Electric lawn mower reviews

Cordless (battery-powered) models

Enviromower Enviro 500 ECO500Y *

Price $599

Good points  

• Best cutting performance with catcher
• Very good at mulching
• The easiest to use: very little handle vibration, excellent controls
• It’s easy to adjust the cutting height

Bad points

• The heaviest mower tested
• Handle may be a bit low for taller people
• Control levers are a little narrow
• The catcher is fiddly to fit
  

Masport Phoenix Cordless

Price $499

Good points

• Excellent cutting performance
• Very comfortable handle
• Very good controls
• The catcher is easy to use

Bad points

• The equal noisiest model
• The catcher is comparatively small
• The worst handle vibration
• Various problems changing and using cutting heights
  

Mains-powered models

Flymo RE370 U371EL

Price $299

Good points

• Excellent cutting performance
• Very easy to push and manoeuvre
• Comfortable handle 
•  Excellent controls

Bad points

• Changing the cutting height is fiddly — you have to move a lever at each wheel
  

Victa Tornado Electric EBP360A

 
Price $499

Good points

• Excellent cutting performance
• Comfortable handle
• Excellent controls

Bad points

• Difficult to adjust the cutting height
• The catcher is fiddly to fit

Victa Lawnkeeper Electric ESP360A

Price $179

Good points 

• Excellent cutting performance
• Very comfortable handle

Bad points

• Hard to push on lowest cutting setting
• You have to turn the mower over to change the cutting height
• The catcher is fiddly to fit
• Only three cutting heights

Victa Lawnkeeper Electric ESP300A

Price $160 (Discontinued but may still be available in some stores)

Good points

• Excellent cutting performance
• The least noisy
• Comfortable handle
• Lightweight and compact
  

Bad points

• Various problems changing and using cutting heights
• The catcher is small and fiddly to fit
• The narrowest cutting width (300mm)
  

Talon Eagle Cut & Catch AM2053

Price $199

Good points

• Very good cutting performance
• Minimal handle vibration
• Excellent controls
• Easy to use catcher
  

Bad points

• Wobbly handle that some might find too low
• The cutting height adjuster is difficult to use
• High-pitched and annoying noise

The Enviromower and Masport are great for convenience, with no power cord to drag around, but they're pretty expensive. The Victa Lawnkeeper ESP300A, on the other hand, cuts just as well and is very good value, with the Victa Lawnkeeper ESP360A and Talon Eagle not far behind.

Table notes

(A) Discontinued, but may still be available in shops.
(B) The Enviromower also mulches. For overall and cutting performance scores, the second number shows the results when the mower is used in mulcher mode.

* Victa branded model is Enviromower which is mechanically identical with a different colour.

The overall score is made up of:

• Performance score: 60%
• Ease of use: 40%

The performance score is made up of:

• Cutting performance on short grass: 20%
• Cutting performance on medium-length grass: 20%
• Cutting performance on long grass: 10%
• Appearance of short grass: 25%
• Appearance of medium grass: 25%.

Ease of use testers assessed:

• Handle vibration
• Manoeuvrability and pushing
• Handle comfort
• Controls
• Grass catcher, if supplied
• Ease of adjusting the cutting height
• Convenience of the power source

Noise: The testers measured the noise the mowers made from 7.5 m away and at the operator’s ear level. None of the models is as noisy as their petrol counterparts, but ear protection is still a good idea.

Cutting positions/height: You can vary the length of grass your mower cuts by adjusting the height of the blade from the ground. These mowers have between three and seven positions, but if you’ve got areas of lawn you like to cut to different lengths — or you expect to be mowing long grass, which may need to be cut twice — also look at the cutting height range to decide whether the mower will deliver the variety you need. The cutting height is based on the distance between the blade and the bottom of the wheels.

Width of cut: You’ll be mowing for longer with a narrow mower because it cuts less grass with each push. But it’s likely to weigh less, take up less space in the shed and could suit a backyard that has a narrow strip of lawn.

Weight: The lighter the mower, the easier it is to push — on short and medium grass. However, a light mower will probably struggle if you’ve been away for a few weeks and the grass has grown dramatically.

