Probably reflective of an age difference. My hotrodding days are pretty much behind me.
When I went shopping for my new machine I started looking at B series machines but quickly moved up to the Standard L lineup. Then comparing specs and prices I simply went higher in the lineup - L3901 with a factory engineered and warranted boost in size and engine/ hydraulic power. Coming off a B7200DT it seemed like a massive jump because it was.
In retrospect and having used the L3901 for almost 4 years I probably stopped one model too soon. And had I went one model higher I would probably be thinking the same thing about the L4701.... Its a vicious cycle.
Dan
Maybe that is it.... I am 51 now and feel like I hit it harder now than I did in my 20's. I think it's because through my 20's and 30's I was doing fun stuff with the wife, or hanging at deer camp with the guys, fishing etc. And now, I just want to be home and get stuff done. Work is what I enjoy now days. My buddies can rarely ever get me off my property.
I went the other direction tractor wise. I actually had planned to buy the 3560 and was seriously considering the 4060 just for the frame size jump. It was set in stone I was buying one of those two tractors. But, I just kept thinking how much I really didn't want an emissions tractor, I wanted minimal electronics and as mechanical as I could get and that was either something years old or smaller. That's what lead me to the 2502. Actually, I was trying to find a 2501 since the turbo was already available for it, but I couldn't find a new or used one anywhere around me. So a 2502 it was... And like you, I knew that no matter what, it would never end thinking I needed a bigger tractor, that I would always find a limit, no matter the starting point...
I can honestly say that I couldn't be more satisfied with my 2502. Sometimes I think how nice the tranny on that Grand L would have been and how quiet it was in the test drive, but then I immediately think how bare bones and minimalistic my 2502 is and I just smile.