Lawnmower tester Steve Mercer has advice on choosing and buying today's best models
'Online suppliers are offering a huge choice of mowers at keen prices and they are delivered to your door.'
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| Champion Premier from Focus Stores
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Do people want different things from their mowers now compared with a decade or so ago?
The market for cylinder mowers has dropped off – wheeled rotaries are now the dominant type. These are better for typical family lawns and the cutting height can be changed to cut longer in summer droughts. Mulching mowers are likely to become more popular in future. Rechargeable cordless mowers have never really taken off so far, but as batteries improve these might appeal to people worried about the pollution from petrol mowers.
So which type is best?
Many people just want to keep the lawn under control, so a cheap hover is probably good enough. For keen gardeners, a wheeled rotary will give a better finish, collect the clippings and is straightforward to use.
What further innovations can we expect?
Mulching mowers are more popular in continental Europe and are just starting to appear in the UK. Recent innovations from Wolf and Toro are machines that convert easily from collecting to mulching, so you can collect when the grass is lush and mulch when it isn't. Bosch's new Rotaks have combs that allow you to cut right up to the lawn edge – we like the new cordless version, which performed as well as the mains version without the hassle of the cable.
Where's the best place to buy mowers?
Traditional garden machinery dealers are probably still the place to buy higher-priced mowers, particularly for the after-sales and servicing aspects. The DIY stores have pushed the prices of mass-market mowers, including the budget petrol rotaries, right down – you can get a decent petrol mower now for under £200. Online suppliers are offering a huge choice at keen prices and they are delivered to your door.
What have you tested lately?
We tested 15 rotary mowers for small- to medium-sized gardens. Two experienced testers used each mower to cut a series of plots up to 30 square metres, three times at weekly intervals. They tested mowers on longer grass, rougher, lawn edges and wet grass, too. Two men and a woman also rated each mower for how easy they were to use.
Best buy rotary mowers after testing
* Small lawn: Bosch Rotak 34; electric; £100-£200.
* Small lawn: Honda Izy 415PD; petrol; £275.
* Medium lawn: Toro Eurocycler 21091; electric; £199.
* Medium lawn: Wolf Garten Compact Plus 37E; electric; £189.
* Medium lawn: Bosch Rotak 40; electric; £150.
* Large lawn: Champion Premier RL534SPH; petrol; Focus stores; £299.
Questions by Liz Dobbs with answers supplied by Steve Mercer. Steve has been testing mowers for 16 years and is principal researcher for Gardening Which?
denotes Subscriber-only content | Thursday 21 August 2008 | Help | Glossary 
