Following our drive of the 73hp Kioti 8040PC-GE Powershuttle (profi 11/24) we were keen to have a longer spell behind the wheel of its bigger brother, the 140hp HX1402 ATC. A couple of weeks later, Kioti UK delivered its press launch model to us, and with it a chance to really give the tractor a proper try.

KEEPING IT BRIEF

  • The HX1402 ATC we had out has a list price of £110,000.
  • Produced at the firm’s South Korea plant.
  • Full production models will benefit from further refinement.

Our first impression of the Kioti HX1402 remains positive. The five-pillar cab feels roomy, with good all-round visibility. Overall ergonomics are none too shabby either, the seat armrest having just four controls; a rocker shift to toggle through the eight speeds per range, hand throttle, linkage raise/lower and depth control. There is a further button tucked down on the inside of the armrest to select auto shift, with the rear of the two divided armrest lids flipping up for access to linkage setting controls underneath. 

Although the spec of the HX 1402 is straightforward, the tractor has some nice standard features to include easy to understand auto pto.

No clutter, with good spacing between everything to make hitting the right control without looking as easy as you will find on a modern tractor. The forward/reverse shuttle is where you expect it to be on the steering column so all in all the operating basics could not be any simpler. 

Most of us who tried the test tractor found getting in and out of the cab easy, with the right-hand door also opening should you need it. Those of a heavier build did comment it was a bit of a squeeze to get into the seat but all was fine once settled in. Despite this, we all felt the cab was light and airy with decent space for a passenger on the instructor seat.

Auto linkage lift and lower, pto engagement and front axle engagement toggle switches are positioned under the remote valve levers.

Firing up the engine and running at full revs lead to a few more mixed comments. Those used to working older tractors just didn’t take heed of the noise levels. Those jumping from more recent kit said, ‘it’s a bit noisy in here’.  Kioti do not publish in-cab noise levels but we think they are likely to stray toward the more vocal end of the nominal 140hp class. Not bad but not great either. Kioti have improved matters since our drive, production ATC tractors from October 2024 having added sound deadening. In cab noise levels are now said to be a more reasonable 78dB(A) which is still at the upper end against the established competition.

Well-finished cab lets in lots of light, a roof panel and heated rear screen coming as standard. The latter has thick wires but this was something we failed to notice after a while. An optional heater / cooler box can be fitted behind the instructor seat.
The pick-up hitch release handle is easy enough to get at but adjacent cables do look vulnerable.

Getting to work – or trying to

Job one was to hitch up to a four-furrow reversible plough that tips the scales at under two tonnes. It should have been an easy lift for the 4,410kg rated capacity of the rear linkage. The HX1402 as tested has 75 litres of available hydraulic oil per minute from its fixed gear pump, but our tractor was a bit lethargic in terms of lift although dialling in a few extra beans helped speed things up. Again, Kioti have made changes to production tractors, with ATC tractors bound for Europe having a hike in rear lift capacity to 4,82kg.

Three mechanical remote valves are standard with a four set as an option. The valves are colour coded, the top set here being needed to work the rear pick-up hitch. The Cat II rear linkage as a rated capacity of around 4.4tonnes, with dual lift rams suggesting ample power. We found the linkage was a bit slow to raise a four-furrow plough. Knob with orange cap selects ground speed drive pto.

We expected this to lead to some headland frustration but, as it turned out, we ended up ditching the idea of ploughing. The only day of dry weather we had was when the tractor was unloaded, the land earmarked for ploughing proving a no go due to torrential rain. Shame really as we felt the tractor certainly has the power to run four furrows in medium soils. That said, we felt the job would benefit from a lot more front ballast on the tractor. Despite running a full set of ten 50kg wafer weights on its nose, the tractor felt far from stable with the plough raised. A front linkage with weight pack or fore-end loader would no doubt help keep the nose down and make the most of the front wheel’s traction. Again, this is a point that Kioti UK will look into, the test tractor’s spec not necessarily reflecting what will be offered in Europe.

Towing a trailer on the road gave us a chance to try the automatic transmission. This will shift up a gear at around 2,000rpm. We found it preferable to select the gears ourselves. The engine pulled hard at around 1,500rpm, enabling the tractor to hold a taller gear up steep inclines.

On tarmac

As to transport, we carried out some light trailer work to move 500kg fertiliser bags. The tractor shrugged off a four tonne load as you would expect, with the powershift making it easy to keep the engine ‘on the boil’ up the odd steep hill during the journey. In fact, the engine seemed to have plenty of torque, letting it drop to around 1,500rpm in a higher gear seeing it just pull. 

The transmission can be switched to shift automatically but this did not suit our transport loop. In auto, the transmission, which is made in house by Kioti parent company Daedong, was programmed to change up at 2,000rpm and so hung on to a lower gear when we would want to change up at a lower engine speed. Service Engineer software can alter the shift pattern, but using the powershift buttons on the arm rest was easy so we did not bother with auto. We also noted the was tractor happy to set off from rest in third or fourth  in high range on the road.

Nestling on top of the engine are the emission control filters, leaving just a slim exhaust stack that runs up the offside screen pillar. It barely intrudes on the view out of the cab.

Field challenge

For fieldwork experience we needed to revert to the tractor’s press launch where it was hitched up to a 6.0m Bednar cultivator. The land we worked then was dry and had been ploughed, heavy clods giving the tractors’ cab suspension and seat a good workout. The tractor felt comfortable over this type of terrain, but during our extended time we got a better idea of how it dealt with lumps and bumps. The conclusion was some tweaks are needed, the seat bottoming out all too easily and the cab feeling as if it was too firmly sprung to take the initial bite out of hitting a big lump. Kioti UK say production models have a revised seating position and other changes which should get around these problems.

If this all sounds negative then bear with us. The test tractor was a homologation model that will no doubt see some further development to meet European needs. Kioti UK are also looking ahead to a revised specification model that will be fitted with a load sensing hydraulic pump, have extra spool valve options and be offered with a suspended front axle. Although this will lift the HX1402 out of the  simple ‘livestock’ orientated spec that many will no doubt see as this models target audience, this tractor with an enhanced spec will certainly have its place. 

If the parent company follows the trends set by the South Korean  automotive sector, expect an enhanced spec 1402 to sell for a competitive price too. That said, the HX1402 ATC as tested has a sticker price of £110,000. As we noted in our drive of the 73hp RX8040, a Kioti in like-for-like trim with the competition may look expensive but this will not reflect what is paid on farm.  If Kioti UK and its dealers can sell the HX1402 for nearer to £85,000 it will make a competitive case for itself, the more so once its five year ‘oily bits’ warranty is factored in. 

Summary

After our time with the tractor, we were left with a mixed but generally favourable impression. The tractor’s build quality and finish are both decent, the cab is good and roomy enough once you are settled in and noise levels should be OK (but not the best in class). Our biggest gripes were the lethargic performance of the rear linkage and the tractor feeling too light over the front axle. At 40km/hr solo the tractor was fidgety on our poor local roads and a positive handful with a mounted plough. It is clear Kioti are aware of this,  with the hope these points will be remedied by the time UK spec tractors come on stream.

James de Havilland

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