Is 180hp from four cylinders as good as 180hp from six-cylinders? To find out, we’ve been crunching the numbers and come to the conclusion — it all depends on …
If you’re in the market for a 120-180hp tractor there is a huge amount of choice — stepless or powershift transmission, manual or electric spools, four- or sixcylinder. That’s right, most manufacturers now offer a tractor, even at the top end of this bracket, that’s the same horsepower but with two cylinders lopped off the front. That’s right, most manufacturers now offer a tractor, even at the top end of this bracket, that’s the same horsepower but with two cylinders lopped off the front.
Same chassis, different engine
This naturally raises the question: ‘is it worth investing in the more expensive six-cylinder block, or will the smaller motor be the better choice for your workload?’ To address this dilemma we decided to compare two New Holland T6s that are pretty much identical in every way bar the engine, comparing them
both on the test bench and in the field.
The T6.175 (four-cylinder block) and T6.180 (six-cylinder engine) both develop a maximum output of 129kW/175hp when the boost has fully kicked in. Comparing capacity stats, the T6.175 makes do with 4.5 litres, whereas the T6.180 boasts 6.7 litres — a clearly significant difference of 2.3 litres
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