Tractor test: We have waited nearly five years to get our hands on a Claas Axion Cmatic with its ZF-sourced CVT. So, time now to sit back and see just how the 135kW/183hp Axion 820 Cmatic performed in our full tractor test
When it first arrived in fields in late 2006 the then five-model Claas Axion 800 family could only be supplied with a Hexashift semi-powershift gearbox. One year on, the firm added the ZF-sourced S-Matic CVT transmission option that Claas dubbed, and continues to dub, the Cmatic on its 120kW/164hp to 177kW/240hp (ECE R24) 810, 820 and 840 models.
Falling into the 200hp segment has helped the 820 to take the Axion lead in UK sales, followed closely by the 850, and then the 810 and 840 picking up the pieces; as an aside, the 830 is no longer offered. Claas says there is no clear-cut case as to which customers spec the slightly more expensive CVT option, because as well as those who need the infinite working range for speed-sensitive jobs, there are others who just want the flexibility the Cmatic has to offer.
The transmission itself is a familiar unit, being a ZF S-Matic, and it appears in several other breeds of tractor including Case IH’s CVX and the Deutz-Fahr TTV630. All of that said, however, as far as sales stats go, the semi-powershift Hexashift still attracts many more buyers than the CVT. Bottom line, semi-powershift still remains the mass market product
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