It may not be mowing season yet, but we at Popular Mechanics are looking forward to warmer days ahead when we can spend more pleasant time outside. While we’re dreaming of spring, we’re planning ahead to spring and summer lawn care, and the best time to start thinking about a new lawn mower is before the grass starts growing.
In preparation for the coming months, we’ve updated this guide to ensure our listings are accurate and still up to our standards. Self-propelled mowers strike a nice compromise for many homeowners—they’re reasonably affordable compared to riding lawn mowers and zero turns, but are a bit easier to use on moderate lawns compared to standard push mowers.
Unless you have a postage stamp-sized yard or many acres to mow, a self-propelled, walk-behind mower is likely a great tool to maintain your grass.
The primary difference between a standard push mower and a self-propelled mower is that the former moves when you push it, and the latter essentially moves itself with only your guidance. Once the engine or motor is running, all you have to do is squeeze a handle or push a lever and the mower will start moving forward with you as you walk.
Turning the mower around is your job, but once you have your heading, just keep the drive handle squeezed and escort the mower down the path, no pushing necessary.
Self-propelled lawn mowers take power off the engine or electric motor and route it via a belt to a pulley on the transmission and axle. When you move the drive control lever on the mower handle, you tension the belt, causing the pulley to turn, and this drives the transmission, moving the mower forward.
Move the drive control lever back and the tension is released, the pulley stops turning, and the mower stops moving forward. The belt-driven transmission is a time-tested design to power the mower and take the load off you in the process.
The market has flooded with new battery-electric options, both supplementing and supplanting the tried-and-true gas-powered mower. Battery mowers have made significant gains in the market, but gas-engine mowers are still a smart solution for many. You’ll find plenty of self-propelled mowers in both varieties.
We’re looking forward to testing some new mowers in the coming months. We’ve already received a new Ryobi mower, and we are looking forward to getting our hands on Ego’s new 22-inch mower with a metal deck, which is unique for that brand. Also, Honda has introduced a slate of new battery-powered mowers after taking a one-year hiatus from the lawn mower market. The new Honda HRN, Honda HRX, and commercial Honda HRC are all battery electric and replace outgoing gas models that were popular options for many consumers.
The Best Self-Propelled Lawn Mowers
What to Consider
A mower is like many consumer products in that the more features a manufacturer adds, the more expensive it becomes. But a longer or more eye-catching list of features isn’t necessarily better. Sometimes less is more. Here are the most important things to keep in mind.
How We Tested and Selected
We compiled this list based on Popular Mechanics mower testing and our knowledge of the lawn mower market at large. For our testing, we put mowers through the paces using our standard Popular Mechanics methodology: We cut various grass types in various conditions, including suboptimal thick and wet grasses, as well as dry and dusty surfaces, and we evaluated bagging and mulching performance in these various circumstances. We mow uphill, downhill, and across the faces of hills. The maximum slope we cut is about 30 degrees.
Our Full Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Reviews
Best Overall
Toro Super Recycler 21565
Key Specs
| Engine | 163-CC Briggs & Stratton |
|---|---|
| Weight | 75 lb with bag |
| Deck width | 21 in. |
We’ve become big fans of battery mowers because they’re so quiet and clean, but our heart will always flutter with gas engine mowers such as this Toro Super Recycler. One lazy pull on its recoil rope and the 163cc Briggs & Stratton engine springs to life. Wheel it over the lawn, especially through tall and wet grass, push forward on the Personal Pace drive handle, and it just chugs blissfully along, leaving a neatly mowed surface.
Even more impressive is the fact that it bags nearly every shred of grass that it cuts. We were impressed with its mulching capability, given how soggy the conditions were when we ran the test. If the Super Recycler will mulch grass as wet as what we were cutting, then its mowing under normal conditions is sure to be particularly good, earning its nomenclature wholeheartedly.
We partially attribute that mulching ability to the two wedge-shaped baffles under its deck, and a blade-mounted gadget that Toro calls an accelerator. These features do appear to increase mulching performance under less-than-ideal conditions, though in this case they also accumulate wet grass clippings.
We continued to use this mower throughout the mowing season last year, and it always started easily and cut well. As the leaves began to fall we started using the bagger more to pick up heavy leaves from the lawn to put into our garden. While the mower worked flawlessly through all conditions, we did have difficulty pulling out the mulch plug when we wanted to bag. This became a tedious step during early fall when our mowing consisted of a mix of mulching and bagging. But in the grand scheme of things, that’s a minor quibble on an otherwise excellent mower.
Be sure to check under the mower after you’re done and scrape or hose it down as needed. This is an expensive mower with a cast aluminum deck. Our hunch is that if you keep it clean and tuned up, you should have a long-lasting machine that delivers great mowing performance through three seasons, for many years to come.
Best Cut Quality
Toro Recycler 60-volt Max 21469
Pros
- Good cut quality
- Good bagging and mulching
Cons
- Rear deck height adjustment levers are poorly located
Key Specs
| Voltage | 60 |
|---|---|
| Weight | 83 lb with 8Ah battery, bag |
| Cut area per charge | Untested, 53 min mfr .claimed |
| Deck width | 21 in. |
We never want to give any manufacturer a free pass in our testing, but Toro’s mowers perform so consistently well that we keep drawing the same conclusion with them: “Of course it does well. It’s a Toro.”
That’s the case with the 21469 60-volt Recycler, a reliable cordless electric mower that hits on the three criteria that we consider to be most important with this form of mower: cut quality, mulch quality, and bagging. The mower did well with all three of these. It’s a polite suburban machine for those reasons but also because it’s reasonably quiet. Like many high-quality mowers today, it’s simple to operate: insert the battery and mow.
