When John Deere revamped its key range of 6R tractors it pushed up the power on its chief four-cylinder, the 6R150, which maxes out at 177hp with the boost engaged. Our test steed proved that this is a handy tractor, but is it worth the money? Read on to find out.
It has taken some time, but powerful four-cylinder tractors are now being accepted; agile enough for loader work around the yard, but still strong enough to handle the likes of a 3.0m power harrow drill or pair of front and back mowers. John Deere could not escape this trend, and about a year ago introduced the two ‘small’ 6R140 and 6R150 models with a 2.58m wheelbase and four cylinders under their bonnet.
You can recognise the new ones from the outside by the green painted mirrors and, when in the seat, by the absent dash. Instead, there is an A-pillar display which we already know from the 7R, 8R and 9R. But we are getting ahead of ourselves; we should be looking under the bonnet. Here our on-test steed was equipped with the electronically controlled viscous fan rather than Hägele’s reversible factory-fit option (£2,848). And in order to comply with the Stage V exhaust emissions there is a DPF and DOC on top of the engine block, while the SCR unit sits in the muffler on the right.
Dyno results
According to the John Deere brochure the 6R150 is 110kW/150hp at rated speed and 121kW/165hp at maximum. There is also a boost that kicks in for pto and hydraulic work from 0.5km/hr and for transport work from 15km/hr. Then the 4.5-litre DPS motor adds another 20hp at rated speed and 12hp at maximum power.
Of course, this wouldn’t be a profi test if we didn’t have these stats checked on the DLG dyno. So here they are.
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