TRACTOR TEST: Fendt has switched engine breeds, with its 300 series tractors now using in-house AGCO Power motors in place of the more familiar Deutz unit. To find out if this change of heart makes much difference we put an 85kW/116hp Vario 312 under the spotlight
Even before Fendt’s new generation 93hp-126hp 300 range was unveiled in mid-2014, industry rumours had it that the firm was swapping power plants — a logical-enough step when you consider that owner AGCO had acquired Finnish engine maker Sisu in 2004. Those rumours proved correct: the 300 Vario uses the AGCO Power AWI44, 4.4-litre motor already found in Valtra and Massey Ferguson models.
Yet unlike its compadres, which rely on Hi-SCR, Fendt has opted for a diesel oxidation catalyst under the bonnet, SCR in the stack and cooled EGR to hit the Stage IV target and minimise AdBlue consumption. It does sound rather like a kitchen sink approach, so we were keen to see if and how it works.
Brochure figures based on the more trueto-life ECE R24 standard suggest the 312 is good for 85kW/116hp. Accurate? To find out, first stop for our test steed was the DLG dyno. Here the engine delivered 79.9kW/107.2hp while revving at rated speed and as much as 88.0kW/118.0hp at 1,700rpm — both excellent. Similarly first class are a constant power range of more than 30% and a torque increase of 46% (as speed drops by just 29%) to a maximum of 530Nm.
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