When it comes to tackling your garden with the best lawnmowers, staunch traditionalists swear by their smelly, messy petrol mower (probably harking back to some perceived golden days). But for speed and convenience, you simply can’t beat electric.
The freedom of a battery-powered chopper emancipates your manicuring from the restrictions of mains sockets. But don’t neglect leads-led mowers, which are very much still ‘a thing’ – and come at a much lower cost. They can continue their mowing business long after batteries are drained dry.
Electric mowers come in such a wide range of sizes and grass catcher capacities, with varying length of lead, life of battery, and additional features such as mulch-abilities.
Best electric lawnmowers at a glance
Best overall – EGO Power+ LM1903E-SP lawnmower kit: £599, Justlawnmowers.co.uk
Best budget buy – Flymo SimpliMow 320V lawnkower: £79, Amazon.co.uk
Best for tiny gardens – Vonhaus 18V Mini lawn mower: £129.99, Tesco.com
Best for big gardens – Cobra MX51S40VX lawnmower: £499.99, Amazon.co.uk
Best for precision – Hayter Hawk 43 autodrive 60V Kit: £679, Tesco.com
I’ve singled out seven that are good to go on gardens of all scales, from the smallest plot to the largest lawns, and across wildly differing price points.
Welcome to my weapons of grass destruction...
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EGO Power+ LM1903E-SP Lawnmower Kit
Best: Overall electric lawnmower
What we love: Fast performance for medium and large gardens, self-propelled drive, long-lasting battery, lightweight deck for manoeuvrability, LED headlights and folds flat
Take note: Expensive, rear roller costs extra, over-specced for small gardens, large battery increases charging time, and bigger investment if you don’t own EGO batteries
Capable of precision trimming up to 800sqm of turf on one charge of its impressive 56V 5.0Ah battery, the aptly named Power+ from EGO is, akin to the Cobra below.
It’s a lawn-going leviathan with a wide 47cm deck, which reduces grass growth to any of seven heights, starting at a shag carpet-esque 80mm down to a lawn bowls-like 20mm, in next to no time.
Self-propelled to further reduce human effort, round the back you’ll find a commodious 55-litre grass bag, along with the option to overrule said grass bag and mulch back into your lawn instead, while round the front night-mowers will be delighted to be dazzled by twin LED headlights. Yes, you read correctly.
As this is a ‘kit’, alongside the mower you get the battery, grass bag and Rapid Charger altogether without the need for separate purchases. However, this is also an option roller available that fixes to the back of the EGO to flatten out divots and leave your lawn with the stripey effect everybody wants.
Considerably lighter than other mowers of such dimensions, thanks to a polymer deck, the EGO Power+’s wide wheels make it manoeuvre with ease, and – an extra incentive if one were required – it folds down relatively flat for storage.
It’s not cheap, but what price can you put on living an easy lawn life?
Buy now £599.00, Justlawnmowers.co.uk
Flymo SimpliMow 320V
Best: Budget electric lawnmower
What we love: Excellent value, lightweight design, compact cutting deck, fuss-free operation, viewing window and folds neatly
Take note: Mains cable limits movement, only three cutting heights, not self-propelled, no mulching function, and better suited to smaller gardens
It doesn’t get more no-nonsense than this. A classic Flymo hand-push, mains-powered mower with a 10-metre cable to let you deal with gardens of a reasonable scale without running out of rope, a nicely sized 30-litre capacity grass catcher bag, 32cm rotary blades, and three cutting heights running from 20mm to 60mm. No mulching, no self-propelling, no smartphone app (not really a thing anyway): just you, your lawn and the raw cutting power of the SimpliMow.
Alright, there’s also an adjustable handle that comes designed for comfort, alongside an “Easy View Window” so that you can see how full the grass catcher is at a glance, but that’s it, just you and it on a one-person mission against the overgrown.
Also, at bang on £100, the Flymo is the cheapest option to make this lawn mower line-up, neatly balancing ability with affordability.
Buy now £79.00, Amazon.co.uk
Cobra MX51S40VX Lawnmower
Best: For big gardens
What we love: Huge cutting speeds, self-propelled, twin batteries for longer run time, large grass collector, and seven cutting heights
Take note: Heavy at over 30kg, requires generous storage space, premium price, oversized for small gardens, and heavy to lift
What we have in the muscular form of the Cobra MX51S40VX is a monolith of mowing that comes armed to the metaphorical teeth with a humongous 51cm cutting deck, a behemoth 60-litre grass bag, some seven cutting heights taking you from 75mm down to 25mm, and not one but two 40V batteries, all of which merge to mean you can easily mow medium to large size gardens without stopping for recharging or having to empty that capacious clipping catcher too often.
It's also self-propelled; all you have to do is hang on while that colossal cutting deck scythes more in fewer passes, resulting in less work and more time to spend enjoying the garden rather than labouring in it.
While there’s no ‘Easy View Window’, the Cobra comes with an indicator to let you know when the grass bag is full, while front-facing grass combs align the blades before you to ensure precision cutting, and there’s even a mulching system that discharges fine cut clippings out of the side as you slice along.
A mighty cordless mower with an equally mighty footprint, you’re going to need a sizeable storage space once the cleaving is complete. Chances are, if you’ve got a garden that requires a beast of the Cobra’s talents to tame, then you very probably also have a substantial shed too. Someone’s doing alright.
