Best lawnmowers 2018

We couldn’t be happier at the coming of spring, but there is one downside that comes to mind. Lighter, warmer weather will mean there’s more grass to cut – and that can be a chore.

That is, of course, unless you love your lawnmower…

Which is entirely possible, as we found out when we tested and critiqued a selection of the very best models on the market, covering a range of mower types including rotary, air cushion and hand-pushed.

There is great variety within the field of lawnmowers, extending from their cutting method to finer details, such as how they’re powered. These variations can significantly affect your experience.

For instance, there’s an inherent difference between using a mains-powered mower, or a cordless model that runs off petrol or lithium-ion batteries. On the one hand, cordless models are easier to handle, with no need to wrestle with a cable while you mow. On the other, a mains-powered mower can be plugged in and used instantly.

Another factor to take into account is how much heavy lifting you’re willing to do. The lighter and more manoeuvrable the mower, the easier it’ll be on your body. If you’re particularly concerned about this point we would advise you to look at air-cushion mowers like the Flymo Glider Compact 330CV. Thanks to their wheel-less design, they are dramatically easier to handle than other mower types.

Finally, you might also give a thought to the fun factor – particularly if you’re considering buying a lawnmower as a gift. Some mowers are simply more enjoyable to use than others. That’s often strongly linked to how comfortable and intuitive they are, but appealing design and technology too will play a role. Hand-push, lithium-ion and petrol-powered are particularly enjoyable in our book.

With all these points in mind, let’s take a look at ten of the best lawnmowers available to gardeners in spring and summer 2018.

Ryobi RLM18X41H240 ONE+ 36V Fusion Cordless Lawnmower

Best for: an all-round quality cut

In terms of both performance and user-friendliness, we found this mower to be unbeatable. It cuts magnificently, and consummately takes care of tricky lawn edges courtesy of a body design that allows the cutting blade to project out between the wheels (safely, under cover of plastic!) Its mighty 36V motor is driven by a pair of lithium-ion batteries – so factor in extra charging time before use.

We breathed a deep sigh of relief when we opened the box to find this mower comes fully assembled, with just the collapsible grass catcher to clip on in one easy motion. Easy to set up and fantastic to use, this great all-rounder is without question our favourite mower of the bunch.

£399.99 | Amazon | Buy it now

WOLF-Garten 72V Li-ION Power

Best for: sporty performance

With a remarkable 72V motor, the Li-ION Power is the most powerful electric mower we’ve tested – and that translates into tremendous grass-cutting capability. It looks and runs for all the world like a miniature racing car.

Simply charge up the mower’s lithium-ion battery, plug it into the mower’s dome-covered battery compartment and you’ll be off like the clappers.

One minor drawback of the 72V Li-ION Power was that it proved slightly fiddly to put together, but this is nonetheless a fantastic mower that’s addictively fun to use. Not only did it make light work of our test lawn, it was also comfortable to lift, push and handle.

£419.99 | WOLF-Garten | Buy it now

McGregor 1400W Electric Rotary Mower

Best for: affordability and easy storage

The first thing you’ll notice about the McGregor Electric Rotary Mower is how fantastically compact it is. With fold-down handles and a collapsible grass bag, it’s significantly easier to store than most other electric mowers. Once you’ve set the machine up, check that the handle bar is tightly secured with the clamps on either side, to ensure ease of use.

This nifty little mower will do a fine job once you’ve got it up and running, albeit without such smooth handling as some of its costlier competitors. Bear in mind that its small size means users with larger gardens will have to make a trip to their garden waste bin with the detachable grass bag from time-to-time.

£69.99 | Argos | Buy it now

Flymo Glider Compact 330CV

Best for: nifty handling

Have you ever considered mowing your lawn with a hovercraft? In a sense, that’s what the Glider Compact 330CV is – and it’s certainly what the technology behind Flymo lawnmowers is based upon.

Flymo’s mowers blow out a cushion of air which lifts the mower and its cutting blade clear of the ground. As we discovered through testing the Glider Compact 330CV, this enables a wonderfully easy cut, with no wheels to handle and excellent ground clearance assured.

It’s not all about the air, with other useful notable features including the see-through, auto-compacting grass box and single dial height adjustment.

