Good Little Tractor
Model Year: 2011
I am writing this review because I see plenty of people who don't get on with the CVT. To get the most out of this tractor, you need to constantly adjust the power ratio for 2nd gear. You have 3x speed settings on a switch: 1, 2, 3. 1 = 15% of top speed 2 = Adjustable 3 = 100% of stop speed (road only or quick travel downhill tbh). Gear 2 is the magic. The default is 60% of top speed., which is calibrated on a tractor with no loader. I typically run around 30-40% of top speed, which gives me 4-8 mph with plenty of oomph, and the rpm will not drop up steep hills. If you can put up with changing the power/speed settings, which is as simple as holding a button down, pressing the up/down arrows and saving the setting, you will be fine. Really, New Holland needs to add a jog dial to allow the operator to adjust this in real time. When I first had the tractor, the guys who delivered it left it on 100% in gear 2, which is the same as gear 3, so I couldn't go up any hills without coming to a stall or trying to compensate with the hand throttle. In that moment I realized, if you stick the setting to 45% you get strong power/speed. I'd imagine if towing a fully loaded trailer at 2 tons, you would need a setting of 25 to 35% depending on gradients. It's the key to the tractor, so for anyone struggling, please try adjusting the cogs icon to the work/speed you need. If it's too high, the tractor will struggle. It is the easiest tractor ever to drive, forwards and backwards changes within a second typically.
Pros: Great all round tractor. Nice cab, great in the winter.
Cons: Needs CAT2 linkage. CVT is too complex for most people to master quickly. They end up stuck with default settings.