Kubota, a leading Japanese tractor manufacturer, is introducing its latest yardmonster, the M130X. It sports 140 horsepower engine, which doesn't sound like much. However, its torque figure of 570Nm at a miniscule 1,200rpm is pretty impressive. Also impressive is the fact that every component of the tractor is made in-house.
One very interesting feature of the M130X is its proprietary 16 forward/16 reverse Intelli-Shift transmission, which reaches 40kph and includes the option of eight creep speeds. The gearbox offers eight clutchless powershift steps in each of the two ranges, operated with buttons on the single transmission lever. ‘Auto’ mode is activated by a single switch alongside, and this gives two options. ‘Travel’ mode gives the driver three programmable gear changes according to road gradient and acceleration, while ‘Field’ gives a downshift of two gears upon the rear hitch being raised. A basic headland management sequence if you will, to add to the Dual Memory system. Beside its Intelli-Shift transmission the M130X features a bevel gear drive as part of Kubota's 4wd package, which presents the advantage of no differential to get caught and no UV joints to maintain.