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I guess I can add a little to this, but most has already been said in regards to hundred vs. thousand series, no doubt the thousand series is better in many areas, however I think the best tractor for any job is the one suited for the work you will do and expense you can afford to pay to purchase and operate. And not to forget one you like, I love the appearance of the hundred series, which is nothing more than looks but makes it slightly more enjoyable I suppose, they are really sharp when re-done, painted etc. Best thing one can do is qualify yourself for the features you really need in a particular tractor. 5 spd. vs 8 spd., or even a Select-O-Speed to be fair. Also consider that the first and latter are obsolete and will be more expensive to repair and find parts for. The 5 speed works fine, if you need lower end, the 8spd. mitght be better, same for higher end. Need remote hydraulics, live pto, independent pto or a loader, have considerable work to do or is it weekend, seasonal maintenance or misc. chores? Currently, I have an 850 with a loader, LPG/Propane at home, and a 3600 at the farm, as well as an '03 33 hp MS 265 Challenger FWD with a loader. While growing up, I spent a lot of time over at our Ford tractor dealership, where many hundred series were sold and serviced, but the current models were the blue 3 cyl ones, of which we had every denomination up to the 8000, which to me at the time was a monster ! The newer ones like a 3 cyl. 4000 was really hard to beat, especially with all the features. At home the 850 is still on duty and does the following, snow removal, brushogging, 2 bottom plow and disc for deer food plots, paid for itself doing one good sized landscape job last year, cleared some hefty brush and small trees along the entire perimeter of our 98 acres here, lugs all our hockey junk to down the pond in the winter, hefts my Miller NT251 trailblazer into the 3/4 ton when necessary, and a myriad of other things, I do need an overunning clutch for the brushog, but to be honest, its not that bad, and seems to be efficient on fuel, it cost me $15.00 to mow down what I believe is 2 acres, was over 4'0" high of thick orchard grass, took just under 2 hours in 1st gear, and did an excellent job with a 6'-0" Rhino SE-6. Power steering is not working yet, but between that and a few other items, for what I have into it so far, new tires, 1 new rim, new brakes, tune up, and fan belt, it's more than paid for itself already. Ironically, its got a lot of hours on it, the loader is well worn, it does the job for now and I envision doing a fair amount of work to it to keep it going, although I could justify something a bit newer, heavier like an industrial with a heftier loader, remote hyd., and all the other newer features. Comparing the performance of each, and we've run both side by side, including a 4 cyl. diesel 2000, had a 64 4000 S-O-S ( was an excellent tractor) the 3600 sure holds it's own, but in the end, they all get the job done, some quicker and more efficient than others, it's really a judgement call, as some of the facts are clear, like fuel economy and features, one needs to assess their needs, budget and compare to the closest in approximation that a particular tractor will provide, and even then, and older one in good condition, may be far better than a newer one in questionable condtion, start with the closest thing you can afford, get the work done, so as not to delay finishing the work, see how it goes and then upgrade accordingly if need be. If you are doing a lot of work, on a daily basis, the newer series is going to perform better and do more work for the same fuel. Same goes for loader applications, better to have the heavy duty front end, say compared to one like mine which is really a row crop tractor, with the adjustable front end, hard to believe it's held up, center pin certainly has some play in it.
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