Ten top ride-on mowers for every size and type of garden

At last the mercury has risen a bit and the lawns are starting to grow.
And many people are deciding that this is the year to let the ordinary mowers take a break and are looking to buy a ride-on.
There is a bewildering choice of machines now available and dozens on our site so here we have listed ten top mowers which will cover all gardens from the medium sized lawns to parkland.

And so to the first, the MTD-Lawnflite Mini Rider 60RDE Ride-On Mower will cover, rapidly, a good sized lawn while being nippy enough to scoot around flower beds and paths.
It is powered by a Briggs & Stratton engine with a six speed gear box which lets you change without stopping, a requirement is many machines of this size.
With this mower you can either collect the grass in the 150 litre box, mulch it and return to the lawn or discharging at the back in the case of rougher areas.
The mulch kit and rear deflector are an optional extra.
Cutting heights are from 38 to 95 mm and the cutting width is 60 cm.
The seat is adjustable and the step-through design makes it easy to mount and dismount.
It costs £1299 compared with the recommended retail price of £1349, is delivered free within three to five working days and has a two year maker’s warranty.
The second is from one of the country’s favourite brands and it is the Mountfield 1430M Lawn Tractor

, a machine with twin blades designed to give a smoother finish to the lawn even when the conditions are a bit damp.
The cutting width is 82 cm and there are seven cutting heights from 25 mm up to 80 mm.
There is a bleep which sounds when the grass box is full and powering it is Mountfield’s own 432 cc engine designed to give better lubrication and prolong the working life.
There is a six speed manual box to help you handle virtually any situation and it is very comfortable to drive with all controls at hand and a sprung adjustable seat.
The deck is electronically engaged and the grass box, which holds 240 litres can be emptied via a telescopic handle.
There is a two year guarantee from Mountfield and a range of attachments are available like trailers, leaf sweepers and spreaders to turn this into an all-year-round workhorse.
It costs £1499 and that’s £200 less than the maker’s recommended price. And delivery is free within three to five working years.

Another clever little machine is the Stiga Villa 320 HST Mulching Ride-On Lawnmower.
This one has a cutter deck to the front which makes it much easier to cut around difficult areas in the garden and leads to a very precise, even cut.
With this machine you can either mulch the clippings or discharge them at the back.
It is quite a narrow mower at 78 cm so you can get along garden paths and tighter corners more easily.
This Swedish built machine has a 414 cc engine with an electronic key start and has a strong metal frame which has a ten year warranty and wider tyres will give minimise damage to the lawn.
Both seat and steering wheel are adjustable to suit the driver and give added comfort.
The manufacturer’s recommended price is £2195, but we have it for sale for just £1995.
It has a three year maker’s warranty and comes delivered free within five to seven working days.
Mulching is an increasingly popular way to deal with the clippings and this lawn tractor can cover huge areas very rapidly.

The Toro XLS380H Recycler Lawn Tractor has a specially patented recycler technology with the cutter deck designed to mulch extremely efficiently. It has the added advantage of a deflector to deal with the grass should it be too long to mulch.
A Briggs & Stratton 465 cc engine gives heaps of power and runs very smoothly to lessen vibration. It is started with a key, so no tugging on ropes.
The cutting deck has floating suspension to minimise scalping the lawn and the hydrostatic drive gives very precise speed control.
A strong front axle gives it a rugged feel and there are headlights to keep you working through the dusky evenings.
It costs £1995, is delivered free within three to five working days and has a two year maker’s guarantee.

If you are fortunate to own a large garden with a variety of different types of lawn and grassy areas then the Snapper ELT2246 Lawn & Garden Tractor could be the one for you.
It combines an extra tight turning circle with a twin cylinder Briggs & Stratton Intek engine which is really powerful and has been designed for a longer life.
And it’s also easier to fire up as it has an electric key start so no tugging on starter ropes.
A hydrostatic transmission means it drives much like an automatic car but the turning circle of just 31 cm makes it one of the best for manoeuvrability in its class.
It is especially useful for cutting longer grass like paddocks and orchards as the clippings are discharged to the side and it can cut at heights from 31 mm up to 102 mm. You can also but an optional mulching kit.
A grass box is available as an optional extra; as is a snow plough blade and a snow blower! And an extra large fuel tank means more cutting and less re-fuelling.
The Snapper costs £2499 as against the recommended retail price of £2699.
There is a two year manufacturer’s warranty and delivery is free within three to five working days.
If you’re looking for a machine which will give a better than average finish to the lawn then the Al-Ko Powerline T15-102HD Lawn Tractor

