Lawns are still pretty beat up from the long winter but that hasn’t stopped mower and tractor retailers, who’ve been displaying this year’s models for more than a month. At Consumer Reports, we’ve been busy prepping test results from our weeks of mower testing in Fort Myers, Florida. Here are some highlights from our latest Ratings.
A quiet gas mower. Gas-powered mowers we’ve tested historically require ear protection to avoid hearing damage, but the self-propelled Craftsman 37545, $340, was quieter than many electric mowers we’ve seen. A sibling model that shipped too late for us to buy for testing, the $450 Craftsman 37592, has all-wheel drive—as do some Husqvarna walk-behind mowers you’ll see in stores.
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The Tesla of riders. We’ve seen plenty of battery-powered outdoor power equipment, and we recommend some smaller gear for light-duty needs. But a zero-turn-radius rider isn’t for light-duty. The Cub Cadet RZT-S Zero, $4,000, is changing the notion of "pricey yet weak." This 42-inch model has the same deck as our top gas-powered pick plus a steering wheel. It also gets two hours of cutting and has become available nationwide since we first wrote about it.
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One stand-up mower. Storage space in the garage or shed shouldn’t matter as much as a mower’s capability, but it does. The self-propelled, single-speed Toro 20339, $380, has a special Briggs & Stratton engine that won’t leak gas or oil when turned on its side, vital since this mower can be stored standing up in the garage or shed. And there’s more to this mower than saving space.
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Is faster mowing good enough? Toro cites survey data that customers who switched from a lawn tractor to a faster zero-turn-radius rider finish their mowing 45 percent quicker. But to do that, they’d have to mow faster than the 3.5 to 4 mph we think gives the most even cut, without clumping. So we pitted the Toro TimeCutter SS4235 rider against the John Deere D125 lawn tractor at the fastest speeds they can handle. We'll be sharing the results soon.
Easy blade changes. A year and a half ago, we saw demos of a new Husqvarna technology that lets you change blades of a lawn tractor or rider without tools. But the all-clips feature didn’t make it to market till this season, and it appears in the 46-inch Husqvarna YT46LS lawn tractor, $2,300. Fortunately, the good news doesn’t stop there.
Before hitting your local home center, hardware store, or dealer, check out our buying guide for mowers, tractors, and riders. Then narrow your choices using our Ratings of 170 models.
—Ed Perratore
Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers or sponsors on this website. Copyright © 2006-2014 Consumers Union of U.S.
