6-cylinder Belarus: strong and reliable

There is a 6-cylinder Belarus under the bonnet of the tractor we tested for you. And the tractor is, obviously, from the Belarus tractor manufacturer. The Belarus 2022.6, strictly speaking. This is basically a captive story from Eastern Europe.

6-cylinder Belarus, 7,12 liters displacement

Undoubtedly one of the strong points of the Belarus 2022.6 is its Diesel engine, which despite its somewhat outdated architecture is reliable and capable of delivering good performance, as we were able to appreciate during the test. With a 7.1 litres displacement and a mighty torque of 905 Newtonmetre at 1,600 rpm, it made a positive impression, always ready to respond to pedal stress at any rpm and in any gear. It’s really hard to put it to the test, as it makes up for the impossibility of changing gear on the move by responding promptly to sudden changes in load. Stage IV compliant, the Belarusian six-cylinder is supercharged by a turbocharger with intercooler and uses an electronically controlled common rail injection system. Exhaust gases are treated downstream with a classic Scr system. The power curve peaks at 161.7 kilowatts at 1,900 rpm and then drops to 155.9 kilowatts at 2,100 rpm. Fuel consumption is normal and the 370 litre fuel tank ensures ample autonomy for the entire working day. The engine is mated to the classic mechanical gearbox. As mentioned earlier, there is nothing hydraulic here, so it is always essential to use the clutch to change gear.

Talking about Belarus

The ‘Minski Traktarny Zavod‘ company, well known as Belarus, is not a small company. Founded in 1946, it is still the leading manufacturer of wheeled tractors in the entire CIS area (Russia and the former Soviet republics) with around 40,000 units produced in 2019. Awarded the collective titles of the Order of Lenin and the Order of the October Revolution during the Soviet Union, Belarus is still closely linked to ‘Mother Russia’, to which it exports most of its tractors. The Soviet genetic imprinting, decidedly unwilling to follow market trends and rather insensitive to stylistic dictates, is clearly visible in the bodywork design, which has remained virtually unchanged over the last 15 years. The appearance of the 2022.6 is therefore not the most modern, with its ‘whale-mouth’ bonnet containing two large, square-profile headlights, but it is decidedly functional. One-piece, it can be opened at 45 or 90 degrees, allowing easy access to the engine, the batteries (there are two, one 24-volt for the starter and one 12-volt for the electrical system) and the air filter.