New Holland has recognised that its T7 is a prime mover capable of doing a lot of transport work and has uprated its steering and comfort levels.

A new front axle and steering control, is aimed at being more precise at high speed, while the upgraded TerraGlide front axle suspension featuring ‘delivers better stability and comfort.

The changes mean that the T7s can handle bigger payloads on its T7 long wheel-base (LWB) range.

The combination of new axle geometry, low friction hub bearings and a revised hydraulic steering unit manifests itself as better self-centring characteristic which reduces driver effort, especially at high speed.

The latest TerraGlide front axle provides better performance over the wide variation of front axle loads encountered on a tractor, with a new control valve, with dual accumulators, added.

This means that when the tractor is carrying a heavy rear implement, the new suspension delivers an 11% improvement in reducing chassis vibration, compared to the existing design.

The T7 LWB utilises a suspension concept known as ‘Skyhook’. This active system, normally found on sports cars, aims at maintaining the tractor in a level condition irrespective of external forces.

These forces typically would be an implement being raised or lowered, or the tractor braking or accelerating, actions where weight can be transferred on and off the front axle causing instability. The logic of the T7 is to momentarily stiffen the suspension if the operator brakes, accelerates or operates the three point linkage.

The upgraded T7 actually weighs the rear implement to determine how stiff to make the suspension, thus reducing the risk of excessive suspension travel at high speed.

An accelerometer unit within the nose of the tractor monitors any chassis movement caused from uneven surfaces and continually adjusts the suspension damping. This leads to better stability and delivers improved safety and comfort.

Depending on operator preference, the suspension can be operated in Soft, Normal or Hard modes.

For model year 2018, the new CustomSteer system brings a unique variable ratio steering concept to T7s. The driver can vary the number of rotations of the steering wheel it takes to turn the axle hubs from lock-to-lock.

There are three selectable settings, ranging from a single rotation of the steering wheel – 1:1, to 2:1 to 3:1. On tractors with the IntelliView IV control system monitor, the driver can select a ratio and even a different ratio between forward than reverse.

This is aimed at improving performance in a wide range of tasks, such as manoeuvring during front end loader work or turning faster with less effort on short headlands whilst ploughing or drilling. The ratios can also be changed automatically within the headland turn program, HTS II.

In addition to these updates comes a higher vehicle capacity for the T7 LWB with regards to gross vehicle weight, which is now as high as 14,000 kg.

An updated front instrument cluster refreshes the front console, while the IntelliView IV monitor has new graphics and there's a camera-ready option allows up to three camera feeds to be connected at the rear of the cab and their images displayed on the screen.

Model T7 LWB Max EPM hp Rated power hp

T7.230 225 180

T7.245 245 200

T7.260 260 220

T7.270 270 240