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Cub Cadet XT2 SLX54 ENDURO Riding Lawn Tractor Review

8Expert Score
A Great Riding Lawn Mower For Homeowners & Lawn Care Professionals

This riding lawn mower offers superior engineering & material build quality.

Positive
  • 726 CC 21.5 HP Kawasaki® engine
  • 54-inch AeroForce™ deck
  • Cutting height range from 1 to 4-inches
  • Tuff Torq hydrostatic transmission
  • Professional-Grade warranty
Negatives
  • Deck might be too large for small lawn
  • Heavy transport weight
  • Won't cut below 1-inch

The Cub Cadet XT2 SLX54 is part of their Enduro Series, which is geared to appeal to lawn care professionals who need a truly commercial-grade riding lawn mower. You see this shining through not only in the innovative engineering and superior material build quality but also in an impressive suite of warranty protection.

The entire Cub Cadet XT2 SLX54 is covered by a 3-year warranty with no hour limit which is very appealing for lawn care professionals. It also has 5-years of coverage for the frame and the front axle also comes with an additional 54-years of coverage. The deck shell even has a limited lifetime warranty.

The beating heart of the Cub Cadet XT2 SLX54 is a powerful 726 CC 21.5 HP Kawasaki® engine. This translates into a maximum forward speed of up to 7 miles per hour and a maximum reverse speed of up to 3 miles per hour.

The Cub Cadet XT2 SLX54 has a 54-inch diameter cutting deck that houses three heavy-duty cutting blades. The height of the deck can be adjusted through 12 settings. This lets you cut as low as 1 inch or as high as 4-inches.

The cutting deck also features some sophisticated engineering principles that help the Cub Cadet XT2 SLX54 stand out from the crowd. The AeroForce™ system uses special aerodynamic principles to maximize the harvest rate. There is also a FastAttach cutting system that lets you change out components as well as quickly replacing cutting blades without needing a lot of special tools.

Key Features

  • 726 CC 21.5 HP Kawasaki® engine
  • 54-inch diameter heavy-duty AeroForce™ deck
  • Cutting height range from 1 to 4-inches
  • 12 cutting height settings
  • FastAttach cutting system
  • AGM battery
  • Tuff Torq hydrostatic transmission
  • Maximum forward speed 5.5 MPH
  • Maximum reverse speed 3 MPH
  • 3-year warranty without hour limits

Performance

The Tuff Torq Hydrostatic transmission was engineered to be incredibly responsive. When you step on the pedal the riding lawn mower instantly responds. This lets you trust that the mower will do what you want, how you want, precisely when you want it to.

The FastAttach cutting system is very easy to use and makes for quick blade replacement as well as overall versatility. The engineering principles in the cutting deck translate into fewer clumps of organic material and fewer stragglers in each pass. The smaller grass clippings and increased evenness further help reduce concerns about thatch buildup.

Ease Of Use

The Cub Cadet XT2 SLX54 was designed to be easy to use for both lawn care professionals and homeowners who need a truly high-quality riding lawn mower. This starts with a comfortable operator station, which reduces overall fatigue during long riding sessions.

The FastAttach system makes it easy to change out cutting blades, as well as optimize the performance of the machine. This along with the AeroForce™ deck makes for a superior harvest rate with each pass.

Though one potential problem with the Cub Cadet XT2 SLX54 is that the deck might be a little large for a lawn with a lot of tightly spaced trees or complex landscaping features with a lot of sharp turns. In a scenario like this, you might need to come back with a weed whip to clean up straggling blades. This riding lawn mower is better suited for large lawns and commercial properties that have a lot of wide-open spaces that need to be mowed efficiently.

Special Features

Cub Cadet’s FastAttach blade technology makes it easy to change blades quickly without needing to use special tools. It’s a great time-saving feature for professional lawn care companies who log a lot of hours on their riding lawn mowers.

The heavy-duty AeroForce™ deck was engineered to use special aerodynamics to draw in and harvest the blades of grass efficiently. This goes a long way toward making sure that every 54-inch pass is perfectly clean cut.

Cut Quality & Options

Like a lot of high-quality commercial-grade riding lawn mowers, you can adjust the height of the cutting deck to the property’s requirements or the prevailing weather conditions. The Cub Cadet XT2’s deck can be adjusted through 12 different settings. This lets you set it as low as 1-inch or as high as 4-inches for a custom cut every time.

The 54-inch diameter cutting deck houses three cutting blades that work together for a superior harvest rate. This is also aided by the heavy-duty AeroForce™ deck engineering which employs advanced aerodynamics to optimize the cutting performance.

Maintenance

You can also appreciate that the AGM battery delivers reliability in starting as well as a slower discharge. This means you can worry less about your battery going dead in the offseason.

Something else that’s nice about the Cub Cadet XT2 SLX54 is that it comes backed with a 3-year warranty without an hour limitation. This is especially appealing for professional lawn care companies that typically exceed the hourly limit on a lot of riding lawn mower warranty programs on an annual basis. With the Cub Cadet XT2 SLX54, you can trust that the warranty is still in effect regardless of how much you use it.

The frame and the front axle also come with an additional 54-years of coverage. The deck shell even has a limited lifetime warranty. All this industry-leading warranty protection speaks to the overall confidence in Cub Cadet’s engineering and material build quality.

Safety Features

The Cub Cadet XT2 SLX54 comes with all the standard operator sensors and other safety features that you expect to find on a professional-grade riding lawn mower. The fact that the operator’s station was engineered for comfort, which reduces the kind of operator fatigue which can potentially lead to safety issues during a long mowing session.

Cost-Effectiveness

The Cub Cadet XT2 SLX54 was designed to be cost-effective for professional lawn care companies as well as homeowners who need a high-quality riding lawn mower to maintain their large lawn. You see this shining through in the engineering of the FastAttach system and the AeroForce™ dynamics of the 54-inch cutting deck, which delivers a superior harvest rate.

You also have to appreciate how the superior warranty coverage also translates into greater confidence in long-term quality for a robust return on your investment.

Cub Cadet XT2 SLX54 ENDURO Riding Lawn Tractor Review
Cub Cadet XT2 SLX54 ENDURO Riding Lawn Tractor Review
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