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Originally Posted by garydee
I stopped into my local Cub Cadet dealer about a month ago and was surprised to learn that the XT-3 has been discontinued. He said it wasn't selling well...too expensive! The XT-3 was the last model to have power steering. I believe it was electric. The XT-1 and XT-2 do not have power steering available.
Looks to me like like Cub Cadet has fallen into the same category of machines that you usually see at the big box stores. Before long they won't be producing any of their own machines...just putting their name on something that was mass produced by the manufacturers that make all the other mowers.  |
The XT3 was discontinued in 2022. It was supposed to be discontinued in 2021. But they had so much leftover produced stock that they kept it for sale through 2022.
The XT3 sold reasonably well. The issue was Stanley was planning on moving more towards electric at one time, and there was no need for a shaft-driven model. Things have since changed at the national level, so they have backed off that electric push for now.
One of the issues with the 2011 2000 series and later XT3 series was the price they were asking in 2011 was about the same price they asked for a GT3100 in 2010. For which you got a slower response electronic power steering and slower electric lift instead of fast-response hydraulic power steering and hydraulic lift.
Cub has been MTD for the last 44 years. MTD/Stanley doesn't farm stuff out except for compact tractors in the past. The opposite is true; other manufacturers traditionally farm stuff out to MTD to mass produce. Stanley owns MTD, which they use to make the Craftsman Lawn & Garden tractors. The Craftsman version of the Cub Cadet XT2 GX54D,
https://www.craftsman.com/en-us/prod...ing-lawn-mower might be an upgrade over the Cub XT2 GX54D. Because the Craftsman version gets a Kawasaki engine and a tighter turn radius.
I know someone with a 3000-hour 2017 Cub Cadet XT2 GX 54D, which is still running strong.
So they're not as cheap as you might think for certain models. Yes, traditionally, a Cub was shaft-driven. But a belt-driven actually transfers horsepower more efficiently than a shaft drive. Meaning more horsepower gets to the transmission with a belt than a shaft. But in 10 or so years, you have to replace that belt, because belts do wear and lose that advantage over time. The shaft should still not need replacement in the same amount of time.
I still have My 2018 XT3 GSX