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- Neil from Messick's here. We had the opportunity
to have a bunch of current competitive models on our lot
and it presented an opportunity to go around and do some videos on them.
Now, we need to prefix this with saying
that talking down another competitor’s equipment
is not a way that we typically like to see business
and sales transactions done.
Generally, we're the opinion that our dealership
our experience, the products that we sell can stand
on their own without having to talk down about other products.
But unfortunately any more we find a lot
of customers developing opinions about things through YouTube videos
that may be really based upon half-truths.
While we had this product here on hand
we wanted to take the opportunity to walk around
and do a video of our own
and try to show how some of those comparisons
are made in dishonest ways and also make an attempt
to make our own comparisons and maybe do it
a little bit more honestly than what you typically would find.
Take a quick look here at this video
and let us know down in the comments how we did.
Neil from Messick's out here doing a competitive comparison on two popular tractors
the Kubota BX series and the Mahindra Emax series.
We're going to walk-around these machines
and attempt to do a fair competitive comparison.
Typically we get pretty frustrated
when we see guys doing this kind of stuff
because oftentimes companies cherry-pick one model to the next.
But we're going to try to give you a fair comparison
and really show these different tractors' place in the market.
The Mahindra Emax is a real curiosity to me
because I can't quite position exactly what the right customer is for this machine.
They usually will try to position this in the subcompact market
but reality is that this isn’t actually a subcompact tractor
it's actually a larger machine with a small set of tires.
One of the interesting things of Mahindra machines
is that they don't actually build very much of their own equipment
most of their popular models are actually built
by other manufacturers with their name on the side of the hood.
They don't try to hide that too much here.
If you actually even look at the key for the machine
you'll see right on the key that this tractor
is actually manufactured by TYM from South Korea.
One of the things that's always interesting
being that we're a vendor for many manufacturers
when you start to see a lot of outsourcing done with this equipment
we start to get some concerns about the long-term part support for a product.
So when one company is building it and another company
is putting their name on the hood, when we start to get 10 and 15 years down the road
the actual OEM doesn't have as much invested in that product
as far as the reputation goes when providing that longer-term support.
That contrasts differently the Kubota who builds their own tractor
their own loader their own transmission, their own engine
it is their own product from front to back.
And as years go by and products age
and they need parts and those kinds of things
it is up to Kubota and solely Kubota in order to provide that part support.
That gives us a lot more comfort as the long term goes
by that our products are going to be well supported
as these are typically lifetime purchases for most people.
So again, I struggle a little bit with his tractor knowing exactly
who the customer should be.
If your needs are for a subcompact tractor
if you're working on under about three acres
or so and your needs are mostly landscape and residentially minded
a subcompact is really the tractor for you.
And Kubota builds one of the most modern subcompact tractors I've ever seen.
And the course of this BX Series tractor
this thing has been revised, this is the fifth generation now of this product
and Kubota is the number one retailer of subcompact tractors
in the world and has been for about ten years now.
If your needs are for a subcompact tractor
I'm not 100% sure that this is actually the right tractor for you.
If you work through the spec sheet it is an oddly heavy tractor
which in a subcompact application is not necessarily a good thing.
When you're mowing your lawn and you're taking care
of more residentially minded tasks weight compacts and ruts up your lawn
and the course of a subcompact that's not necessarily weight that you want
there are applications where weight is needed
but they're not typically subcompact tractor applications.
When Kubota designs the BX Series they design enough weight
to performance match the tractor to the implements that it uses
but that excess weight that it's going to become problematic in your application.
Another place that the Kubota is really leaps and bounds ahead
is in terms of their mower deck
they do offer drive over options for one
if you'd like a drive over mower deck
that is an option that Kubota offers that Mahindra doesn't.
There's also a huge difference though in the ground clearance of the mower decks.
This deck is currently raised up in its highest position
and you can see down here underneath the deck
I may have about three inches or so
of ground clearance underneath the deck in it's full up position.
That can be really problematic if you're going
to go out and say row to till your garden
with your mower deck still attached to your tractor
because that loose dirt and stuff that you're dragging across
is going to catch and bang on the underside of the mower deck as you're going.
Part of the reason why that happens on this tractor
is because it's not a real subcompact, right?
In a real subcompact with a ladder frame design
the manufacturer can place transmission
and engine components at different places
to be able to optimize things like the lift height of the mower deck.
Being that this tractor is not a ladder frame tractor
they have no option except to put the mower deck below the bulk of the tractor
which gives them very little height to be able to lift to.
Another thing offered now in the BX80 series
is a skid steer quick coupler for the loader.
If you've not seen these before this is a universal coupler
that's used on probably about 80% of compact tractors and skid loaders.
The nice thing about this coupler is it's really super easy to use
and it opens you up to a whole world of implements
and buckets and attachments from both Kubota
and third party manufacturers.
It's a universal coupler that you can use for grapples
and snow blades, and that kind of stuff
that can very easily be snapped on in front of the front of the loader.
On the back of the Mahindra bucket you'll find no such thing.
Mahindra does not offer a skid steer quick coupler for this tractor
and to be fair, neither does any other manufacturer making
a subcompact tractor at this point.
That is a feature that is exclusive to Kubota at this point.
I'd suspect we will see more of it from other companies
in the future as it's becoming more and more commonly used
but at this point Kubota is the industry leader.
Continuing along the line of subcompact features
is the roll bar that's on this tractor.
Kubota has now lowered the height of the roll bar
on their subcompact so that it fits inside of most standard garage doors
without being folded down.
You'll notice on this machine here
I have a joint that's way up here and this can actually stay
at the up position going into a garage.
