Shopping for the best lawn mower should be taken seriously. A well-tended lawn is a British institution, first written about in 1260 , and to keep it looking fine you’ll need a high-quality lawn mower (as well as a garden hose ). But they come in many forms, from traditional petrol-powered mowers to battery-powered cordless models and robot mowers – the fastest-growing category in the industry. Which will be right for you?
We asked the experts where to look for the perfect mower, with names like Mountfield and Stihl coming up prominently, and borrowed this year’s latest models to test at home. You can read our reviews below, followed by answers to some frequently asked questions, but if you’re in a hurry here’s a quick look at our top five:
“Cylinder lawn mowers are the pinnacle of mowing machines,” says James Broadhouse (aka Jimmy the Mower ), a groundsman for 15 years. “They have six or more blades mounted on a horizontal axle at the front of the machine. They cut with a scissor-like action, so you get a really fine cut, but they’re harder to maintain and work best on fine quality turf.”
For uneven terrain, you are better off with a rotary mower: a single, high-speed rotating blade that cuts grass with a scything motion. They’re better able to cope with dips, slopes and long grass. “Most people should opt for a rotary mower,” says Robert Garner of lawn care company Lawnsmith . “You won’t always be able to tell the difference between the finishes from rotary and cylinder mowers and rotary mowers are easier to maintain and are height-adjustable.”
The third type is a hover lawn mower, which creates a cushion of air between the mower and the grass which the mower ‘hovers’ on. This floating effect replaces a need for wheels and can make the mower easier to manoeuvre over bumpy ground. Hover mowers also tend to be the lightest.
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