It's a little older but I have a Craftsman (same thing as Husky). It has the Kohler 26hp and the hydrostatic transmission. So far in 7 years it's been close to flawless. The hydro tranny is very handy but it gives up a little power to the manual. My partner has the same tractor with a 24 hp kohler and the manual and it will outpull mine with the 26hp.
I have a sleeve hitch on it and use a homemade cultivator. The hitch has no downward force so it needs some weight added to dig in even a little. However, the weight can make it quite hard to lift. The hitch mechanism is a bit flimsy for lifting very much weight.
