New Holland's ML27 and ML27T: Two New Small Articulated Loaders Join a Fast-Growing Lineup

A Small Articulated Loader for the Jobs a Skid Steer Can't Squeeze Into

If you've ever tried to back a compact track loader through a six-foot side gate to grade a backyard, or watched a crew hand-dig a trench along a finished driveway because nothing in the fleet was narrow enough to fit without tearing up the sod, you already know why a category like this exists. New Holland just added two more machines to it: the ML27 and ML27T, the newest members of a small articulated loader lineup the company only started building a few years ago and has been filling out fast ever since.

This isn't a flashy new-category launch. It's New Holland rounding out a gap in the middle of a lineup that's already proven itself, and the two new machines are worth understanding on their own terms rather than lumping them in with every other "small loader" announcement that crosses a contractor's feed.

Meet the ML27 and ML27T

Both machines share the same bones: a 50 hp Kubota diesel, hydrostatic four-wheel drive with a limited-slip differential and diff lock, an 18.6 mph top speed, and an operating weight of 5,732 lbs in open-cab trim. At 60 inches wide, either one will clear a standard 36-inch gate with attachment removed, or most 48-60-inch access points with the bucket on — the whole reason this class of machine exists in the first place.

Lift capacity lands at 6,393 lbs on the ML27 and 6,405 lbs on the ML27T, with a lift height of roughly 8.25 feet on both. Both run a hydraulic skid steer coupler standard, which matters more than it sounds like it should: it means either loader taps directly into New Holland's claim of more than 50 compatible high-flow attachments without an adapter plate, and both offer optional high-flow auxiliary hydraulics for attachments that actually need the flow to work hard. Every control lives on the joystick, with a choice of hand or foot throttle, and both come standard with a five-year Fleet Force Telematics subscription — a real, no-asterisk standard inclusion rather than a dealer-installed add-on you find out about after the fact.

Specs at a Glance

• Engine: 50 hp Kubota diesel (both models)

• Operating weight: 5,732 lbs, open-cab configuration

• Lift capacity: 6,393 lbs (ML27) / 6,405 lbs (ML27T)

• Lift height: approximately 8.25 ft (8' 3.1" per New Holland's quick-spec sheet)

• Top speed: 18.6 mph

• Width: 60 inches

• Drivetrain: hydrostatic 4-wheel drive, limited-slip differential with diff lock

• Attachment system: standard hydraulic skid steer coupler, 50+ compatible high-flow attachments

New Holland hasn't published breakout force figures or a ground pressure spec for either machine as of this writing, and neither press release specifies whether the undercarriage is wheeled or tracked across the two configurations — worth confirming directly with your dealer before you lock in a spec sheet comparison against a competing brand's small articulated loader, since that's exactly the kind of detail that changes the real-world answer to "will this work on my jobsite."

Cab, Controls, and the Features That Actually Save You Money Over Time

The base configuration ships with an open-cab ROPS/FOPS safety roof — not an afterthought bolted on for a compliance checkbox, but the standard protection structure every unit leaves the factory with. Step up to the enclosed cab option and you get heat and a heated air-suspension seat, which matters more than it sounds like it should if your crews are running this machine through a Midwest or Northeast winter rather than a Florida jobsite year-round. Every control lives on the joystick, with your choice of hand or foot throttle depending on operator preference, which keeps the learning curve short for an operator moving between this machine and a skid steer or CTL in the same fleet.

The detail worth actually paying attention to, though, is the standard five-year Fleet Force Telematics subscription. That's not a limited trial, and it's not something your dealer upsells you into after the sale — it's in the box. For a contractor thinking about resale three or four years down the line, a documented telematics history (hours, location, fault codes) is a genuine selling point to a used-equipment buyer who's nervous about a machine's actual duty cycle versus what the hour meter claims. Brands that don't include this standard are asking their customers to buy that trust on faith instead.

The Comparison That Actually Matters Here

Here's where the honest version of this story differs from the press-release version. New Holland isn't positioning the ML27T as a replacement for the ML27 — they launched together, same specs sheet, same week. There's no outgoing model being retired here, and we're not going to pretend there is one just to force a predecessor narrative. The real comparison that matters for a buyer isn't "old model vs. new model." It's ML27 vs. ML27T, because that single letter is the actual decision point.

The ML27 uses a vertical-lift boom geometry. The ML27T swaps in a telescoping boom — the same configuration New Holland uses on its larger wheel loaders to give operators reach the vertical-lift geometry physically can't match. On a small articulated loader, that telescoping reach means a few extra feet of dump height and forward reach over the same footprint, which translates directly into fewer repositioning moves when you're loading a dump trailer, topping off a stone bed, or working a confined yard where backing up and re-approaching costs you real minutes on every single cycle. The tradeoff, as it almost always is with telescoping booms, is a bit more mechanical complexity and typically a slightly higher price point for the added reach — New Holland hasn't published exact pricing on either configuration, so that's a conversation for your dealer, not a number we're going to guess at here.