£109.99 | Very | Buy it now

WOLF-Garten WPCM-F 30cm Push Cylinder Mower

Best for: Small lawns + affordability

There’s a very particular satisfaction that accompanies mowing your lawn with a hand-push lawnmower – especially one so well-made and splendid-looking as the Wolf-Garten WPCM-F. We’d recommend it to anyone.

It took our reviewer – who possesses all the mechanical nous of a toddler – about ten minutes to assemble the mower. It was from that point hence a breeze to use, cutting tidily at the expense of little more elbow grease than you would use pushing a heavier motorised mower.

The WPCM-F is ideally suited to maintaining small lawns or neatening up larger ones, costs far less than most other types of mower, and to top it all off, it’ll help you trim down your carbon footprint.

£59.98 | Amazon | Buy it now

Gtech Falcon Cordless Lawnmower

Best for: taking large gardens in your stride

We love it when a product presents a novel use of technology in a truly futuristic fashion. The Gtech Falcon does just that, with its lithium-ion battery glowing away like a sci-fi fuel cell as it powers the machine to the tune of a considerable 36V.

Returning to terrestrial matters, we found the Gtech Falcon to be outstandingly comfortable to use, with a soft grip and nimble wheels capable of traversing even the bumpiest parts of our test lawn.

Another of the Falcon’s assets is its size. With a cutting width of 430mm and a 40 litre grass collection bin at its rear, this mower has the capability to make trimming large gardens easy.

£349.99 | Gtech | Buy it now

Mac Allister 380mm Hand Pushed Lawnmower

Mac Allister’s 380mm hand-pushed mower is slightly less beautiful than WOLF-Garten’s competing product – but then again, it’s also the most affordable lawnmower on our list.

Its grass collector can gather up to 30kg of grass trimmings, though you’d be best off emptying it before it fills up to ensure smooth operation. Make sure you’ve removed any hard objects from its path before you trim, as things like pebbles, toys and tools can cause damage if caught up in the mower’s still blades.

As was the case with WOLF-Garten’s hand-pushed model, we’d recommend using this mower to finish off the groundwork you’ve done with a large mower. With finer control over the handling, you can do a particularly tidy job.

£40 | B&Q | Buy it now

McCulloch ROB R600 Cordless Lithium-ion rotary robotic lawnmower

So far we’ve seen a host of mowers that can make trimming your lawn more enjoyable, through their innovative features and labour-saving capabilities. However, the fact remains that for some of us, the task of manually trimming is always going to feel like a chore.

If that describes you, we would advise you to look into the McCulloch Rob R600. This hard-working little critter is one of the most highly-rated robotic lawnmowers on the market, and its raison d’etre is to take the slack for you. Unleash it on any lawn of up to 600 m² in size, pour yourself a drink and enjoy some lazy spring and summer evenings.

£712 | B&Q | Buy it now

Mountfield 827m Compact Lawn Rider

Have you been seized with the urge to buy a lawnmower you can ride around your garden as it mows? We understand entirely – that sounds far preferable to pushing.

As ride-on mowers go, Mountfield’s Compact Lawn Rider is relatively easy to accommodate, with dimensions which will allow for manoeuvrability in those tricky, narrow areas which seem to be common to all gardens, large or small.

Shell out for this luxury mower and you’ll benefit from a 68cm cutting width, a 224cc engine and space for 150 litres of cut grass in the grass box.

£1,299 | Chipperfield | Buy it now

Hyundai HYM46SP Petrol Self Propelled 4-in-1 Rotary Lawn Mower

Best for: head-turning looks

Now did you ever see a smarter-looking lawnmower than the HYM46SP? We’re not sure we have. With a bright blue body, glimmering metalwork and a neat 4-stroke engine purring away at its heart, it will be the envy of the neighbourhood.

If you choose to buy it, the same may well become true of your lawn. With four separate cutting modes, the HYM46SP allows fine control over what happens to your grass cuttings. They can be captured, immediately discarded, or mulch according to your preference.

£249.99 | Toolclick | Buy it now

Verdict:

We’ve been thoroughly impressed with the variety and quality of lawnmowers submitted for testing in this article but the best of the lot was undoubtedly the Ryobi ONE+, which mixed power, quality and excellent cutting experience like no other.