We exaggerate there, but only slightly. Like the Super Recycler listed above, this mower uses Toro’s Personal Pace system, a rear-wheel drive arrangement whereby the user presses forward on the handle push bar to make the mower propel itself forward. Release the handle push bar, and the mower stops propelling forward. The more fully you push the bar forward, the faster the mower goes up to its top speed, which is a comfortable walking pace–somewhere between a stroll and the fast trot that you need to keep up with many gas engine mowers.
The mower is a two-function machine: It mulches and it bags. To select between bagging and mulching, move a pivoting lever at the rear of the mower forward and back. The lever engages a mulch plate that blocks discharge to the bag; you’re simply lowering the plate to block airflow to the bag or lifting the plate to allow it.
While this Toro lacks the raw power of the gas-powered Super Recycler, it is definitely not too prissy to handle the rough stuff. Our test was under some very challenging and rather soggy mowing conditions. The Toro plugged its way along like the champ of a mower that it is.
RYOBI 40V HP Brushless 21 in. Self-Propelled Mower
The RY40HPLM02K2 replaces the Ryobi mower that once lived in this roundup. We liked that mower for its cutting capacity per charge and X-shaped blades, which delivered a tremendous cut quality and are featured on the new mower.
Like the outgoing mower, the new Ryobi mower features rear-wheel drive, a 21-inch cutting deck, and two 6.0Ah batteries, as well as a composite deck and the ability to mulch, bag, or discharge your grass clippings.
We have already received a test sample of this new mower and look forward to putting it through its paces soon.
Best Wide Cut
Toro TimeMaster 30 in. Briggs & Stratton Personal Pace
Pros
- Reduces cut time for larger yards
- Easy to maneuver for its size
The Toro Timemaster 30-in. mower has been around for a while now and has earned a reputation as a sturdy workhorse for homeowners who want to cut down on their mowing time. A few years ago, the Timemaster got a slightly more powerful Briggs and Stratton gas engine, giving it a boost to power through most demanding mowing jobs that may have challenged earlier iterations of the mower.
The Timemaster is rear-wheel drive and features Toro’s Personal Pace drive system that’s used on many of its self-propelled mowers. This allows the mower to move at your speed by simply pushing down or releasing the handle, which is spring-tensioned.
With a 30-in. deck, Toro claims the Timemaster will help you reduce your mowing time by about 40 percent compared to using a standard-sized mower. You can mulch, back, or side discharge with the Timemaster, and the handlebar can be locked in a fully vertical position to reduce space consumption in storage.
If you have half an acre to a full acre of lawn to mow and prefer the experience of a walk-behind mower versus a tractor or zero-turn, the Timemaster is worth a look.
Best FWD Gas-Powered
Craftsman M220
Pros
- Easy to maneuver
- Versatile cutting options
Cons
- May lose traction on slopes or hills
Key Specs
| Power | 159 cc |
|---|---|
| Deck size | 21 in. |
| Functions | Mulch, side discharge, bag |
| Drive | Front |
Craftsman mowers have performed well in our tests, so we can recommend this one because it’s so much like the many other of the brand’s models that we’ve used. If you’re looking for a good blend of maneuverability and power, you’ll get it with this mower. Its front drive helps move it along and makes it easy to turn.
It’s important to note that front-drive mowers do lose some traction when running uphill, particularly with a full grass bag. But if your slope is less than 20 degrees, and you’re not bagging uphill, you’ll be fine. The side discharge will also help you handle tall grass. Adjust the two deck levers to bring the mower up to full height and have at the rough stuff.
The fact that this mower bags, mulches, and side discharges is a plus, enabling you to handle a wide range of mowing conditions, from early spring and late into the fall. Three-function mowers like this are our preference for that versatility.
There’s no question that German brand Stihl takes building outdoor power equipment seriously—its chainsaws are some of the best in the business. It also has a new lawnmower that is impressive to behold. The brand’s $1,600, 21-inch mower is equipped with an aluminum deck, riding on sealed-ball bearing wheels, and powered by a 173cc Kohler engine coupled to a hydrostatic drive.
A blade-brake clutch allows you to stop mowing, leave the engine running, and move lawn furniture or empty the bag. Separation of the engine, drive, and blade is also helpful in transport mode, and safer, too. You can power the lawnmower into the shed or garage, or drive the mower up a ramp into a pickup truck without the blade spinning.
The Stihl’s price tag is high, we admit, but so is its performance. Its cut quality is immaculate— it is the best bagging mower we’ve used recently, even out-doing our usual bag meisters, the recently-tested Toro mowers, long known for their bagging prowess.
And on that last point, we use the term “bagging” here somewhat loosely. The Stihl lacks the typical American-mower grass bag made out of porous synthetic cloth. Rather, it has a large plastic basket with a hinged lid. You have unfettered access to the basket owing to the machine’s unique handle–Stihl calls it a “mono-comfort handlebar” (or mono-komfortlenker for our German readers). Stihl’s full-access design is an improvement over the handlebar setups of most American mowers, even with recent improvements.
Other features on the Stihl to ease the operator’s work include its spring-assist deck height mechanism. It’s a small and discreet lever that enables you to use no more than fingertip pressure to raise and lower the deck. The only improvement over that would be an electrically-operated deck height adjustment mechanism, which is not offered on any walk-behind mower that we know of.
Q+A with Senior Test Editor Roy Berendsohn
Roy Berendsohn has worked for more than 25 years at Popular Mechanics, where he has written on carpentry, masonry, painting, plumbing, electrical, woodworking, blacksmithing, welding, lawn care, chainsaw use, and outdoor power equipment. When he’s not working on his own house, he volunteers with Sovereign Grace Church doing home repair for families in rural, suburban and urban locations throughout central and southern New Jersey.
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