If your work is mostly straight loading and grading in open space, the standard ML27 does the job without paying for reach you won't use. If you're regularly working tight yards, loading over walls, or filling raised beds and trailers where a few extra feet of dump height saves a repositioning move every single cycle, the ML27T earns its premium.

Nine Models Deep: What This Launch Tells You About Where New Holland Is Betting

New Holland entered the small articulated loader category only a few years ago, launching with five models. By the time the ML27 and ML27T arrived, that lineup had already grown to seven — meaning New Holland added models in between launches we haven't separately covered yet, and we're not going to invent names for machines we haven't independently verified. With these two additions, the lineup now sits at nine models total. That's a company treating this as a real, growing product category rather than a one-off experiment, and it tells you something concrete about parts availability and dealer familiarity going forward: a nine-model-deep lineup gets more dealer stocking priority and more service-tech training time than a niche product line would.

What Nine Models Deep Means for Parts and Service, Not Just Marketing

It's easy to read "nine models" as a marketing talking point and move on. It shouldn't be. CNH Industrial's dealer network stocks parts and trains technicians based on which product lines are actually moving volume, and a lineup that's grown from five models to nine in a few years is the clearest signal a dealer has that this category is worth carrying loaner units for, worth stocking common wear parts for, and worth sending a technician to a manufacturer training course on. Compare that to a competitor's one-off niche product in this size class, where your dealer might be ordering a part from a regional warehouse instead of having it on the shelf. That difference shows up the day your machine is down and you're trying to get it back on the job before the crew loses a full day.

Where This Size Class Actually Earns Its Keep

This isn't a machine built to replace your compact track loader on a commercial pad. It's built for the jobs where your CTL is the wrong tool entirely — too wide, too heavy, or too hard on a finished surface. Landscaping contractors use this class to move mulch, soil, and pallets of sod through residential side yards without tearing up a client's existing lawn. Fence and hardscape crews use the narrow width and tight turning radius to work along property lines and inside partially built retaining walls where a skid steer's wider stance just won't fit. Irrigation and underground utility contractors lean on the low ground-disturbance footprint when working finished turf that has to look untouched by the time the crew leaves. Nursery and tree-care operations use the lift height and the attachment flexibility — the same 50-plus-attachment compatibility that makes this machine genuinely useful rather than a one-trick loader — to handle everything from root balls to pallet forks on the same chassis.

Renting an ML27 vs. Financing One: The Real Math

A small articulated loader like this typically rents in the $300-$450/day range depending on market and configuration, which sounds reasonable until you look at how many days a landscaping or hardscape crew actually needs one. If this machine is earning you money on more than roughly 8-10 days a month — which is a low bar for a crew doing residential sitework, fencing, or irrigation as a core service line rather than an occasional add-on — the math tips toward ownership fast. A financed ML27 or ML27T, structured over 48-60 months with a reasonable down payment, puts a fixed monthly cost on your books that's typically well below what 10 rental days a month would run you, and it comes with something rental never gives you: an asset with resale value and a five-year telematics history trail that makes it easier to sell down the line, plus Section 179 and bonus depreciation treatment that a straight rental expense doesn't qualify for the same way.

The other side of that math that rental guys don't mention: availability. If your rental yard's small articulated loaders are out on other jobs during your peak season, you're either waiting or improvising with the wrong machine. Ownership removes that risk entirely for a piece of equipment you're using on a near-weekly basis.

Who Should Be Looking at This Machine

• Landscaping and lawn-care contractors doing regular residential installs

• Fencing crews working tight property lines and partially-built enclosures

• Irrigation and underground utility contractors on finished-turf jobsites

• Hardscape and paver installers moving material through narrow access points

• Nursery, tree-care, and grounds-maintenance operations

Financing a New Holland Small Articulated Loader Through BFC

New Holland's bet on this category is backed by a construction-equipment lineup BFC already finances regularly, including the New Holland W70D and W80D compact wheel loaders if your work calls for something with more lift capacity once you graduate out of this size class. If you're cross-shopping compact equipment for the same tight-access jobs, it's also worth a look at how Bobcat's new UT6066, UT6566, and UT6573 utility tractors stack up for similar landscaping and grounds work.

Whether you land on the standard ML27 or spring for the telescoping reach of the ML27T, BFC structures financing and leasing for compact equipment like this across good and bad credit situations — see our full skid steer and compact loader financing programs for the details.

Visit the BFC homepage to see the full range of equipment we finance, apply for equipment financing in minutes, browse our equipment marketplace to buy or sell, or subscribe to the BFC blog for more equipment spotlights like this one.