Hi BB, No they can't! What is disappointing is a big brand like John Deere just use a basic design that really sums up the term Lawn Tractor. They can't be used for anything more than large areas of lawn otherwise they really struggle and leave a cut finish worse than a Chinese MTD.
However, I can see why people buy them as they look like a mini version of a real tractor, they are very comfortable to use without feeling like you are going to fall off or rollover, every control falls to hand and servicing access is well thought out.
They are just let down by a twin rotor cutting system that doesn't time (or overlap) and allows an "escape path" when cutting more than 3" tall grass and a feeble deck pressing that fatigues and allows the rotors to fall off!
Then if you look at a Greenfield/Cox, they are expensive, the cut width can be 10-15" narrower than a John Deere and has a very poor turning circle. Not everyone likes going backwards and forwards to cut the grass around 20 trees in an orchard when a cheaper John Deere will turn around the whole tree at full lock...
