Bobcat's Leap Into Full-Size Excavators: What the E165 Actually Changed

Bobcat Was a Mini Excavator Company. The E165 Changed That.

For most of Bobcat's history in excavators, the story was about compact and mini machines -- 1 to 10 tons, tight tail swing, machines that fit through a backyard gate. Then in 2021 Bobcat introduced the E145 and E165, and the E165 in particular pushed Bobcat into genuinely large excavator territory: a 17-ton class machine that competes with the mid-size excavators contractors have historically bought from CAT, Komatsu, or Hyundai rather than Bobcat. If you have only ever thought of Bobcat as the mini excavator and skid steer brand, the E165 is worth a second look.

The Real Numbers

The E165 runs a turbocharged engine rated at 131 horsepower and carries an operating weight of 38,376 pounds -- squarely in the 16 to 18 ton size class that Bobcat's dealer network describes it in. Main hydraulic flow is 80.4 gallons per minute, which matters more than the horsepower number by itself: that flow is what determines how fast the boom, arm, and attachments actually move, and it is a figure worth checking against your existing evaluation checklist for used equipment if you end up shopping this class used.

On digging performance, the E165 delivers a maximum dig depth of 20 feet, maximum reach at ground level of 28.8 feet, and maximum dump height of 21.3 feet. Bucket digging force comes in at 25,794 pound-force with arm digging force at 18,077 pound-force -- both genuinely large-excavator numbers, not compact-class figures with a bigger paint job. The machine is 8.5 feet wide with a tight 3-foot tail swing overhang, which keeps it usable on tighter urban and commercial sites despite its size, and it carries a 77.1-gallon fuel tank for long days without a fuel truck visit. Four selectable power modes and Bobcat's Smart Power Control and Variable Speed Control give the operator real control over how aggressively the machine burns fuel versus how much output it delivers on a given task.

The Honest Predecessor Comparison: E165 vs. E145

Bobcat introduced the E145 and E165 together, and Bobcat's own materials describe the E165 as similar in design to the E145 -- effectively a scaled-up version of the same large-excavator platform rather than a ground-up different machine. The practical difference for a contractor is straightforward: more operating weight, more digging force, and more reach on the E165 in exchange for a larger footprint and a higher price of entry. If your jobs consistently need the deeper trenches, taller stockpile work, or heavier attachment capacity that come with an 18-ton-class machine, the E165 is the one to spec. If your work stays in the 14-to-15-ton range, the E145 covers the same platform's core engineering at a lighter, less expensive point.

That is a genuinely useful predecessor comparison, even though the two machines launched together rather than one replacing the other -- because most contractors evaluating the E165 are really deciding between it and the E145, not between it and some earlier Bobcat large excavator that does not exist. Before the E145/E165 launch, Bobcat simply did not have a machine in this weight class, so there is no older Bobcat large excavator to compare against. That is worth saying plainly rather than manufacturing a comparison that is not there.

Where the E165 Fits Against CAT and Komatsu

The 16-to-18-ton excavator class has traditionally been dominated by CAT's 320 and Komatsu's PC210, and that comparison is worth understanding on its own terms if you are cross-shopping brands rather than staying loyal to one dealer network. What the E165 offers that is different is not a spec sheet win over those established players -- it is the same Bobcat dealer relationship a lot of contractors already have for their skid steers, compact track loaders, and mini excavators, now extended into a size class Bobcat previously left to other manufacturers entirely.

Who Actually Needs a Machine This Size

An 18-ton excavator is overkill for a lot of the compact digging work Bobcat built its reputation on, and that is exactly the point -- the E165 is not for that customer. It makes sense for site-development contractors doing mass grading and utility trenching on commercial lots, demolition crews that need real reach and bucket force to pull foundations and break up slabs rather than just clear debris, and general contractors who have outgrown their mini excavator fleet and are ready for one larger machine that can handle the deep and heavy work a 10-ton machine cannot touch.

It is also worth thinking about quick couplers and hydraulic thumbs at this size class specifically -- the attachments that make sense on an 18-ton machine (large buckets, rippers, demolition grapples) are a meaningfully bigger investment than compact excavator attachments, and coupler choice affects how quickly you can switch between them on a job that needs more than one tool in a day.

Cab, Controls, and What Four Power Modes Actually Buy You

It is easy to skim past a spec sheet line like "four selectable power modes" without understanding why it matters on a machine this size. On a smaller mini excavator, power mode selection is mostly about fuel savings during light work. On an 18-ton machine running an 80.4-gallon-per-minute hydraulic system, the difference between modes is the difference between a machine tuned for maximum digging force on a demolition job and one tuned to sip fuel through a long day of lighter grading work. Smart Power Control automatically matches engine output to the load the machine is actually seeing, so an operator is not manually hunting for the right setting between tasks, and Variable Speed Control lets that same operator dial in travel and swing speed independently of engine RPM. On a machine this size, those controls translate directly into fuel bills and cycle times over a full season of use, not just operator comfort.

Renting an Excavator This Size Is Where Margins Really Disappear

A machine in the 16-to-18-ton class rents for substantially more per day than the compact excavators most Bobcat customers are used to renting, and the gap between renting and owning widens as the machine gets bigger. If you are pulling this class of machine onto a jobsite more than a handful of times a year, the rental invoices add up fast -- and every one of those dollars is gone permanently. It does not reduce a loan balance, it does not become equity you can borrow against later, and it does not show up as an asset when a bonding company or bank reviews your financial statements for your next bid.

Owning the machine instead means those same dollars build toward something you control, and it means you are not competing with every other contractor in your market for the same rental fleet during a busy season. Understanding how loan-to-value works on used iron in this class matters here too, since a machine this size represents a bigger chunk of capital than a compact excavator, and getting the financing structure right on the front end protects you if you need to refinance or trade up later.

BFC Finances the Growth, Not Just the Machine

This is exactly the size of purchase where a growth-minded financing partner matters most. A lender that only underwrites this one machine and then goes quiet for the next five years while you pay it off is not actually helping your business grow -- it is just financing an asset. BFC Equipment Loans structures financing so that stepping up to a machine like the E165 does not lock you out of financing the next piece of equipment your business needs. If a bigger contract comes in and you need a second excavator, a dump truck to haul what the E165 digs, or an attachment package to go with it, we are positioned to help you get there without waiting out someone else's payoff schedule first.

Deposit expectations on a large excavator purchase vary with your credit profile and how long you have been in business -- well-qualified buyers with strong credit can see $0 down, while newer businesses or thinner credit files should expect a more substantial deposit. Either way, that is a conversation worth having up front with someone who understands equipment values in this class, not a generic lending desk.

If you have spent the last few years running Bobcat compact excavators and skid steers and you are now bidding jobs that call for real digging depth and bucket force, the E165 is worth putting in front of your dealer alongside the CAT and Komatsu machines you might otherwise default to. And whichever machine you land on, structure the financing with a partner who is already thinking about the second and third machines your fleet will need once this one is on the ground and working.

Ready to Put This Equipment to Work?

BFC Equipment Loans structures financing for contractors buying CAT and Bobcat equipment, not just approvals for a single machine. Visit our home page to see how we work, browse our equipment for sale and financing inventory, or go straight to our equipment financing application to get the process started. For more equipment spotlights and financing strategy, subscribe to our blog.