Deutz Fahr Agrotron M620 Profiline

By: Terry Stevenson, Photography by: Terry Stevenson

Date: 07.06.2010

The Deutz Fahr Agrotron M series tractors have both power and performance on tap

Deutz Fahr Agrotron M620 Profiline

Powerful engine
Easy radiator access
Large and quiet cabin, with good visibility
Strong construction
Four PTO speeds

Basil Lambert bought his 54ha family dairy farm near Putaruru two years ago and milks 140 cross-breed cows through a 10-aside Herringbone milking shed. He also runs a contracting business, BL Lambert Contracting.

Lambert decided the Deutz Fahr Agrotron M620 would be manoeuvrable enough to use on the farm, yet stable and strong enough towing a seeding unit around a hill.

Inside the cab

Three deep serrated steel steps make it easy to get in and out of the wide cabin. The rear hinged front bonnet is particularly low and short in design, allowing very good visibility.

Above the comfortable air seat is an opening skylight with an internal cover for front end loader work. To the driver’s left is a training seat and reasonable compartment areas, including a small refrigeration box.

The rear view mirrors are all a good size and there is also good space behind the seat for your bits and pieces. It’s also where you’ll find the creeper gear lever.

Performance and handling

The M620 has an average turning circle for that sized tractor with large tyres, aided by swivelling front guards.

I took the 5460kg M620 up a reasonably steep hill in a couple of different gears to see when the motor ran out of puff. It didn’t – and not only that, in third gear I could change up two split shifts and the engine didn’t even drop a rev.

Under some pressure the transmission made really smooth changes, going up or down on the steepest part of the hill.

Engine

The six-litre six-cylinder Deutz powerplant produces 166hp using the Deutz-Fahr Power control (DPC) electronic engine management system. Making 655Nm, the engine has masses of stump-pulling power, mostly between 1400 and 1700rpm.

The Tier 3 Deutz engine incorporates a turbocharger with seven-hole common rail fuel injection.

Transmission

Changing gears was easy once I started to get the hang of the Deutz Fahr set-up.

Driving the M620 around Lambert’s farm and out on the road I found the transmission was generally pretty good in manual and automatic modes, with just an occasional split shift change higher up the ranges that might be a bit sharp.

To put the Deutz Fahr into automatic transmission mode, simply press a side button on the joystick and flick it to the right. Pull the stick and it drops back into manual mode, including while on the move.

The 40kph top speed transmission has 40 forward and 40 reverse speeds, including four creeper ranges. There are six gears on the manual gearstick, each with four powershift ranges to total 24 "normal" gears, in each direction. To change up I could either use the powershift buttons on the gear stick or push the joystick controller forwards (and pull back for down).

A small digital display is on the "A" pillar, which tells you if you are in manual or auto, and which of the four ranges you’re in – displaying L, M, H, and top, S.

The shuttle system can be used either off the left of steering column stick, or from the main control joystick using a clutch trigger button and the forward/reverse switches for direction changes.

A sensitivity dial is under the armrest for adjusting the Automatic Powershift (APS) when in automatic mode. The powershifts can be adjusted for how quickly it changes gear on the Profiline model, depending on engine rpm and load, with two memories for speed matching.

Controls

All of the controls are centralised, with few switches and dials on the traditional right console area. They are mostly positioned on or near the driver’s joystick, and under the operator’s armrest.

On the joystick are the forward/reverse buttons (replicating the shuttle system), two auxiliary hydraulic switches and the three-point linkage controls. These are all grouped close together for easy thumb activation. At the foot of the joystick are the buttons for the pre-set engine management system (pre-selected revs), a neutral button, diff. lock, and 4WD buttons.

Under the armrest are a series of dials for the hydraulics, buttons for manual digital dash inputs, Automatic Drivetrain Management (ADM) programming of the diff. lock and 4WD functions for headland management. You can check the likes of your hectares covered, kilometres driven, time in-paddock, fuel consumed etc, with two memories to compare jobs.

The rear

Four open-centre hydraulic outlets are standard on the M620, each rated up to 120L/min flow rate. The four-speed PTO can be externally activated only from the left rear guard, although the three-point linkage rise and fall can be operated from both guards.

Read in-depth tractor reviews in the latest issue of Farm Trader magazine, on sale now.

See a range of used Deutz-Fahr tractors for sale.

Specifications

Cylinders/cubic capacity (cm³) 6/6.057
Bore/stroke (mm) 101/126
Rated Power (2000/25 EC) kW/hp 114/155
Max. power with DPC (kW/hp) 122/166
Rated engine speed (rpm) 2,100
Maximum torque (Nm) 655
Tank capacity 270L
Wheel base 2,647mm
Height above cab 2,922mm
Length with lower link 4,587mm
Ground clearance 520mm
Total unladen weight 5,610kg
Payload front/rear 2,690/3,500kg
Total perm, weight 9,000kg