It’s been 10 years in the making, apparently, as Claas has sought an unprecedented amount of market information and user views to help decide on the future of its mid-range combine line-up.

But the outcome of all that time, is the new Trion range, a line-up of straw walker and ‘hybrid’ models featuring single or twin rotor separation that takes over from the Tucano range with an all-new chassis and more advanced electronics infrastructure.

The Claas Trion line-up

The Claas Trion line-up

Increased performance potential comes from adopting threshing and cleaning hardware from former Lexion models and in something of a departure from previous practice, each of the Trion machines will be available in very basic to top-notch sophisticated form to cater for as many different users as possible.

UNIVERSAL APPEAL Combination of different sizes, separation systems and spec variation is intended to give the Trion range broad grower appeal

UNIVERSAL APPEAL Combination of different sizes, separation systems and spec variation is intended to give the Trion range broad grower appeal

The line-up also gives farms of all sizes access to Montana self-levelling and Terra-Trac tracked models within a range that covers three chassis widths, the narrowest being one with the Terra-Trac undercarriage at 3.22m.

In short, as long as Claas has done its homework as thoroughly as it claims, there should be something for everyone, according to UK product manager, Adam Hayward.

RANGE LINE-UP Combines product manager Adam Hayward explains how the new Trion range fits with the latest Lexion line-up

RANGE LINE-UP Combines product manager Adam Hayward explains how the new Trion range fits with the latest Lexion line-up

“With the introduction of the Lexion five- and six-walker combines last year and the 8000 series hybrids the year before, the performance gap from the Tucano range was opened significantly,” he said.

“That is addressed with this Trion range by giving the new machines a step up in performance, while giving buyers the choice of a combine that starts at Tucano level in terms of pricing and specification, but which can be built up to Lexion level with added features and technologies.”

The performance lift comes primarily from ditching the Tucano’s 450mm diameter threshing cylinder for the old Lexion’s 600mm version – it’s 755mm in the new ones – and the corresponding 450mm diameter APS accelerator drum that encourages loose grains out of the crop flow to ease the main cylinder’s workload.

Together with the beater transferring crop from the main cylinder to the separation kit beyond, all three elements are speed-synchronised and adjusted as one.

And so to the line-up: In addition to the entry-level five-walker Tucano 320 that survives in selected markets for one more year, the Trion range kicks-off with the 520 featuring 1.42m wide internals, five 4.4m four-step walkers with side risers and an overhead tine agitation drum as standard, and 258hp.

This crop handling set-up is mirrored by all straw walker versions, including the 530 that gets 306hp, larger grain tank capacity, and Montana self-levelling and Terra-Trac options.

As part of the Claas pick ‘n’ mix philosophy for the Trion, buyers can have Montana models with side-to-side levelling only or side-to-side plus fore-and-aft to suit different degrees of land topography.

Next come three wider machines with six walkers for separation – the base 640 with 306hp for harvesting flat fields that had no equivalent in the Tucano range; the 650 with 354hp and the 660 with 408hp in wheeled, wheeled levelling and tracked variants.

For the ‘700’ models, there’s a change-over to Roto Plus rotary grain separation, which on all Claas ‘hybrids’ relies more on grate area than centrifugal force, hence the six grate and ‘bomb door’ segments for the single 4.2m rotor of the Trion 720 and 730, and the five segments for the twin rotors in the range-topping 750.

These are all 1.42m machines again and pack grain tanks of up to 12,000 litres capacity and engines with 367hp, 408hp and 435hp, respectively.

The power unit used represents another noticeable change, in that Cummins has won the contract to power these new combines, largely for their power density, lack of exhaust gas recirculation, reliability record and service/parts back-up.

The 6.7-litre and 8.9-litre diesels will be sourced from Cummins’ Darlington factory, in Co Durham, and with increased volumes anticipated after the Trion range is launched in North America next year, the deal represents a significant coup for the UK factory.

So-called Dynamic Power is part of the spec' – this maintains engine revs but reduces power when appropriate, saving around 10% of normal fuel consumption according to Claas experience with this feature on the latest Lexion combines.

Up front, the combines can be equipped with Cerio conventional and Vario adjustable knife-to-auger gap headers, as well as the draper belt feed Convio tables with rigid or flexible cutterbars up to 12m wide on a feeder-house with fixed or mechanically- or hydraulically-adjustable header pitch.

And the operator gets a better view of whichever table is chosen thanks to a new version of the familiar Claas cab that is a little taller, has a larger windscreen and narrower ‘A’ pillars, plus integrated external rear view mirrors, new seats and improved air conditioning.

A 12-inch colour touch screen Cebis display presents information and adjustment options, while also now displaying Cemos Dialog (advisory) or Cemos Auto (fully automatic) functions for this combine set-up and adjustment system, which Claas says continues to evolve as more performance data is gathered.

Auto steering by header-mounted Laser Pilot, cab-mounted Field Scanner and satellite-based GPS Pilot, as well as the yield mapping potential of the enhanced Quantimeter mass flow yield recording system, also emphasises the equipment levels available for the new Trion range.