Although it hasn’t reached the UK or Ireland yet, Steyr is currently experiencing a renaissance as a high-tech brand within CNH Industrial. Our test tractor this month is the Steyr 4130 Expert CVT, also known as the Case IH Vestrum.

It’s hardly classified information that Case IH, New Holland and Steyr are built on the same platform, with the engine, axles, transmission, linkage and hydraulics often shared between the brands.

Yet recently there has been a change of tack at CNH Industrial, where the management is instigating some greater differences in specs and features between the trio. As part of this differentiation, Steyr has developed its own multifunction armrest for the Expert, the red and white version of Case IH’s Vestrum CVX. According to the brochure, with its stepless transmission the four-model range should be as versatile as the smaller Multi (Luxxum) but as powerful and comfortable as the larger Profi (Maxxum) models. Naturally, this piqued our interest, especially since we’d just tested the eight-speed semi-powershift New Holland T5.140 DC model, a competitor from the same corporate stable, in our August magazine.

Holding back on power

As with the blue NH T5, the four-cylinder, 4.5-litre FPT engine complies with Stage V emissions without using EGR. And here, too, the CNH engineering team has succeeded in shoehorning all of the exhaust aftertreatment components under the bonnet — excellent.

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