Smart and stylish new Valtra crowned Tractor of the Year

Finnish tractor brand Valtra has hit the jackpot by taking home two out of four awards at the Tractor of the Year awards ceremony held at the Agritechnica trade fair yesterday.

It bagged the main ‘Tractor of the Year 2018’ award as well as the ‘Best Design 2018’ award. According to Valtra, this is the first time the company has won the main accolade. It has taken home ‘Best Design’ awards in past years.

The latest and most powerful model of the T Series, the Valtra T254 Versu was launched globally in June this year and offers a maximum output of 271hp.

Best news is, the first T254 models are expected to touch down in Australia as early as January next year.

According to the panel of judges, which consists of 23 independent journalists from 24 European agricultural magazines, the Valtra T254 Versu trumped the other contenders with its innovative SmartTouch armrest with 9-inch touch screen, which offers operators an intuitive operation as well as all-round comfort and performance.

“The standard fitted SmartTouch armrest with the 9-inch touch screen, the intelligent multi-use drive lever and the new hydraulic joystick give the best and most straightforward user interface in the industry,” the jury says.

“It allows the driver to control and adjust almost any setting of the engine, transmission, hydraulics, Autoguide, telemetry etc. As a matter of fact, it's a new way of working with the tractor terminal.”

Commenting on Valtra’s ‘Best Design 2018’ award, the jury says the new Valtra T254 Versu with SmartTouch “represents a very cool looking, modern and elegant tractor.”

“Receiving these important awards and finalist recognition is amazing and a great continuation to the numerous acknowledgements and awards that our 4th generation models have received since they were first launched in 2014,” says Valtra Inc Marketing Director, Mikko Lehikoinen.

“The Valtra T254 featuring the SmartTouch armrest demonstrates our continuous development work at Valtra focusing on reliability, ease of use and intuitive solutions so that farmers can enjoy working with Valtra products and get the maximum benefit from the rapidly developing technology.”

Valtra SmartTouch

The new SmartTouch user interface was designed and engineered in Finland and was awarded the Red Dot design award in April 2017.

It integrates all tractor technologies, ie guidance, Isobus, AgControl and TaskDoc in the armrest. Separate profiles can be set for each individual driver and task, and configurations can be made in seconds using the touchscreen.

The 9-inch terminal has been designed to be easy and intuitive to use, with all functions on the terminal accessible with a maximum of two swipes or taps.

While the Valtra Versu models feature powershift transmissions, Valtra says a hand-operated drive lever allows operators to drive the machines like a CVT tractor.

The speed can be increased by pushing the hand-operated drive lever and decreased by pulling it, keeping acceleration in full control at all times.

The 5-step Powershift transmission features four main and two creeper ranges for a total of 30 speeds in both directions. The T254 Versu also features Valtra’s Hill-hold feature, which enables easy starts using just the accelerator pedal, even uphill, as well as Valtra’s patented hydraulics assistant.

The full list of Tractor of the Year winners are:

The Agritechnica trade fair, which is the world’s leading agricultural machinery expo, opened its doors yesterday at the Hanover fairgrounds in Germany and will run all week till November 18.