I have the Ariens Deluxe 30. I like it over the Toro...I got mine from a John Deere Dealer in the States in November for $140 below sale price from $1399 to $1259. I was told dealer cost is $1169 may be true not sure? The 2012 30" deluxe has the bigger tires and a 342CC engine over the 250CC engine on the 28. The 28+ does come with the bigger tires and hand warmers but not the bigger engine. If you plan on spending $1100, might as well try and get a deal on the 30 Deluxe with the bigger engine, tires and hand warmers.
The toro to me was overly large. The plastic joystick wasn't appealing to me...could put a lot of strain on plastic parts in freezing temperatures and when the chute wants to freeze making it strain the linkage and joystick. The "recycling snow impeller" design seemed like it would just through snow to the sides of the machine...why not just go with the 14" impeller like the Ariens?
The 2.5X ice drill works well, there is a large spring which allows you to adjust the tension so you can have it lock in where ever you put it and loosen it up to allow a easy free motion when turning it. It also won't break, crank and gears which are covered by plastic housing and out of the snow when blowing. In comparison I would be willing to bet I could turn my chute from lock to lock one to two seconds slower than a joy stick, not a big deal especially if you don't adjust the deflector position much. The remote locker works well, sometimes it will not unlock which kind of sucks, mainly when wheels are binding. Otherwise when unlocked it turns without effort, when locked it holds a solid straight line. Very quite engine, starts on first pull in zero degree weather, easy to change oil. Some complain about the light front end but i like it for lifting and backing up and turning, also it puts more weight on the wheels for better traction. If you do ever have problems with it digging into snow Ariens does make a 10Lb front weight kit you can add on. The hand warmers allow you to use light weight gloves giving you better feel and ease of using the controls.
