece that makes driving this machine a dream. I imagine a Michigan could be purchased for less and mounted on any X7xx, but with the brush guard and cool wheels with front fenders, well, I just took the plunge. This purchase was pricier than buying the 2305 compact tractor, which gets great reviews. But for me, at a long-legged 6'5" the 2305 cockpit was just too cramped. I always felt "right" when mounting an X7xx series machine. So far my only minor flaw in performance would be the somewhat slower response of the hydraulics when doing a lot of raising and lowering during blade work when compared to the response of hydraulics on a full-size tractor. Probably not a fair comparison. Of course this is more noticeable when maneuvering simultaneously while manipulating the blade, as this is a hydro tractor pumping fluid for all four wheels and the blade at the same time. Additionally, the top traveling speed of a geared tractor is probably higher than the hydrostatic drive of these tractors at 8.5 mph, but then again, hydro is the only option for these X series machines. A shuttle-shift type transmission on these would be an improvement for me, but we only see that on big tractors (and some compacts?). My cons are me just being hyper-picky. This truly is an amazing machine. Too bad it's built from gold bullion."