Buy now £499.99, Amazon.co.uk
Vonhaus 18V Mini Lawn Mower
Best: For small gardens
What we love: Ultra-lightweight, perfect for small lawns, compact, easy to carry, cordless convenience, and brushless motor
Take note: No grass collection box, narrow cutting and slower mowing, limited runtime, only three cutting heights, and not suitable for overgrown grass
Got a relatively small patch of turf to trim and an even smaller amount of storage space? No problem, for even you can enjoy an immaculate finish in your mini garden with the 18V Mini Lawn Mower from Vonhaus.
Diminutive but perfectly designed, the Mini weighs just 4.9kg, making it light to manage over roughly-grown terrain, while the 21cm blade and three cutting heights of 25mm, 35mm and 48mm give short shrift to the grass blades below.
Running on an 18V battery, the brushless motor delivers some 6000RPM of power for around half an hour, which should be ample for the smaller gardens this Vonhaus was created to cut.
Folding down when done, note there is no grass bag, so raking or manual mulching will be required. But since we’re talking small gardens, it’s not going to require effort beyond the minimal.
Buy now £129.99, Tesco.co.uk
VonHaus Lawnmower 1800W
Best: Mains electric lawnmower
What we love: Excellent value compared to cordless models, powerful motor, mulching capability, unlimited runtime, and adjustable cutting heights
Take note: Restricted by power cable, less convenient than cordless models, requires access to an outdoor socket, and not ideal for awkwardly shaped gardens
VonHaus’ 1800W is a real bargain, costing only £160 and yet giving you not only that 1800W of pure cutting power, but also a decent-sized 43cm blade, five cut heights running from 70mm down to 25mm, and an enormous 52-litre capacity grass bag.
Mains powered, this Vonhaus comes with a nicely lengthy 12m power cable, letting you get to those further outreaches of the garden without too much difficulty, while for those who like to feed their lawn and/or not pay out on a subscription to the local council’s garden waste collection scheme, the 1800W comes with a mulching attachment that returns the nutrient-rich clippings from whence they came to decompose of their own accord and promote healthier growth.
Light too, at just 13.1kg, it’s easy to manoeuvre even over badly overgrown terrain, the height-adjustable, soft-grip handle helping that process, prior to folding down for storage.
A lot of mowing machine for the money, the Vonhaus 1800W punches well above its price.
Buy now £169.99, Tesco.com
Sunseeker Elite X7
Best: For effort-free automation
What we love: Near results with minimal effort, ideal for busy households, smart navigation, quiet operation and premium automation
Take note: Expensive, best suited to gardens with a compatible layout, initial setup takes time, and doesn’t replace occasional lawn maintenance
Can you ever be lazy enough when it comes to your lawn’s upkeep? Well, if you’re loaded, no. After all money affords much in life - that’s its very point - and in the case of your over-expansive outdoor area, you either employ someone to come round and use your ride-on to do the job for you or, embracing the future and discarding the employment needs of mankind like so much confetti, you could take some of your considerable wealth and splash out on the Elite X7 from Sunseeker.
Yes, it’s a robot, and one with 3D vision complete with a binocular camera so it can judge depth and recognise contours and terrain to better plan its cutting journey, also automatic obstacle avoidance, so as not to run into any garden furniture, pets, children, etc. It has AI, of course, to constantly increase its awareness of your garden. So, all you have to do is walk it round the bits you want to bring back to civilisation, then let it go off on your lawn.
Fitted with floating 35cm dual disc cutters, the Elite X7 can handle truly dense patches of overgrowth, cutting automatically to heights from 20mm to 100mm, over laws of up to 6000m2, the all-wheel drive taking everything in its stride, the 10Ah battery driving it on in its endless autonomous mission to keep your garden well clipped.
Naturally, of course, there’s also an app that lets you monitor the Elite X7’s progress in real time, plus assume remote control and/or change perimeters, all from the comfort of your sun lounger.
It’s expensive, but having already established your position as someone with firm financial clout, I imagine you’ve already ordered one.
Buy now £2299.00, Wgml.co.uk
Hayter Hawk 43 AutoDrive 60V Kit
Best: For pro precision without the price
What we love: Premium build, self-propelled drive, excellent cut quality, read roller for stripes, well-balanced, and battery system suits larger gardens
Take note: Expensive, heavier than compact models, better suited to medium and large lawns, battery recharge time, and takes up storage space
Proudly manufactured right here in Blighty, Hayter of Bishops Stortford produce a range of both battery and petrol mowers, but as we’re only concerned with the former today, here we happen upon its rather exceptional Hawk 43 AD (AutoDrive) kit, coming complete with a 60V 4.0Ah battery and 2.0A standard charger.
So, big battery powered and boasting a variable speed self-propelled drive system, the Hawk 43 takes to tackling overgrown grass like a razor-sharp duck to green water, allowing you to take things at your own speed, letting the 43cm cut effortlessly slice through turf, while the voluminous 50-litre grass bag at the back deals with the cuttings and the ribbed roller also to the rear leaves your lawn with stripes that would wow the crowds at Wimbledon.
With a push-button fire-up adding to the ease of use, this classic bit of advanced gardening kit is as close to going pro as it gets without the accompanying pro price tag. All hail the Hawk.
Buy now £679.00, Tesco.com
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