As opposed to the Mahindra that has a really incredibly high roll bar.
I’m not sure what hill they're rolling down, but this is a monster.
Granted, most people are going to take the joint here
and fold the roll bar down in order to get it in and out
but from a safety perspective you can leave the safety equipment
on the Kubota in the up position and ready
to catch you in case you happen to roll the tractor
without having to bring it up and down every time you go in and out of the garage.
The operator's platform on the 80 series tractor
is really clean and modern, right? It's a pedal design
so forward here with your toe and reverse with your heel
but you'll notice that the curved portion of that treadle
is below the deck opening up a lot of floor space through here.
Over on my sides I have controls for the PTO
selecting the middle or the rear and another lever to turn it on
four-wheel drive, two range transmission for the rear-end
three-point hitch control, and my loader joystick.
And you’ll notice that my loader joystick in this case
is positioned right here on my fender
and if I bring my armrest down
I could set my elbow right back here in the armrest
and my hand right here on the loader joystick.
If you're working for hours at a time it's very comfortable and very easy to use.
Kubota also does a great job with their loader joysticks
of making them smooth into the corner positions.
As you take your loader up and down
you need to be able to pull into the corners
in order to keep your loads level as you go up and down
and you'll always find on Kubota loaders that's typically much easier
than a lot of competitive tractors.
Compare that to the Mahindra operating platform
and I feel like I'm in a tractor from the 1980s.
There's just not nearly as many refinements here
the most obvious thing is the giant hump that runs down here through the middle.
Now, we talk about the engine hump on a lot of other tractors as well.
Typically a lot of times it's awfully overblown
but in the case of this tractor this thing is huge.
They also talk about how large their operator's platform is
but you notice here a lot of that actual square footage
of the operator's platform areas that you can't really put your feet
way out here beyond the pedals for instance.
There's large portions of the platform
but really serve no purpose the whole way out here.
And a lot of the other Mahindra controls are frankly quite similar to the Kubota.
On my left hand side I have the controls for my four-wheel-drive and rain selection
the controls from my PTO, and my up-and-down control for my three-point hitch.
In order to turn the mower deck on in this tractor
I have a dial that’s up here on the dash
which curiously is underneath the steering wheel
so all the time as I'm turning my mower deck on and off
I've got to twist my arm back here underneath the steering wheel
in order to get to the button.
A little less ergonomic than one would expect on a newer tractor.
Loader controls for me are a big deal, I always get on and off
of every tractor and grab the loader stick and work it in every direction
through a series of functions to see how it feels.
To be honest that's not too bad. I'd take that over
a lot of John Deere loaders any day of the week.
One thing you will notice though is in the design of this loader, right?
When I'm sitting on the Kubota I have an armrest
which this tractor has no armrest
and I can set my hand right on top of the loader control valve.
In this case it's oddly right off here to the side.
It's not too bad in operation
it moves much smoother than what you'll find in some other loaders
and I can do those multi functions fairly well.
My only real issue with that is simply the positioning of the valve
it's more comfortable back here at the hip.
And the fact that all these couplers and hoses
and stuff are kind of just hanging off here on the side on these brackets
and I got the whole valve body right here
it's janky compared to a modern tractor.
You'll also find Mahindra tractors having an oddly high spec loader
and this one is no exception.
This tractor will lift 900 pounds down here at the pivot pin, behind the bucket.
One thing we always want to watch
with pivot pin measurements is a tractor
will not lift the amount of weight that it says it will at the pivot pin.
You don't lift loads back here behind the bucket
your load is in the bucket and beyond the bucket.
So when we move from a pivot pin out to about bucket center
generally we're losing 25-30% of that rated capacity.
So just because this thing says it will lift 900 pounds
if you have an application where you need to lift 900 pounds
do not buy this loader because it will not do it.
You need to reduce that number by about 25 or 30%.
If you have a legitimate application needing that amount of lift capacity
Mahindra will quickly-- that
"Oh our subcompact tractor lifts 200 pounds more than a Kubota BX does."
And in that case is when I would turn to my right over here
and go to a Kubota B series machine.
This machine to me is a little bit of a wolf in sheep's clothing.
It is really a compact tractor with small tires.
If you took this B series machine over here
and downsized the tires, lo and behold it looks
and specs out a lot like this thing does.
You can see that in the pricing as well.
This is an oddly expensive tractor for a subcompact
and will start to price in where a larger series Kubota does
so if your needs, and again, your needs
what you need to lift as far as your requirements go
drive you into these capacities
this is where you need to go.
That's my competitive walk around of the Mahindra tractor.
To be frank, this came out a lot more negative
than what I necessarily was going for and expecting
and I really am having a hard time understanding exactly
what customer would be right for this tractor.
As you're walking around this machine
and looking at it's specifications it should be cheaper than what it is.
This is not as inexpensive as many of their machines are
and so I just don't see it myself.
Frankly, to go through this buying process
and if you're shopping for a compact tractor
videos like this or comparing specifications of machines
and excel in those kinds of things feel
to me like a really poor way to be going through this process.
A much better option is to go out to your local dealerships.
Taking the afternoon, go visit their dealerships
take a look at their parts department, is it well stocked?
Do their technicians in the shop know what they're doing?
Are their salespeople knowledgeable?
A good tractor bought from a bad dealership
can ruin your experience as an owner
so make sure you shop that dealership process
and let that salesperson really try to understand and know your needs
and sell you the right tractor for your application.
A work through comparing dealerships that way
where you're really going to get a much better sense
of what these products are all about.
So if we can help you through that process give us a call at Messick's
we're available at 800-222-33373 or online at messicks.com.
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