Although I ended up purchasing an LS and have no regrets, one of the things I factored in was expected hours of operation. I have 220 hours after 3 years....and that is less than I had estimated (I had figured 100-120 hours /year). If I had expected to put on 400 hours a year, I may have been able to justify the Kubota. But it was over $8000 more, and the dealer was not very good.
Many hobby tractor owners have jobs that are not reoccurring. So think about that. In my case, even the reoccurring job has not materialized. For the last three years we have had far less snow than normal. In the last two years I have had to blow out my parking area and driveway only four times. Before getting the tractor, I had to plow 10-14 times a year.
I would ignore the comment about "paper specs". That suggests LS is deceptive about its performance specifications and I know my FEL will pick up a half cord of wood without any trouble (rated at 2700 lbs). That is good enough for me as a "test".
If you have a weak dealer, the LS may not be your best option. But New Holland has most, if not all, of their smaller tractors built by LS. That was another factor in my selection as I have a good NH dealer not far away as a back up. My NH dealer could not come close enough to the LS price so I went with LS.
