Packing 130hp and 500Nm of torque, the Arion 450 is the third most powerful model in Claas’ compact four-cylinder tractor range, behind the 140hp 460 and 155hp 470.

Since 2014, these tractors have been fitted with 4.5-litre FPT four-cylinder engine, allied to 16-speed Quadrishift semi-powershift transmission with four splitters.

However, buyers of more recent models have also had the option of upgrading to a beefier 24-speed Hexashift box, which ups the number of powershift steps to six.

See also: Video: Claas Arion 550 Cebis Cmatic on test

Both of these are Gima units shared with Massey Ferguson, which refers to them as Dyna-4 and Dyna-6, respectively.

Our reviewer for this model is Powys stock farmer Edward Jones, who has been running a 2019 Arion 450 CIS on his 200ha farm near Llanidloes since he bought it new four years ago.

Edward Jones © James Andrews

Why an Arion 450 CIS?

We’re John Deere fans really, but when the time came to upgrade our 6420, James from Rees Agri showed us around the Arion 450 and there were several things we liked.

A big one was the fact that it was compact for its size and the cab was well proportioned, particularly compared with an R-series John Deere.

The level of technology on the Claas was just right, too, giving us some handy features without being overly complicated.

It’s nice that you can start off with a fairly basic machine and then add the equipment you want.

In an ideal world, we’d have gone for one of the bigger four-cylinder models, but the 470 hadn’t been launched and there were no 460s available at the time.

© James Andrews

What extras did you opt for?

Bale shifting is a big part of the tractor’s summer workload and it fills in for the telehandler around the yard, so we needed a decent loader.

The basic Claas model would have done the job, but we decided to spend a bit extra and get the FL100 with its neat hydraulic levelling and pipes integrated into the boom.

It works brilliantly with the armrest-mounted multifunction joystick, which can also control gear shifts and the link arms without us having to reach over to the console.

Other additions included a panoramic glass roof so we can see the loader when it’s lifted, front-axle suspension and a CIS colour display with GPS.

This is only a lightbar at the moment, but Claas has offered us the chance to trial autosteer, which will be fitted by Rees Agri.

© James Andrews

The final extra we picked was air brakes, largely because we’ve got a Bunning Lowlander 105 wide-body muckspreader, which is a bit too big for the tractor.

They’ve definitely been a worthwhile investment as they’re so much more powerful and controlled than hydraulics and they stop the tractor getting pushed around.

© James Andrews

How has it performed?

It’s a gutsy little thing and the FPT engine has plenty of torque, even when pulling the muckspreader or hauling 18 silage bales.

Top speed is good too, with it maxing out at about 45kph, even though it has only got a 40kph box.

I’ve been less impressed with the automatic function on the gearbox though; it never seems to change at the right point, so I stick with shifting manually.

It has been reliable, with no breakdowns in 1,700 hours, and there haven’t been any AdBlue problems, which might be helped by the fact that we keep it inside most of the time.

Any room for improvement?

The front suspension is very comfortable, but it’s a pain to maintain with about 20 grease nipples.

It would be nice if this was simplified in some way as there were only a couple to worry about on our old John Deere, which also gave a smooth ride.

The handbrake arrangement isn’t the best either and we really miss having a transmission park lock.

It would be good if this could be integrated into the shuttle lever like some others have done.