Alongside a revised engine line-up, 700-series Claas Lexions are to get a raft of upgrades for the 2016 season. In a move to comply with Stage IV emissions regs, the German firm has dropped Mercedes’ 16-litre V8 powerplants in its biggest models in favour of 15.6-litre straight six. The mid-range 760 gets a Perkins-branded 12.5-litre Caterpillar six-pot while the smaller 740 and 750 stick with 10.7-litre Merc motors. All but the 750 have a slight increase in max power over their predecessors but Claas says it’s in the low-end lugging stakes that customers will notice the biggest difference – torque has apparently been massively increased thanks to advances in engine software. AdBlue SCR is not surprisingly the common denominator across the range although under the hood Mercedes opts for EGR to keep things clean at the smoke-stack while Perkins has gone down the DPF route. As regards other features, all models now get Claas’ Dynamic Cooling pack with the rads laid horizontally on the back of the straw hood. The hydro-drive fan varies its speed according to temperatures and consequently reduces the overall power loading. In addition, the air-filter draws its wind in through the same screens. That’s said to reduce the requirement for a blow-out from once a day to more like once a week.  Staying up top, the 780 now gets a bigger grain tank – its 13,500-litre load can apparently be discharged in less than two minutes.  On the threshing front, the ‘bomb-bay doors’ that open and shut to enclose the rotor cage depending on crop conditions can now be used to improve hill-side performance. Tagged as ‘4D Cleaning’ by the German manufacturer, the system uses these flaps to throw the crop to the uphill side of the sieves to spread material more evenly over the cleaning area and avoid grain running over the back. At the same time, fan speed is adjusted automatically depending on whether the combine is running up or downhill. Around at the back, the straw chopper has been beefed up with a bigger diameter rotor and is now controlled 100% from the cab. This includes switching from transport, chopping and swathing positions as well as being able to adjust the position of the stationary counter blades. That should hopefully put an end to days spent in the seat with itchy dust down the back of the neck. The final feature is a new anti-blockage system that uses a series of speed and load sensors to detect when crop flow starts to slow through the front of the machine. If it decides it’s anywhere close to bunging up, it immediately cuts drive to the header stopping any more material being drawn in. Anyone that’s stuffed up a Lexion will appreciate what a Godsend this feature could well prove to be.