Farms and Farm Machinery – September 2019

20 TradeFarmMachinery.com.au THE TRACTOR YOU WANT IS NOW EASIER TO FIND

T

histime,ourexpeditionledustothebustling metropolis

of Temuka in South Canterbury, New Zealand where Grant

Kinsman and his team run Kinsman Contracting, operating a

large fleet of tractors, trucks and choppers.

While potatoes are the specialist crop that extends the harvest

season for the crew, we were there to check out the machine

that dominates the grass harvesting season – an all-Claas affair,

the Xerion 4500 tractor with the Claas Disco triple mower.

As many tractor operators already know, you can have all the

power in the world but if you can’t get it to the ground, then the

whole exercise is useless. Luckily, the Xerion uses its sheer mass

and large diameter equal size tyres. If I remember my physics

class correctly, weight (16.5 tonnes) + power (490hp) + large

tyres (2.15 metres) = traction (lots).

However, size and power aren’t the most impressive party

tricks the Xerion has. For a truly all-round versatility, the cab

does just that – not your traditional reverse steer where the

seat and a few instruments spin around, but rather the entire

cab spins around, giving new meaning to working and transport

settings (more on this later).

ENGINE

Firstly, the imposing bonnet.It needstobesizablegiventhatit

houses the latest six-cylinder,12.8-litreMercedesengine.This

is complete with Tier 4finalcredentials,impressivelyachieved

only by using selectivecatalyticreduction,meaningdualfuel:

diesel and AdBlue.

The claimed maximumpoweris 490horsepower(365kW),

which is achieved at lowrevs,witha longconstantpower

curve (most large horsepowermachinesusethelowrev,high

torque theory).

Due to the large torquefiguresfromthelowrevandconstant

power curve from the Merc,theXeriononlyoffersonepower

take-off (PTO) speed: 1,000rpmat1,730rpmforhighoutputat

reduced fuel consumption.

Reversible fan is standardandgiventhisparticularmachine

is often used as a mowingtractor,front-mountedmowersand

tractor cooling packs havea dailytussleforsupremacy.The

Xerion has the three mowersclusteredattherear,givingthe

front of the machine (nowdrivenbackwards)clean,unrivalled

air all day.

Having recently toured New Zealand to

test a number of top-end tractors, the

Claas Xerion 4500 was a must-see. This

400hp packs plenty of punch, particularly

when it comes to manoeuvrability and

visibility, says Farm Trader NZ’s Jaiden

Drought

STAIRWAY TO

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2011 NewHolland T8050. 4,400hrs,5.9L

Cummins320hp,front susp. • WA 0865000956

$110,000 TA976991

2016 ClaasAxion870. Ex dem,only70hrs,FPT

6.7L6cylTier4 eng@ 295hp. • WA 0861667803

$273,900 TA954243

JohnDeere9470R.ScraperTractor,E18trans,

470hp,4100hrs.•VIC 0383737134

$258,500 TA976165

Images by Justin Bennett