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With a list price of just £31,000 and plenty of familiar names on the spec list, there doesn't seem much to dislike about Armatrac's 113hp 1104 model. Nick Fone and Edd Mowbray get the measure of the budget Turkish-made tractor
Turkey has become something of a hotbed for small tractor manufacturing and one of its most recent exports is beginning to make headway in the cost-conscious portion of the UK market.
The Armatrac 1104 is currently the most powerful tractor in Erkunt Industries' line-up and has been sold in the UK and Ireland for the past three years. In that time, the business claims to have shifted more than 300 predominantly basic, scraper-spec machines.
But the larger models are now reported to be finding favour, particularly with livestock operators looking for a low-budget loader tractor. And at £36,000 for a fully loaded 1104 with 2t loader, it certainly seems good value on paper.
OK, so the cab trim might be a bit rough around the edges, but the Turkish company has managed to shoehorn loads of mod-cons into its flagship machine - standard spec includes four spool valves, hydraulic linkage levelling and top-link, air-brakes and a fourspeed pto.
Engine and transmission
There's nothing too radical in the running gear department - just a 3.4-litre Perkins four-pot bolted to a simple, mechanical ZF gearbox and back-end, with a Carraro beam up front. The engine is actually a re-badged Iveco-derived FPT block - look closely at the castings, scrape back a bit of paint and any engine geek will spot the Italian heritage.
Using a well-known power plant and running gear will appeal to the UK market and provide a bit of confidence for prospective buyers.
The ZF transmission is a two-range, fourspeed box with a clutchless hi-lo splitter and mechanical shuttle making for...