The Axion 9 is one of a number of new products you will find on the Claas stand at Agritechnica which opens its doors tomorrow. As well as a fresh look, the Axion 9 gets a new model name that relates to the maximum power. There are still five wheeled models (9.330, 9.360, 9.390, 9.420, 9.450) and a pair of half-tracks (9.360TT and 9.450TT) to choose from. There is a very slight power increase over the old 900s and the difference between rated and maximum output is in the region of 10hp – there is no boost function.
The power plant is the same too, an 8.7-litre FPT Cursor 9 albeit with a couple of tweaks around the cooling system and to reduce running costs the service interval has jumped from 500 to 750 hours. Indeed, the cost of ownership has been of particular focus for the development team which has spent over four years grafting on this project to increase its appeal to farming businesses that most definitely use a calculator as part of their decision making. Hence, the Axion 9 can be purchased with an eight year, 8,000 hour warranty.
Product manager for high horsepower tractors, Patrick Frawley explains that the TerraTrac has a notable work rate advantage over the competition, so weaknesses such as the comparatively smaller cab were overlooked by owners. But for wheeled tractor buyers the Axion, although fuel and power efficient (see profi 1/2021 for our Powermix test), didn’t have the same significant benefits over other makes which is why the majority of sales in recent years in the UK and Ireland have been for the TerraTrac version. In all over 80 have been sold since the Axion TT was introduced in 2018 – in total around 250 Axion 900s have landed here since the range was launched in 2011.
Not much has changed with the stepless transmission which is still sourced from ZF but the controlling software has been developed in-house so its behaviour is more on a par with other Claas Cmatic tractors. The casing has been made slightly thicker to reduce transmission noise which in turn has resulted in low cab noise of 66dB(A). There is a new high output hydraulic system. Here the standard 220l/min pump is joined by a second pump for a total output of 370l/min and two of the couplers are capable of delivering 170l/min.
It is in the longer (1,693mm and increase of 52mm) and wider (1,758mm up 93mm) K09 cab that operators will spot the biggest changes over the outgoing K07 – in fact, it is also a gnat’s whisker bigger than the John Deere accommodation 3,244m3 vs 3240m3. As well as more seat swivel comfort is given a boost with a higher output air-conditioning system with more airflow that also cools the cab better by 6.2˚C. Then there is the extra storage, various plugs and power points.
A new electric system means more functionality and integration and lot more future proofing with autonomous operation – there will be an AgXeed derived Level 2 self-driving system where jobs can be pre-planned and then carried out, but unlike Level 4, there is no built-in obstacle avoidance, and a driver needs to be in the seat. But even without this additional level of tech, the Axion 9 gains integrated auto-steer with fully automatic headland sequence turns, which apart form the ability to pre-plan pathways begs the question why owners would pay for the AgXeed add on…
The updated armrest controls sticks with the Cmotion controller but together with the new ElectroPilot additional joystick providing up to 38 function keys. All of the climate, light and even radio functions are altered on the repositioned screen with hot keys for quick selection. You can also add a second terminal for steering and ISObus. All of the traditional dash display tractor information is now on an adjustable A pillar display.
The last of the Axion 900s are not leaving Le Mans and production of the new models is being ramped up with the first units arriving here from April. We will take a closer look at the Axion 9 in the new year.
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