is engineered in Germany and has two cuttings blades which give excellent air flow under the cutting deck bringing excellent grass collection even when it’s wet.
Plus there is a really large 300 litre grass box. And if you prefer there is an optional rear deflector for the longer grass and a mulch plug for the lawns, all supplied free with the machine.
A 500 cc Briggs & Stratton engine runs quie1940631.1360230271.1365155505.13mption figures and a hydrostatic drive means speed control is simple and precise.
There are six cutting heights and accessories available include a service stand an a trailer hitch.
It costs £2449, over £200 off the maker’s recommended price plus delivery is free within three to five working days.
There is a two year guarantee from the manufacturers.

This next one, the Cub Cadet All-Rounder 1050 Lawn & Garden Tractor is the machine you want if you have a number of obstacles which need precise manoeuvrability.
It has zero turn, a facility which means it can literally turn on the spot, and can save hours of time getting around tighter pieces of the garden without having the do a three point turn.
It has a Kawasaki twin cylinder engine and three ways of dealing with the cuttings, either discharged to the side, mulched or collected in the optional grass box.
And a rear roller leaves that traditional striped finish.
As an added bonus there are £100 worth of Wolf-GARTEN hand tools free when you buy this machine.
Delivery is free within five to seven working days, there is a two year manufacturer’s warranty and it costs £4399.

If you have a property with steeper undulations and where many lawn tractors struggle to handle the slopes then the Mountfield 2448H-4WD Lawn & Garden Tractor, a four-wheel drive model is what you’re after.
There is a range of optional extras for this tractor at special prices which make it a genuine year round performer is your garden is up to about five acres.
A Briggs & Stratton 724 cc engine is at its heart, reliable, started with a key and above all powerful.
Light steering and a tight turning circle make it the ideal machine for nipping around flower beds and borders and a twin bladed cutting deck give an excellent finish to the lawns with cutting heights down to 25 mm and up to 100 mm.
The deck is imply cleaned after use by attaching a hose pipe.
A 360 litre grass box can be emptied from the driver’s seat by a lever and whe n the box is full there is a loud bleep.
There is also a mulch plug which is easily fitted. And a dash board with dials to show fuel levels and the like much as you would find in a car.
A five year manufacturer’s warranty and free delivery within three to five working days are included and the mower costs £4999, £600 off the maker’s recommended price.

Now an unusual machine from a British manufacturer and this one has a diesel engine.
The Westwood V23-50D Diesel Garden Tractor is built for larger gardens and estates with a 784 cc Yanmar three cylinder engine giving more power at lower revs and a very long life.
The engine cowling has a double skin to keep noise to a minimum.
Plus it has a rear roller to give that traditional striped finish while having a power take off to handle all manner of other garden machinery.
It has a large grass box for collecting the clippings but can also mulch and at the same time is designed to handle the longer, rougher areas.
There is an optional powered grass collector which uses brushes to collect the clippings and can also cope with leaves, twigs and other garden debris.
Hydrostatic transmission gives great control and there are three cutting heights and as a great safety feature there is a parking brake which must be applied before the engine can be started.
And a differential lock can be engaged to minimise the wheels spinning.
This machine costs £6500 compared with the maker’s recommended price of £7169.
Delivery is free within five to seven working days and there is a three year manufacturer’s warranty.
And finally the daddy of them all, a machine designed with the owners of parkland and visitor attractions in mind.

The Walker MCGHSCEU 21HP Petrol Out Front Zero-Turn Ride-On Mower with a manual dump integrated collector is designed with really large tasks in mind and can be fitted with all manner of attachments for year-round use.
The cutting deck at the front can be raised and will move to follow the contours of the ground without scalping it and gives great driver control.
A huge 352 collector is fitted which is very simply emptied and there is rear grass deflector available as an optional extra.
A powerful twin cylinder engine gives bags of oomph and the driver’s position has all controls at hand.
As an added advantage the machine has zero turn to get round the tighter bits of the garden and a drive shaft means attaching other machinery is fast and simple.
This mower costs £9895 and has different sized cutting decks available as optional extras.
It has a two year maker’s warranty and is delivered free within five to seven working days.
These are just ten of our huge range of garden tractors and ride-ons and if you need any more advice please give us a ring on 020 3026 8712.