Mains-powered models  

Honda HRE370

Price $365

Good points

• Excellent cutting performance
• Very comfortable handle, but the control lever doesn’t blend in fully
  

Bad points

• Second worst for ease of use overall
• Controls are very difficult to use
• Have to remove and reposition all wheels to change cutting height which is inconvenient
• Catcher is fiddly to fit
  

AL-KO 38 E Classic

Price $199

Good points

• Very good cutting performance
• Large capacity catcher
• Comfortable handle
• Very good controls

Bad points

• Have to remove two wheels and two axles to change cutting height
• Uncomfortable catcher
  
  

Flymo Turbo 400 Model TL400

Price $249

Good points

• Lightweight
• Very easy to push and manoeuvre
• Very comfortable handle
• Excellent controls

Bad points

• Not good at cutting long grass
• Leaves the lawn looking messy as there is no catcher to collect the grass clippings
• Have to add/remove spacers to change cutting height which is inconvenient
  

Flymo Turbo Lite 350 Model TL350

Price $199

Good points

• Lightweight
• Very easy to push and manoeuvre
• Very comfortable handle
• Excellent controls
  

Bad points

• Not good at cutting long grass
• Leaves the lawn looking messy as there is no catcher to collect the grass clippings
• Have to add/remove spacers to change cutting height which is inconvenient
  

Morrison Hover Mower 552463

Price $160

Good points

• Lightweight  

Bad points

• Worst for ease of use overall
• Not good at cutting long grass 
• Leaves the lawn looking messy as there is no catcher to collect the grass clippings
• Very difficult to push as the handle keeps coming out of the housing constantly
• Have to add/remove spacers to change cutting height which is inconvenient
  

What to look for

• The handle should be adjustable, turned up and comfortable to hold.
• Ideally, the catcher should be made of rigid plastic; with a bag-type catcher you can get showered in dust. The catcher should have two handles, one for carrying and one for emptying.
• Single or dual control levers should blend in with the shape of the handle — this will make a mower easier to use.
• It should be easy to adjust the cutting height without taking the whole mower apart.
• Big wheels improve handling on rough ground.
• Only one of the tested models has a mulcher. If mulching is a priority, you may also want to consider petrol models with this function.

How we tested

CHOICE’s expert testers put all the models through their paces on specially prepared areas of short, medium and long grass. If the mower came with a catcher, this was used during the short and medium-length tests. Our testers also rated the appearance of the grass after the short and medium-grass tests.

Before you rush out and buy a new mower in these water-restricted times, consider whether you need a lawn at all. While grass does prevent soil erosion, it can suck in up to 90% of your garden’s water. It also needs regular mowing and fertilising to look its best.

Many new home builders are opting for less lawn, but it’s not for environmentally sustainable reasons: it’s so they can build a bigger house. Research at Queensland’s Griffith University has revealed that new home builders are erecting houses that cover up to 65% of their block, which may leave a gap of only one or two metres around their house. Traditionally, houses occupied 35% of a standard suburban block, leaving the rest for garden and lawn.

The rise of McMansions with massive floorspaces began in the 1990s and appears to be unique to Australia. The trend isn’t being mirrored in the US, despite its similar suburban sprawl. While a gardenless state may save water, researchers say the loss of trees and garden can have a serious impact on the local ecology, drainage and microclimate. So maybe you need that small strip of garden after all.

If you decide to keep your lawn, the following tips may help to keep it healthy and your water use low:

• Choose a warm-season lawn variety that requires less watering, such as couch or Sir Walter Buffalo.
• Don’t cut grass too short. Keeping it 4 cm or longer will leave the roots shaded and reduce evaporation.
• Use lawn clippings as a mulch to reduce water loss.
• Water your lawn early in the morning or in the evening when it’s cooler and give your lawn long, infrequent soaks, rather than watering it every day.
• Using a timing device or an alarm clock to avoid leaving sprinklers on overnight.
• Install a water tank for watering your garden.
• Keep the blades on your mower sharp — if grass is torn rather than cut, it can be more susceptible to disease.
• Use a wetting agent such as SaturAid to ensure tap water or rain water soaks deeply into the soil.
• Embrace your brown lawn — it isn’t dead, it’s just dormant and will spring back to life when it rains.