USED MACHINERY: When introduced in 1999, the 200-270hp Case IH MX Magnum tractor range was presented with a tricky brief: It had to retain the ruggedness of its highly regarded forbears, as well as take on a much needed injection of design modernity. James de Havilland reviews the used MX case.
Second-hand buyers in the hunt for a high horsepower tractor cannot ignore the pre-2003 MX Magnum.
The strongest rival for attention is undoubtedly the tractor which Case used as a spec benchmark, John Deere’s 8000/8010 series (see profi used machinery 08/02), but frankly there are few other alternatives that span the same power range and, of equal importance, sold as strongly. If this seems like making the choice in the wheeled 200 to sub-300hp power bracket a two-horse race, it is not meant to. There are some rivals out there that also warrant real buyer consideration: Those with deep pockets and patience cannot ignore a big Fendt 900 series, but should not expect the same ‘park’ size to pick from. Much the same applies to the more modern highhorse Masseys, the 8200 range in particular offering good value for its money and representing a safer reliability bet than early 8100s.
Back to our subject matter, Case IH was initially to supply the 180hp MX180, but for the UK the model line-up was eventually pruned to just the MX200, MX220, MX240 and MX270, with the corresponding hp outputs. In terms of popularity, new machine sales ended up in reverse order, with the MX270 and MX240 proving the top sellers although the MX220 didn’t lag too far behind.
