New Holland T6 T4B: Ease and comfort perfect for long haul workers

New Holland’s t6 range is earning praise for its comfort and versatility.

Standard features: Included on the T6 range and LED lights, Dynamic Comforts air suspension seats and cab suspension.

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IT’S A no-brainer that a machine offering ease and comfort would appeal to someone who spends up to 10 hours a day in the cabin.

Glenfyne dairy farmer Gary Pitman is enthusiastic about his new ride, a New Holland T6 T4B with Dynamic Command.

The 64-year-old has been farming in southwest Victoria for 40 years and recently upgraded his 10-year-old Kubota M130X to a T6. And he has high praise for it.

“It’s so much quieter than any other tractor I’ve driven,” says Gary, who spends his time milking, feeding cows and doing front-end loader work on his 330ha property, while also contracting in his area.

Gary says he has uses the T6 for loader work and pulls discs behind it. He gives it a resounding thumbs up for its baling capacity.

There are two transmission options available in the T6 range – Auto Command CVT transmission or Dynamic Command 24x24 Semi-Powershift model.

The Auto Command is the premium model in the range featuring CVT transmission, electronic remote valves and advanced joystick for precise front-end loader control through electronic mid-mount valves.

The T6’s dual clutch Dynamic Command transmission allows operators at low speeds to press the brake pedal and the transmission applies the clutch automatically. Once the operator lifts their foot off the brake pedal the tractor drives away again, “perfect for loader work or round baling”.

“I love that when you’re doing front-end loader work you just put your foot on the brake and don’t even need to use the clutch,” Gary says.

It has two shafts in the transmission; one for even gears, one for odd. When stepping up through the speeds, the next gear is “pre-selected” on the corresponding odd or even shaft, so it offers a smooth change.

“In effect, it drives like our CVT model, but it has the operating features of a semi-powershift,” says Ben Mitchell, New Holland’s product segment manager for mixed farming and livestock.

A smooth shift feature further increases operator comfort, Ben says. This is a closed-loop analysis of engine speed and the transmission’s input and output shaft speed.

The engine load and transmission speed are matched to ensure every shift is as consistently smooth as possible. It will either “blip” the engine rpm or “cut” the engine rpm to match transmission speed – resulting in silky shifts.

The new T6 models feature New Holland’s advanced joystick – allowing the operator to shift through gear and speed ranges while operating the front end loader.

“Everything is at your fingertips,” Gary says.

There are also programmable buttons on the joystick allowing ISOBUS functions to be programmed to suit the individual operator.

“I love that Command arm – everything’s there, forward, reverse, your front-end loader, your remotes, gears, the whole lot work on the thing,” says Gary, who is impressed with its ability to control the whole baling process.

“I did a demo with it and you didn’t have to do anything. You just set it, push a button and it takes off, it makes a bale and all you have to do is steer it.

“And then it puts the brakes on, wraps it and then it puts the bale out and then you push the button again and it will do it all again.”

Other standard features on the T6 range include LED lights, Dynamic Comforts air suspension seat and cab suspension.

The T6 range starts at the T6.145, with a four-cylinder engine producing 115hp, and boosting up to 145hp with engine power management.

The five model line-up tops out at the six-cylinder T6.180, at 145hp and a maximum

of 175hp.

“The new T6 will slot perfectly into the market alongside our T6000 range,” Ben says.

“We can offer a variety of models now to suit our diverse range of customers, from farmers that simply want good value for horsepower, in an easy-to-use package, right up to contractors that want the highest level of technology available.”