Not my field of expertise, but for 8 acres, if they are fairly open (not a huge amount of maneouvring required) I don't see the need for zero turn. On the other hand if it is all gardens and constant backing-and-filling, zero turn might be a big advantage - and so might hydrostatic transmission. A zero turn, hydro rig doesn't only cost a bundle to buy, it costs another bundle to maintain, and I just don't see what the return is on that investment unless a big chunk of the job is tight manoeuvring. I've seen a contractor mowing a complicated garden on a steep slope with a Greenfield, and thought he was crazy - but I've seen another contractor running around the outside of my multiple-acre local park with a zero turn, and thought he was crazy too. The difference was, one was a private job (the Greenfield) and the other was a city council job (the zero-turn).
