I really liked the 110 I had and wish I was able to keep it. I actually bought it before it was even available to demo. I previously had an
L35 and just needed more tractor, I demoed the
L48 and it was "nice" but it also had some issues with the self leveling valve that would cause the bucket to go into "relief" when back blading and not allow you to put any "curl" pressure on the bucket, this may have since been fixed though. Also I felt that for repeated loader work the 48's gearing was just too slow in mid range and too fast in high and this is still the case, the 110's gearing was spot on. The 110's hoe was definitely smoother than the Kubota and the loader operated similarly. The flip seat was annoying and in my opinion just inexcusable for a "construction grade" machine, as well as the lack of replaceable bushings on the end of the dipperstick on the hoe. I did have the skid plate on mine and never "ripped or wrecked" any vital hydraulic parts. The steering cylender on the 48 is just as vulnerable if you're not careful with it.
If I were in the market for one now I would probably look at the Yanmar as well. I have driven one around a parking lot and first impression, it seems nice, a good open layout and pretty much the same hoe as the 110, the loader does have a neat design but ALOT of big gawky linkage. I would maybe wait to see if Kubota is indeed coming out with a new version of the
L48 because it does seem as if they really do listen to the consumer and when they rework an existing model they seem to "fix" or make vast improvements over the older model.