Driving impression: Claas Xerion 5000 tractor Cast an eye across the broad green bonnet of the new 524hp Claas Xerion 5000 and you get a fair impression of just how statuesque this tractor is. We climb aboard the Xerion flagship to give our initial impressions
It is no secret that Helmut Claas has a passionate interest in the development of the systems tractor. But to those who mistake this passion for a hobby, the Xerion 5000 model marks an emphatic statement of the manufacturer’s future intentions. Also, consider Claas’s Xerion sales: out of the 1,000 machines now in use, 400 were built just last year. We’d suggest that this is more than just a hobby.
The greater sales success achieved in recent times has to be down to the Xerion concept delivering what customers are demanding. For example, the existing 280kW/380hp flagship, the Xerion 3800, appears to have been bought by those who favour its versatility – for duties such as inter-row cultivation (admittedly, not in the UK), grass cutting, slurry spreading as well as more traditional high-hp, heavy cultivations. And the new Xerion 4500 and 5000 are evidence that Claas tractors will not stop at 400hp, either.
Focusing on the 5000 model, a hefty six-cylinder 12.5-litre CAT C13 engine nestles under the bonnet. This develops a mighty 2,353Nm of torque at a leisurely 1,400rpm, with its maximum power of 385kW/524hp (metric hp, ECE R120) arriving 400rpm further up the engine rev scale. The 1 ¼“, 22-spline 1,000rpm pto operates at the power unit’s most fuel-efficient speed of 1,730rpm, while the air required to deliver this output passes through a filtration system complete with active vacuum-powered dust separator. Fuel is housed in a commensurately large 1,000-litre tank, and a reversible hydraulic fan takes care of engine cooling.
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