Get the new 24hp honda ,the deisel is nice,but its really loud,(wouldnt bother me,but neighbors and customers wouldnt like it)and very rear heavy,trim capabilitys aret quite as good as he narrower gas models.The diesel has a 64" track width with a 60" cut,so the deck will go thru a tight spot ,but you'll get stuck on the wheels.trimming isnt to good like that either.They needed to make it that wide,so the wheel motors could clear the oil pan on the diesel.If your doing open area's mostly,by all means buy the diesel.Do not under any circumstances buy the 25Hp kohler.I would take the 23 kawi,23 kohler in that order after the honda.I have the Kohler 25,big,big mistake.its a clattering fool,lifters start tapping like crazy at least twice a week,,and has a low power problem,head gaskets blew, drinks way to much oil for having 170 hrs on it.another thing,my diesels start better in the cold than this thing,its very hard to crank over,and even when it does,it wont fire right up,itll run on one cyl for about 5 minutes,then clear out.All these things are normal too,says Kohler and the dealer.Ive got the "good" updated one too,the one with all the problems fixed. LOL