Combining a four-cylinder punch, dual clutch transmission and a high level of specification, New Hollands T5.140 DynamicCommand is aimed at farmers who need greater performance and comfort from a smaller tractor. Consequently it comes with a substantial price tag, but is it worth the money? Simon Henley travels to Wales to find out.
New Holland proudly debuted the latest incarnation of its popular four-cylinder T5 tractor range at AgriTechnica 2019 in Germany. The focus of the revised line-up was the inclusion of the Big Horizon cab borrowed from the larger T6/T7 models and the optional eight-speed/three-range semi-powershift DynamicCommand Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT).
Despite the flag-flying at the time, it has taken more than 12 months for the first working examples to trickle their way into UK dealerships and onto British farms. The question now is, was it worth the wait?
John Jones and his partner Laura Hyde farm 105 hectares in the rolling hills surrounding Aberystwyth, Ceredigion. Like many farmers in West Wales, Mr Jones runs a commercial sheep flock and rears beef cattle. However, livestock farming represents only a small portion of this farming enterprise, which provides a grassland contracting service to farmers throughout the local area.
Our business focuses on mowing, raking, baling and more recently harvesting grass with a forage wagon, reports Mr Jones.
During winter, we spend much of the time handling muck and slurry, in addition to hedgecutting and ploughing.
Last summer, John Jones Contracting raked more than 4,040ha of grass for local farmers and contractors, picked up 650ha of grass with its Strautmann forage wagon and baled more than 35,000 round bales with its three McHale Fusion balers. With seven men on the farm during the warmer months, this kind of workload demands both a reliable fleet of modern tractors and first-class dealer support.
We run a fleet of New Holland tractors, adds Mr Jones, which includes four T7 models, a T6.160 equipped with a loader and the new T5.140 DCT which we acquired a few months ago. The T5 was bought as a second loader tractor, to replace a Massey Ferguson 5455 which was used for livestock work and raking.
One of the key factors for buying a T5 model is it can fit in buildings which are too low for our T6. This tractor is an ex-demo model which came from New Holland dealer T. Alun Jones at Welshpool. The tractor is equipped with front-axle and cab suspension and a quick-attach MX loader.
The tractor is mainly used by my partner Laura, who not only handles most of the stock work, but also does a lot of our contract raking. This is one of the reasons we wanted a higher specification tractor, so it was more comfortable to use on the McHale rakes.
One of the first things I have to say is the DynamicCommand gearbox is superb. Our fleet includes tractors specced with both RangeCommand and AutoCommand transmissions. The new DCT is as easy to use as the range-topping AutoCommand CVT and is almost as smooth when you are driving it.
It is the first non-CVT I have used which works in auto-mode without continually hunting for gears like a typical semi-powershift gearbox would. Furthermore, it is always in the right gear to pull away, with the added benefit that you only need to press the brake pedal to stop. The brake pedal transmission disconnect is very smooth in operation, whether you are working in-field, travelling on the road or shunting back and forth around the farmyard.
A closer look at the tractors in Mr Jones yard reveals another common denominator. Besides all being New Holland models, most of the tractors have narrow rear tyres and there is not a single long wheelbase model in sight.
Narrower 580 tyres dig in and grip better than wider 640 or 720 tyres, he says.
When you are working in grass fields on steep hills and banks, grip is the key factor for performance and safety.
Weight is another issue. I do not buy long wheelbase models because they are almost a tonne heavier than the short wheelbase tractors. I work on the theory that the ideal weight for a 200hp tractor is around 6,500kg.
With the T5.140 DCT you get the best of both worlds. Not only is it comparatively light and very manoeuvrable, but we have found the DCT enables you to optimise and fully utilise the available engine power in relation to your speed and the ground conditions. This tractor is very stable and it grips extremely well on banks and slopes in difficult fields.
Laura agrees, saying:There is really no comparing the old MF 5455 to the new T5.140 DCT. The T5 is smoother in operation, more comfortable and offers far superior hydraulic performance. I really like the cab layout and the roof window offers excellent overhead vision, whether you are loading bales or trying to avoid overhanging tree branches on field headlands.
I should also mention the new panoramic sweeping windscreen wiper is good. The wiper set-up on the T7 tractors we have is hopeless by comparison. Remember, this is Wales. It rains a lot here.
I only have two gripes with the T5. Firstly, the bonnet sits a bit too high, which makes working the loader at floor level more difficult. The MF 5455 had a sloped-nose (high-visibility bonnet) which I really liked. Secondly, if you go over a bump in the field while you are using the spool levers, your elbow can shut-off the pto as the seat bounces. That can be a nuisance.
Having just clocked 300-hours to date, the new T5 has so far performed almost flawlessly, suffering only from rear linkage potentiometer failure during first-cut silage, which was quickly fixed by the local dealer.
Mr Jones says: Dealer support is what the whole job is about these days. If we are being very honest, it does not really matter what colour or make a tractor is these days. They are all pretty much alike and suffer from similar problems. What clinches a deal for me, is the support you get from your local dealer. Personally, I cannot fault the service we get from T Alun Jones.
So what about warranty? Mr Jones buys all his New Holland tractors with a 5,000-hour warranty. It is a necessity, as most of his T7 models will exceed this in two years. Where the T5 is concerned, Mr Jones estimates the tractor should average around 1,200 hours a year.
This tractor topped 70,000 on-farm, says Mr Jones.
Buying a high-spec tractor like the T5.140 DCT costs more money, but you get what you pay for. We should also see a higher return on its residual value when it is time to trade it in.
