Devon farmer and contractor Robert Cross was one of the first in the country to take delivery of New Holland’s latest “heavy-duty” T7.315.

We find out how it has measured up after 750 hours.

See also: First impressions: New cab revitalises Case IH Optum tractor

Why did you pick a New Holland T7.315?

I’d had a Fendt 828 as my main tractor, which I generally considered to be one of the best on the market, but the engine was on its way out and the price for a new one had shot up.

After looking around, I ended up replacing it with a John Deere 6250R Auto Powr that was substantially cheaper.

I got lucky with the timing and happened to get a cracking deal, as Deere and Fendt always seem to be battling with each other for sales round here.

I’ve never been a John Deere man, but I thought I’d get to like it. That didn’t turn out to be the case – it just wasn’t for me and, after 12 months, it was gone.

Though it was a perfectly good tractor, its power output didn’t really match my requirements.

I was used to the 828, where all of the power was available all of the time, but the 6250R relied on engine boost during pto or high-speed transport work to get it to 300hp.

I also found the screen unnecessarily complicated, with too many pop-up pages for section control and headland management.

I got rid of it before the clock ticked past 1,000 hours and went for New Holland’s T7.315, which had only recently been launched.

It was appealing anyway, but the clincher was that I could have the demonstrator model. I ordered it at the start of the year through my local dealer, Andrew Symons, and it was with me two months later.

That left enough time to get familiar with it before starting any heavy fieldwork.

It cost roughly £180,000 on 160 hours, which wasn’t too far off the Deere – but I’ve got a good deal more power.

I also looked at the Case Optum, which has a different armrest and isn’t available with the dash screen mounted in the centre of the steering wheel.

They were minor downsides, but the biggest catch was the lead time – I’d have had to wait an extra two or three months for it to be delivered.

What extras did you spec?

As it’s an ex-demonstrator model, I didn’t have much of a say on the specification.

That said, I would have ticked most of the boxes anyway – I usually buy top-spec because it’s worth that bit more when it comes to selling.

The package included a two-speed front pto with a pair of spool valves, hydraulic top links front and rear, and a full LED lighting kit.

It’s also a “Blue Power” edition, so I’ve got a half-leather seat, push-button start/stop and central locking, which sounds fancy but is so much more convenient – it’s just like having a car.

I have several cameras rigged up, too. The one on the end of the bonnet is particularly useful, as it’s wide angle and can see almost directly left and right when pulling out of gateways onto the road.

This is displayed on the screen in the middle of the steering wheel and, ideally, I’d like it to double up as a dashcam to save me running a separate unit. Sadly, that doesn’t seem to be possible at the minute.

There’s another camera on the back of the cab that I usually have set to appear on the main armrest monitor whenever I select reverse – unless I’m buckraking, in which case it’s permanently on.

And I have a third pointing at the hitch, which runs through a separate screen.

It makes life that bit easier when hooking on trailers, and I can tweak the mounting angle to keep an eye on the forage wagon or baler pick-up instead.

I’ve also got an extra seven-pin plug to run a set of reversing lights and weighcells on the trailer, separately to the main lights.

And I fitted my own home-made toolbox on top of the diesel tank, as the flimsy plastic one that comes as standard is far too small.

What’s the new cab like?

I’m a big fan of the cab – it’s the quietest I’ve ever been in and so easy to configure the controls, whether it be answering my phone using a button on the joystick or swapping the spools around.

Most of my kit runs through Isobus, including the baler, forage wagon, sprayer and drill, so they appear on the main touchscreen and I don’t have to faff around with multiple control boxes.

I’m still waiting for New Holland to deliver a second screen, which I ordered with the tractor. It’ll be identical to the main one on the armrest, but they’re still finalising the software and hardware to get it working neatly.

So, for now, I just swipe between my tractor, GPS and Isobus displays.

This tractor also has the dash screen mounted in the centre of the steering wheel.

At first glance, you’d think it would get in the way, but it doesn’t – and it’s so convenient having the front camera and read-outs for the engine revs, speed and fuel level right under your nose.

How has it performed?

It’s a big tractor for my acreage, but I like to know I’ve got the power to pull bigger kit and crack on when the weather is catchy. Plus, I do enough contracting – probably half of my clock hours – to justify it.

So far, I’ve had no mechanical problems, but New Holland is still working on a few screen software glitches. They’re minor niggles that I can easily work around for the time being.

I like the fact that the T7’s full 313hp is available all the time, without boost, and it pulls well – so much so that it has the power to run the ptos in 1,000eco for lighter cuts of grass.

However, it’s a bit bigger than the Deere. Though it has a good steering lock and is reasonably compact, it’s higher and heavier – so I can be up to a fair gross train weight even before the Ktwo Rodeo trailer has anything in it.

It doesn’t get bullied on the road, though, and it has a system that automatically engages the trailer brakes and tractor exhaust brake if it senses the trailer pushing the tractor down a hill.

And there are several other features that I’ve found really useful.

Having a hydraulic front top link is great for mowing and buckraking and, for tanker jobs, I like the fact that I can pre-set my engine revs in the cab and then flick between them with a button on the fender.

I can also start the pto from the fender, which saves me getting back into the cab to start pumping once I’ve set up my pipes.

I don’t keep a particularly close eye on fuel consumption, but it seems to be on a par with my previous John Deere and Fendt tractors, and it has the bonus of a massive 630-litre tank.

Would you buy another?

I’m on course to do about 1,000 hours in it this year and, as it stands, I intend to keep it for three years.

That will take me to the end of my payment plan and the warranty, so I’ll see how things are shaping up – both in terms of the tractor, and farming generally – at that point.

Dealers often say the second-hand value of a New Holland won’t be as strong as a Deere or Fendt, but I’m not too worried and, if anything, I reckon it is worth more now than I paid for it.

And I’ve been really happy with how it has performed, so, as it stands, I’d get a like-for-like replacement when the time comes. Before then, I’ll probably retrofit a central tyre inflation system.

I had one on a previous Fendt 828, and I found it made the tyres last longer and significantly reduced soil compaction during cultivation and drilling.

I’m sure I’ll look at the alternative tractors as well, including the 828 – or whatever Fendt’s equivalent is.

The 728 looks like an awesome haulage tractor as it is a good bit lighter, but I’m not sure it’ll have the weight for the field.