Fendt 600 Vario debuts Down Under

Fendt’s brand new 600 Vario with four models in the range has officially made its debut in Australia at the Wimmera Machinery Field Days in March 2025.

Since its global debut at Agritechnica 2023, the range has won a number of awards overseas, including Tractor of the Year 2025 in the mid-power category.

Fendt said the range was inspired by nature as it’s durable like a camel, strong like an ant, has fantastic visibility like an owl, masterful like bees, agile like a hare and light-footed like a water beetle.

The Fendt 614 Vario, 616 Vario, 618 Vario and 620 Vario offers power ranging from 149hp to 209hp.

A newly developed 4-cylinder 5-litre AGCO Power CORE50 engine powers the Fendt 600 Vario series. Exhaust gas after-treatment takes place via a diesel oxidation catalytic converter (DOC), diesel particulate filter (DPF) and with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) without exhaust gas recirculation.

The CORE50 engine is also alternative fuel ready, allowing it to operate on fuels such as Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), for a more sustainable operation.

For the first time, Fendt’s DynamicPerformance (DP) function is available for all models in the 600 series and offers up to 15hp of additional performance via demand-based control when needed, even when carrying out stationary PTO work or, depending on the operating conditions, during tillage.

Putting power to the ground is Fendt’s new VarioDrive continuously variable transmission technology. The foundation is the single-stage drive train with independent control of the front and rear axles.

“It's essentially an all-wheel drive concept transmission,” said Fendt Australia’s Peter Lutterschmidt.

“Previous versions of our famous Vario transmission have the concept of a high load range requirement. This one forgoes that now, and it's constant all-wheel drive, no range selection required.”

The transmission continuously measures the slip on all four wheels and regulates the power output accordingly.

The Fendt 600 Vario also has great maneouvrability and a tight turning circle of 10.2m, thanks to a shorter wheelbase and the VarioDrive transmission. It affords a pull-in-turn effect that pulls the machine into the curve during turns due to the axle-independent control.

The innovative low-speed Fendt iD concept is available for the first time in this horsepower segment. All components, including the engine, transmission, hydraulics and cooling system, were designed according to the "high torque – low engine speed" principle. With the concept, the Fendt 600 Vario is capable of high torque even at low engine speeds which helps save fuel.

The rated engine speed is 1900rpm while in the main working range, the speed is 1350 to 1800 rpm.

The Fendt 620 Vario has a power-to-weight ratio of just 34.4kg per hp, making it very manoeuvrable and light-footed, leaving minimal trace on the ground. Depending on the work application, the range can be ballasted at the front or at the rear on the rear wheels.

A gross vehicle weight of up to 13.5-tonnes allows it to be used as a heavy towing tractor and ensures safety during transport.

The 600 Vario is also available with Fendt’s VarioGrip technology, which is its central tyre inflation system. By increasing the contact area of the tyres, operators can boost tractive power by up to eight per cent, while reducing fuel consumption by up to eight per cent at the same time, Fendt said.

The driver can conveniently control tyre pressure via the in-cab terminal. Fendt VarioGrip can be ordered directly from the factory for both flanged and stub axles, for row-crop with dual tyres and also with wheel weights.

For the first time in this segment, Fendt is offering the Fendt 600 Vario as a 60-inch (row-crop) version for all models in the series. For row-crop use, both single and twin tyres are available from the factory.

For the 600 Vario, Fendt has incorporated the latest telemetry and precision agriculture solutions in the form of its FendtONE system that has both onboard and offboard functions for field and office use.

In FendtONE onboard, a multifunction joystick, a 10-inch digital dashboard and a 12-inch terminal on the armrest are standard features. A 3L joystick and another 12-inch terminal in the headliner are also available as options.

Smart functions such as the Fendt Guide guidance system, the automatic Fendt Section Control (SC) or the use of Fendt Variable Rate Control (VRC) are displayed on the assignable tiles on the terminals.

The Fendt VisioPlus cab, inspired by an owl, provides excellent visibility while offering ultimate comfort and ergonomics, Fendt said.

With a viewing angle of 77 degrees, the vertically continuous panoramic window provides an optimum view of the front loader when working at height. In the horizontal plane, the driver has a high all-round visibility index of over 72 per cent. This index measures the net free visible area at head height at a diameter of 24m. Front windscreen wipers with up to 300 degrees of wiping area and the optional right side window wiper with 97 degrees of wiping area complete the visibility package.

A cooler and warmer box in the cab allows food and drink to be stored from 0 degrees to 65 degrees celsius.

“By introducing these on the 600 Vario, Fendt is basically bringing all the features from its higher horsepower machines into the lower horsepower segment,” Lutterschmidt said.

“What Fendt is trying to do across its ranges over time is to have the same cab on the tractor, regardless of what horsepower you're driving. So from a 100hp right through to a 500hp machine, the cabin will be the same, maintaining consistency across the ranges.”

The Fendt 600 Vario is designed for front loader use with the new generation of Fendt Cargo and Fendt CargoProfi front loaders. 

There are two size classes to choose from with models 4.85, 5.85 and 5.90 for different lifting heights and lifting capacities. With a maximum lifting capacity of up to 34.6kN for the Fendt Cargo 5.90 and an optional position-independent weighing function, the Fendt CargoProfi front loader also moves large loads efficiently to a height of up to 4.5m.

The new multi-coupler reduces pressure losses, has an automatic opening function and protects against contamination when uncoupled. The automatic display in the terminal gives notifications for load-dependant maintenance intervals.

The front loader is operated via the optional 3L joystick that enables three functions to be performed simultaneously when operating a silage grab bucket, for example.

The Fendt 600 Vario offers up to five connections at the rear, up to two at the front and up to three independent connections in the middle.

“This 600 Vario has two hydraulic pump options - your standard 152l/min or an option of a 220l/min hydraulic flow, which is more than enough to cater for all your requirements for a machine of this size,” Lutterschmidt said.

The new draft control for the rear linkage shifts the weight of the implement proportionally to the rear axle of the tractor, thus increasing traction and improving the work result.

The order book is now open for the Fendt 600 Vario series.

According to Lutterschmidt, there are currently some 600 Vario units in stock in the country with more expected to roll in soon.

“If you're in the market for one, I encourage you to reach out to your dealer as soon as possible because lead times do push out throughout the course of the year depending on machine configurations you may require,” Lutterschmidt said.