Best ride-on lawn mower in the UK

The best ride-on lawn mower can cut lawns up to 10,000 square metres on a single tank of petrol. If you have a large grassed area, a lawn tractor could be the ideal investment for maintaining your plot. Alternatively, if your lawn is more of a patch than an acreage, but you're having trouble cutting it, opting for a battery-powered ride-on mower could be the solution. Battery-powered lawn tractors cover less area but they are effective and more environmentally friendly than their petrol counterparts.

Last chance Black Friday deals on ride-on lawn mowers

We interrupt the regularly scheduled content to let you know that although Black Friday is over, there's still time to grab some last chance Black Friday deals on ride on lawn mowers. These are the retailers that still have deals available, or keep scrolling to continue reading our buyer’s guide.

Shop the best ride on lawn mower deals: Mow Direct | Appliances Direct | Just Lawn Mowers

Top deal: Honda HF 2317 HME Lawn Tractor, WAS £4,630, NOW £3,999
Save £1,050: Feider FRT-75BS125-SD Compact Side-Discharge Ride-On Mower, WAS £2,349.95, NOW £1,299.95
Save £627: Racing 62PR Ultra-Compact Rear-Collect Ride-On Mower, WAS £1926.95, NOW £1,299.95

If your plot is becoming difficult to manage, investing in a ride-on lawn mower will prove more economical in the long run, rather than hiring a grounds maintenance team to maintain it. You'll need space to store it, but these tractor-style mowers are a lot of fun and robust enough to handle the steepest Great British terrain. The best ride-on lawn mowers offer great manoeuvrability and ease of use. You'll confidently be able to negotiate your way around any obstacles while landscaping your lawn.

So, don't lose your plot - instead ready, set, mow on a ride-on lawn mower. As we've mentioned, there are petrol or battery-powered models. If it's petrol-powered take note of the engine size and fuel tank capacity. Some of these nifty machines can reach 8mph which could put pay to any lawn croquet taking place - so be careful. With battery-powered models, much like cordless lawn mowers, be aware of the battery life and charging time. In general, you should get a solid 150 minutes of mowing done before the lawn mower needs a recharge.

Features to look for include cutting width, turning circle and the capacity of the grass collector. Some models have hybrid grass collectors that have a mulching function. We've included options with side discharge that shoots the finely mulched grass cuttings back into the lawn to enrich it. Also, note whether the engine is at the front or the rear of the mower. Front deck lawn mowers make it easy to reach difficult spots because the cutting blades are mounted at the front of the machine; you follow your nose in effect. Finally, look for models with detachable cutting decks, which make it easy to swap between cutting blades for different jobs.

Best ride-on lawn mowers at a glance:

• Best ride-on petrol lawn mower: Mountfield MTF 66 MQ Petrol Lawn rider 224cc - view offer on B&Q
• Best battery ride-on lawn mower: EGO Power Plus Z6 ZT4201E-L Ride On Mower - view offer on Mowers Online
• Best compact ride-on lawn mower: Webb 12530 Hydro Compact Lawn Rider - view offer on Mowers Online

Best ride-on lawn mower

FAQs

What do I need to know about battery lawn mowers?

With battery power, you need to consider: the battery voltage (V) and amp hours (Ah).

Voltage - Higher voltage generally means greater power and performance, but the size and weight of the mower will impact this, too. Mowers with a higher voltage are better equipped to tackle long, wet grass.

Amp Hour - This is analogous to the size of a car’s fuel tank; the larger the amp hours, the longer the battery will last between charges. Higher Ah batteries can tackle larger lawns before becoming flat. For instance, a 2.5Ah battery should cut up to 400sq m (480sq yd) on a single charge. However, more amp hours do not equate to greater power output.

Lithium-ion batteries charge relatively quickly – in as little as 30-40 minutes. Depending on Ah size, they’ll run long enough on one charge to complete mowing. They can be recharged before they’re flat and don’t need to be fully charged before use. Plus, they won’t lose charge in the shed over winter. It's a good idea to buy a second battery so you can complete mowing a larger lawn in one session.

Some mowers come with two, while others offer super-fast chargers. Mowers with the latest sensory technology can sense the load on the motor and operate at the optimum level for each task, boosting power for long/damp grass and extending battery run time during lighter cutting tasks.

What is cutting width?

Broader mowers tend to offer greater cutting width. A larger mower, with wider cutting width, reduces the number of passes needed to mow the lawn but may be heavier to carry and more awkward to manoeuvre.

As a guide:

• Small lawn (up to 250sq m/300sq yd): 30-35cm (12-14in) cut width.

• Medium lawn (250-580sq m/300-700sq yd): 35-43cm (14-17in) cut width.

• Large lawn (more than 580sq m/700sq yd): 43-55cm (17-22in) cut width.

What to read next:

Robot lawn mowers worth investing in to make grass cutting easy

Lawn care tips to give your grass a lush facelift

Best electric lawn mower to make cutting grass straightforward

Natalie Knowles is a Homes & Garden Product Writer for Modern Gardens, specialising in garden trends. When she's not flexing her mow-how, Natalie is a successful artist and illustrator.