Following on from the measurements in Part 1, we delve a little deeper into each of the tractors’ detail and ask that critical machinery buying question — how much?

KEEPING IT BRIEF

  • There is almost £32,509 between the pocket-friendly Kubota M5-112, and the costliest SAME Explorer 105, even without a front loader.
  • There are also big differences when it comes to operation and handling.

For many farms, a 100hp tractor is still a useful all-rounder. Light transport jobs, grassland work, yard duties and pretty much everything that can be moved with a front loader — this wide and varied workload is exactly what these tidy tractors are built for.

Alongside cab layout and ease of use, we also asked the seven manufacturers for the list prices. Of course, these prices aren’t what you’ll actually pay your dealer, but they do give a bit of a steer as to who is charging what — see the table below for the overview.

Kubota is the most affordable model in the comparison with a ticket price of £75,350 when in base specification. Valtra also looks competitive at the entry level: even when upped to our test tractor, it costs £83,491.

SAME charges £91,987 for the basic model, but, get trigger happy with the options, and this rises to £113,848 in test trim, making the Explorer the most expensive tractor in our group. Kubota would also appear to be offering the best value for money (£91,354) if you are looking for a tractor with loader from this test specification.

Over the next few pages, we run through each model in detail, listing its good and bad points. In the next issue, we’ll focus on the individual front loaders and their ease of attachment/removal, lift and breakout forces, plus visibility and operation.

Tobias Bensing

Claas Axos 3.105

An Italian-style door solution

A reminder of the Claas tractor’s Renault roots is the front-hinged doors. They latch in the direction of travel — handy — though the wing mirrors would normally be in the way. Claas solves this with a clever mechanism (a German dealer fitment) that parks the mirror between the door and the raised loader boom

With the door open, you’re shielded from accidentally touching the hot exhaust, which is unusually on the left side of the tractor. With an overall height of 2.56m, headroom in the cab is limited, but there are some decent storage options.

Small screen on the dash is packed with information.
Good access.
Good forward visibility, limited headroom.
Wide rear window.
Six gears in one hand, including clutch and powershift changes.
Unusual layout of oil flow direction.
Tidy rear end with practical touches and strong lift capacity.

JOHN DEERE 5105M

Compact, smart — and frugal

Built in India, the 5105M is also available with a simpler gearbox (and even without a cab) and no powershift, or with eight powershift steps. As standard, the tractor can be integrated into the John Deere Operations Centre. A simple auto steer system can also be integrated into the dashboard. The side console is uncluttered. There is no cab or front axle suspension option. 

Good dash, though it doesn’t move with the steering column.
Narrow access compared with competitors.
Stiff door handle.
Excellent feeling of space.
Powershuttle lever is under the steering wheel
Park lock makes shifting a bit notchy.
Two lift rams give the biggest lift range in the test group and the second-highest lift force.

KUBOTA M5-112 

High-revving, but nimble 

In the 100hp bracket, Kubota offers the lighter M5 and the heavier M6. The M5’s biggest weakness is its engine. It needs plenty of revs to deliver power and offers limited torque. Under load, the operator ends up frequently shifting to keep revs up. Yet thanks to high-clearance axles, the M5 is the most manoeuvrable tractor in the test. Payload and towing capacity are limited, though.

Excellent, grippy shuttle control.
Wide access despite six-post cab.
Narrow but wide-opening rear window.
Unique and practical park lock.
Quick-lift and depth control levers sit too close together.
The hydraulic couplers are arranged tightly, and the top link holder is poor. That said, this linkage offers the largest lift range, provided the link arms are pinned in the position where they develop the least lifting force.

MASSEY FERGUSON 5M.105

French laissez-faire

Massey Ferguson has a strong reputation as a loader specialist in this class. The 5M scores with high hydraulic output thanks to a tandem pump and good forward visibility. Powershift steps and gears can be changed via the loader joystick, though the membrane buttons lack tactile quality. Its 198-litre diesel tank is large enough to make it through long working days. With cab suspension fitted, the machine is one of the most comfortable test tractors on the road.

The dash may look old-school, but it’s informative.
Wide access.
Very good feeling of space.
Large, wide-opening rear window.
Good EHR, though extra shift buttons on the side console are too small.
Effective cab suspension.
Simple stabilisers and top link holder, but cab suspension and a practical oil sight glass are welcome.

SAME EXPLORER 105

Mature design — but lacking payload

The SAME Explorer shares much with the Deutz-Fahr Series 5 and has been on the market since 2018. The cab is spacious, though the front cross post hampers the view of the loader. The engine needs revving to deliver output. As typical for SDF, linkage, hydraulics and pto controls are colour-coded. The Stop & Go function works well, allowing the operator to brake to clutch.

Clear dashboard.
Bright and pleasant cab.
Door opens easily.
The rear window doesn’t open wide enough, and the latch isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.
Gears and powershift steps engage smoothly.
Bowden cables are slightly stiff.
Lift capacity is modest and hydraulic dust caps are small and fiddly. Yet there are four pto speeds.

STEYR PLUS 4110 (Case IH Farmall 110C)

Nippy and compact

Launched in 2023, the Steyr Plus will be more familiar as the Case IH Farmall C and New Holland’s T5 albeit in slightly altered configurations. The FPT engine impresses with strong torque and lively response. The cab is small compared with the other test tractors’. The dash offers plenty of functions, but they are rather small and cramped. Yet we appreciated making the settings via rocker switches in the cab. The build quality feels above average. Towing capacity is limited to 25t.

A lot of information in a small space.
Good passenger seat.
Better than hidden in a screen: many functions are controlled via switches on the B-pillar.
The seat is positioned quite far back.
The gear lever feel with Multicontroller could be better.
Clear console layout.
Cab suspension is fitted, but, typical of CNH, the lift range at the rear is limited.

VALTRA A105

The winner in terms of ease of operation

The Valtra shares its hardware such as engine, transmission and axles with Massey Ferguson, but it is assembled in Finland. The in-house developed cab is high quality, as is the overall finish and all-round visibility. The HiTech 4 version — with four gears and four powershift steps — is reserved for the 105 and 115 models. The small steering wheel partly obscures the dash, which is frustrating, because the current gear is only shown here. The gear lever handrest is well designed.

Dash is detailed but a bit cramped.
Powershuttle lever is easy to use. It does have detents.
Good storage options.
Large rear window.
AdBlue tank on the right.
Clear, well-laid-out controls.
Clear, well-laid-out controls.
The Valtra’s cab is also suspended, and the rear end is tidy.

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