As much as you love your lawn, odds are you probably don't love cutting it. Sure, the smell of freshly cut grass is one of life's greatest treats, but actually mowing the lawn… not so much. If you're looking to get your lawn mowed quickly and efficiently, we're here to help.
We've evaluated the best lawn mowers on the market today. Our friends over at our sister site Popular Mechanics have actually tested several of our picks in the pouring rain and blistering heat to separate the best from the rest. Roy Berendsohn, one of the most seasoned industry experts when it comes to lawn care and outdoor power equipment, even wrote an extensive guide on everything you need to know to buy the right mower.
CR members with digital access can read on for ratings and reviews of the eight top mowers in our ratings, including push and self-propelled walk-behind mowers, zero-turn-radius lawn tractors,. Husqvarna 960430211 YTA18542 Tractor Best Lawn Mowers 2019 42 inches. The fender mounted deck is very convenient and spring assisted to make everything easy to handle. The mowing technology is totally air induction based to support air flow below the deck and making the grass get cut efficiently all the time.
Some basics to keep in mind: Whether or not you should buy a walk-behind or riding lawn mower depends upon the size of your yard. Any lawn above a quarter of an acre (that’s 10,890 square feet), you’ll want a riding mower. Both Lowe’s and Home Depot’s buying guides recommend walking mowers for lawns up to a half-acre, but unless you have a lot of time to kill, we think you’d be much better off with a ride-on mower considering the amount of time and energy you’ll save.
When it comes to riding lawn mowers, you have three distinct types to choose from: rear-engine riding mowers, front-engine lawn tractors, and zero-turn mowers.
Rear-engine machines are the most inexpensive of the three because of their smaller cutting decks, making them ideal for suburban use at yards up to one acre in size.
Front-engine tractors are probably what you think of when someone says “riding mower.” They’re reasonably priced mid-ranged models that are suitable for yards between 1 and 3 acres in size thanks to their larger deck sizes, which range between 36 and 54 inches. Plus, you can also use them to tow light yard trailers.
If you need to cover even more ground and want to cut the grass in as little time as possible, a zero-turn mower is the way to go — but they’re the most expensive option. We think Berendsohn put it best: “The more you spend on a mower, the more durable, versatile, intuitive, and probably, the quicker you’ll get the job done.”
So whether you're looking for a simple push-mower, a quiet and clean electric mower, a powerful yet still affordable riding lawn mower, or a more sophisticated zero-turn mower, we have you covered after having researched and compared 25 different lawn mowers. We've even listed a robotic pick, so you can spend more time by the pool sipping on a chilled glass of lemonade rather than behind or atop a loud mower.