Published by Farmers Guardian, June 2004.

Neville Lee, who farms 100 acres of black fen soil just outside Ely with his father Peter, has taken a bit of stick for bringing a new Zetor into the area, but he’s happy with his decision.
“Our dealer had worked hard for the business and when it came time to get a new tractor, the four-wheel-drive, 88hp Proxima fitted the bill,” he said, “the ground clearance was excellent and I couldn’t argue with the price.”

The Lees are still waiting for narrow wheels for their tractor, but once they have been fitted, the Zetor will take up spraying duties on the unit, which grows wheat, sugar beet, potatoes and onions. It will also be used to pull their Grimme two-row harvester.

Although 100 acres may not sound much, there shouldn’t be any shortage of work for the new tractor. Already this year the farm’s rear-mounted 1,000 litre Berthoud sprayer has been over the potatoes three times, the wheat four times, the beet five times and the onions seven times. And with a chemical bill averaging £2,000 month during the growing season, it will see plenty more action before harvest.

Neville has chosen the 12-speed shuttle gearbox for his tractor and extra spool valves. He has also added a Flexi arm front linkage to carry weights to help balance the sprayer.
“We’ve never had a Zetor before, but it looks the part and if it delivers on its specification, I’ll be well pleased,” says Neville.

Zetor tractors have always had price and reliable, but basic, functionality on their side, but the latest models have a new feature that’s attracting quite a bit of attention – modern styling.

The company’s Forterra series of 82-110hp tractors were first to hint at the new look and won awards for design when they were launched a little over two years ago, but that styling has now evolved even further and has been adopted by the smaller Proxima series which has recently started arriving on UK farms.

Three tractors, of 68hp, 78hp and 88hp, make up the current Proxima range, which sets new standards for driver comfort and good looks from the Czechoslovakian manufacturer.
Externally, the Proxima exudes modern design values, with the cab and bonnet having been nicely rounded off. Closer inspection, however, reveals that the company has put a lot of thought put into the new tractor.

The exhaust has been moved well to the right of the bonnet, in fact its positioning means that it is virtually invisible from the drivers seat. Open the doors and you’ll find them constructed from a single piece of glass, with minimal ironmongery to hang them and to provide a handle to pull them shut and a locking mechanism.

Staying outside the tractor, all the body panels are glass fibre - and in the case of the bonnet sides easily removed for access to the engine, battery and air filter. Parts that could be considered a little more ‘at risk’, including the fenders on the front wheels and the ends of the rear fenders at the back of the tractor are made from strong, but flexible, plastic.
There’s also a full lighting kit with the usual side lights, indicators and headlamps supplemented by a pair of work lamps at both the front and rear.

Access to the cab is via a sturdy double step at each side and through the wide glass doors. The offside step protects the large, plastic fuel tank, which is easily filled from gound level. The cab sits quite high off the ground, but consequently benefits from a flat floor, which has a thick rubber covering.

Visibility is excellent all round. There are six pillars, but by keeping them narrow – and by virtue of the positioning of human eyes – there are almost no blind spots. The view from the closed rear window, which like the front screen is fitted with a window wiper/washer, lets you see the top link and – via a small hole in the top of the PTO cover – the position of the trailer pick-up hitch. There are also two good sized mirrors outside, but no rear-view mirror inside.

Driver comfort has obviously been taken very seriously and the seat is one of the best I have seen. It’s not air suspended, but is almost as good and is adjustable in just about every way imaginable. You can set it for height and adjust it to suit your weight. The seat pan slides back and forward through about 20cm and the seat back also adjusts back and forwards and also for lumber support.

Further than that, however, the seat also swivels about 10 degrees either left or right to aid comfort when working and a final small lever releases the seat pan to allow a small degree of fore and aft movement to absorb any shocks in these directions. Combine that with twin arm rests, which can be swung out of the way, and you have a good chance of spending the working day in comfort.

Thankfully, the steering wheel also has a great degree of adjustment. The steering column not only extends by up to 20cm, the wheel also tilts through about 35 degrees.
The cab itself is very spacious. At well over six feet tall, I still had 12.5cm of clear space above my head from the drivers seat and about 25cm from my outstretched elbows to the windows – provided the passenger seat was in the down position, it may well get in the way of a ‘wider’ driver when it’s folded up in the storage position.

A good quality radio is supplied as standard and the heating system – although only three-speed – appeared up to the job supplying plenty of air through four roof-mounted vents. Both side windows open for ventilation, while the rear window and a roof hatch can also be opened for maximum air movement. A dealer-fitted air conditioning conversion is under development and should be available soon.

In an era of automation and increasingly sophisticated tractors, the Zetor Proxima is a breath of fresh air. Everything is mechanically operated apart from the four-wheel-drive, differential lock, PTO clutch and main clutch which are either air actuated or air assisted. (The engine-driven air compressor and air tank under the nearside step remain a peculiarity of Zetor tractors – it does mean, however, you have no excuse for not keeping your tyre pressures up to scratch.)

The tractor we tested was fitted with Zetor’s 12x12 shuttle gearbox. This provides a six-speed synchromesh gearbox with a high and low range (operated by two levers at the driver’s right hand) and a forward/reverse shuttle (at the drivers left hand).

A brief drive on and off-road showed it was reasonably easy to move up and down through the gears – even with only 13 hours on the clock – although there is a significant jump between fifth and sixth gear to help the tractor achieve its 40kph top speed (front axle braking and a 40kph gearbox are standard on four-wheel drive models).

All the Proxima models utilise the same 4.2 litre turbocharged engine. Fully compliant to the latest EU Tier II specifications for emissions and noise, the engine is also claimed to be balanced for smoother running.

The shuttle gearbox means sacrificing the 1,000rpm PTO speed, so the Proxima we drove came with 540rpm and ground speed only. Using the PTO involves applying the PTO clutch lever (at the driver’s left hand) and moving the PTO selection lever (which sits close to the floor near the shuttle lever) from neutral to the speed required. Letting out the PTO clutch takes the power to the back end of the tractor.

Also at the driver’s left hand are the handbrake and the trailer pick-up hitch control.
The hydraulic controls – at the right of the cab – are extremely straightforward with only three levers for the rear linkage. The main lever in the quadrant controls the linkage, while a second lever puts that control in either position, draft or mixed mode. The third hydraulic control sets the rate of drop. An external lever at the rear of the trtactor is also supplied to adjust the linkage.

A second lever in the hydraulics’ quadrant controls the first spool valve, which on the test tractor was dedicated to the front linkage. The optional spool valves on the test tractor were controlled by a separate pair of levers also at the drivers right hand.

The Proxima’s dashboard is workmanlike, providing rocker switches for most controls and a chunky indicator stalk on the steering column. Dials include a tachometer/hourmeter which shows the 540PTO speed at 2000rpm. Top gear speed in km/h is also noted around the dial. Additionally there is an air pressure gauge, a fuel level gauge and temperature gauge – and a bank of warning lamps.

Zetor has taken great strides in recent years and has built up a 20 per cent market share in its home territory. Yet 96 per cent of production is exported, with both the UK and USA representing important markets for the marque.

The company claims to have enhanced tractor comfort and the quality of its gearboxes and other major components to satisfy these markets and our quick look at the new Proxima confirms this to be the case. The quality of finish both in and outside the cab didn’t disappoint either.

If you’re in the market for a tractor and can dispense with the whistles and bells of premium brands, the Zetor Proxima is well worth a look. Beneath this latest tractor’s new styling lies almost 60 years of tractor building heritage, so you’re dealing with a well established manufacturer; and on value for money alone, the Zetor has to be considered.