NGC 4494 is one of several intermediate-luminosity elliptical galaxies inferred to have an unusually diffuse dark matter halo. We use the χ2-made-to-measure particle code NMAGIC to construct axisymmetric models of NGC 4494 from photometric and various kinematic data. The extended kinematics include light spectra in multiple slitlets out to 3.5Re, and hundreds of planetary nebula velocities out to ≃7Re, thus allowing us to probe the dark matter content and orbital structure in the halo. We use Monte Carlo simulations to estimate confidence boundaries for the halo parameters, given our data and modelling set-up. We find that the true potential of the dark matter halo is recovered within ΔG (merit function) ≲ 26 (Δχ2 ≲ 59) at the 70 per cent confidence level (CL), and within ΔG ≲ 32 (Δχ2 ≲ 70) at the 90 per cent CL. These numbers are much larger than the usually assumed Δχ2 = 2.3 (4.6) for the 70 per cent (90 per cent) CL for two free parameters, perhaps case dependent, but calling into question the general validity of the standard assumptions used for halo and black hole mass determinations. The best-fitting models for NGC 4494 have a dark matter fraction of about 0.6 ± 0.1 at 5Re (70 per cent CL) and are embedded in a dark matter halo with circular velocity ˜200 km s-1. The total circular velocity curve (CVC) is approximately flat at vc = 220 km s-1 outside ˜0.5Re. The orbital anisotropy of the stars is moderately radial. These results are independent of the assumed inclination of the galaxy, and edge-on models are preferred. Comparing with the haloes of NGC 3379 and NGC 4697, whose velocity dispersion profiles also decrease rapidly from the centre outwards, the outer CVCs and dark matter haloes are quite similar. NGC 4494 shows a particularly high dark matter fraction inside ˜ 3Re, and a strong concentration of baryons in the centre.