I can tell you my experience with a Honda mower. It had a 3 speed manual
transmission. It was the best mower I ever owned, used a twin blade design,
that gave the best mulching cut, grass looked very even, the mower was
quiet. But..... Maybe I got 10 years out of it, if that and then then
tranny failed. I took it apart, to get to the tranny, what a cluster f***.
All kinds of little parts, bushings, screws, I used two egg carton containers
to try to keep it all in order to be able to put back together. Then I
found that a new tranns was $140. At that point I considered the other
options and found a brand new Craftsman that someone locally was selling
on Ebay for $160. I bought it. It's more powerful, but also at lot more
noise and it doesn't cut as nice. After about 6 years or so, one day
it too wouldn't move. I took a plastic cover off over the belt area,
it was just two sheet metal screws to remove. Whereupon I saw that the
spring that tensions the belt, the end had broken off. I used a piece of
bent coat hanger to re-attach it and was mowing again. That was 6 years
ago, it's still going strong. The belt drive also gave speed variability
across all speeds, the more you pressed the handle, the faster it goes.

So, would I go for the more complex, hydrostatic transmission that costs
$1000 more in a snowblower? No. IDK what drive exactly mine is, it's
a Sears, but I guess it's belt drive also. It has a handle that lets
me select from about 8 forwards speeds, two in reverse. That works for
me.