I have a Toro Grandstand 52" and I'll say you made a good call by not getting a stand-on mower. For all the reasons listed above and the fact that you can get a walk behind with a sulky and go 7 mph vs 8 mph on a stander. I prefer walk behinds because they work better on hillsides and are just as productive as a stander. I don't care what the numbers on a chart say about a standers productivity I have both and a walk behind will out perform the stander even with a smaller deck. I don't live in Florida where most lawns are flat I'm in southeast Tennessee where terrain varies and you need a piece of equipment that can handle it. I currently run all 52" mowers in my small fleet but I'm going to go back to using 48" mowers next year due to the way the flow with the undulating terrain better. I know it's just 4" but I can see a difference. Going to go back to a 48" Exmark turf tracers and going to demo a Exmark navigator 48" to see if I like it or not. If not then I'll get a Exmark 48" laser z with a collection system and of course keep my 21". But then again this is just what works best for me in my area.
Also I have noticed that even though it cost more to collect the clippings no one seems to mind the extra cost due to not only leaving the lawn looking cleaner but not having a much debris to track back into the house when out walking in the yard or letting their inside pets out to potty and not track as much dirt back into the house. And my lord how people love their pets around here.
