Grass – man’s greatest nemesis since time immemorial, or at least since we started getting all fuddy-duddy about how nature was presenting itself way back in the 17th century because there was literally nothing on TV.
Since those not so humble beginnings (because landscape gardening tended to be the toy of the silk trousered), the means to achieving an immaculate lawn has seen an evolution that went from the scythe to hand mowers to horse-drawn mowers to steam mowers to petrol mowers to now, here in the far more civilised 21st century, where electric lawn mowers are king, ruling the grass razing roost like a particularly conceited cockalorum.
And why shouldn’t they be smug? Far cleaner and greener than their fossil fuel contemporaries, smaller and therefore easier to store, lighter and therefore easier to manoeuvre, they get the job done quicker, leaving you more time to spend lounging on your freshly cut lawn, soaking up the sunshine.
Lawn and order
If you’re in the market for a decent leccy lawn mower, but are leaning towards one with a mains power lead rather than those of the battery-powered persuasion, where do you start? Well, with me, I guess.
Firstly, mains, eh? That means you’re probably worked out how large your lawn is, that you don’t want to be cursing the fact that your battery is dead halfway through the job, and that corded mowers are, on the whole, cheaper than their battery equivalent.
So, all you need to know now is which model, of the hundreds available, best works for you and your patch of green space. Well, that comes down to a combination of cord length and the cutting width of the mower, with – quite painfully obviously – the longer the cord and broader the width covering far more territory.
Other things you may want to consider is grass bag capacity and whether your ideal mowing machine gives the option to mulch or not.
But with all that already taken into consideration in my own mighty mind-garden, I’ve whittled those aforementioned hundreds of options available down to a literal handful. So, here, to grant all your grass grooming wishes is my pick of the best five.
Best corded lawn mower at a glance
- Best for overall performance and price: Vonhaus 1800W - £169.99, Amazon
- Best for medium lawns, middling pockets: Cleva LawnMaster 1800W (MEB1840M-01) - £149.99, Amazon
- Best for budget buyers: Mac Allister MCB1136LWM - £59, B&Q
- Best for medium to large lawns: Black + Decker BEMW471BH-GB - £147.99, Amazon
- Best for large lawns, big budgets: Bosch Garden AdvancedRotak 44-750 - £365, Amazon
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Vonhaus 1800W
Best for: overall performance and price
A favourite of mine since I took it for a spin in my Best Electric Lawn Mowers piece, I’ve gone with the vonhaus 1800W again, this time electing it my best for overall price and performance because, and this may surprise you, I believe it to be the best corded mower currently available for, you guessed it, overall price and performance.
But let’s explore that. First of all, it comes packing a powerful 1800W motor and a ludicrously large (for a model of its size) 43cm blade that chops at five heights from as high as 70mm all the way down to 25mm.
This large cutting width combines with a cord boasting a lengthy 12 metres in size, letting you take the vonhouse right out in the very recesses of your medium or large lawn.
Add to that a monumental 52-litre grass bag or the option of utilising the mulching function, and then we come to the asking price. All that for just under £170. That’s why the vonhaus 1800W is the best for overall price and performance. No more questions.
Key specs
Buy now £169.99, Amazon
Cleva LawnMaster 1800W (MEB1840M-01)
Best for: medium lawns, middling pockets
Now, in marketing, akin to running a dictatorship, choosing the right name is vital. And in the same way that the ‘Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’ waaaaay over-eggs the pudding by cramming together “democratic”, “people’s” AND “republic” to hide what it really is, the name LawnMaster could have gone either way, too. Is it truly the Master of the Lawn? Or is it just calling itself that to try and convince potential purchasers that it’s far better than it actually is?
Well, obviously, in the case of the LawnMaster it is, indeed, the former. This surprisingly well-specced model comes with a powerful 1800W motor, a cord length of an ample (and generally average) 10 metres, some six adjustable cutting heights from 70mm down to just 20, and a well-sized 40cm cutting width, with which to take out more overly bountiful blades of grass per push.
Weighing just 10.9kg, it’s also very easy to handle, while unexpected extras on a mower costing so little moolah come in the shape of a rear roller to leave behind those lovely lawn stripes every gardener loves, and a mulching function should you choose not to use the capacious 42-litre grass bag.
And there you have it, a fully featured, mains-powered mower that delivers a perfect, pro-finished lawn for less than £150. Masterful indeed.
Key specs
Buy now £149.99, Amazon
Mac Allister MCB1136LWM
Best for: budget buyers
Small and light, if overgrown grass is a persistent problem that ruins your view from the patio, but finding the dosh to deal with it is proving a tad difficult, then the MCB1136LWM from Mac Allister is the mower for you.
Weighing just 9.9kg, it takes to the turf with all the sure-footed assurance of a nimble mountain goat, slicing at that grass at five height limits from 20- to 60mm with its reasonably sized 32cm blades.
Featuring a 1200W motor to give a bit of extra oomph in more problematic patches, a 30-litre grass bag on the back commodiously deals with the clippings, while an above-average 12-metre power cable lets you roam further afield, reaching those areas of your smaller sized garden free from physical restraint.
Okay, there’s no mulching function, but there is an indicator light to tell you when your grass bag is full, so you can then grab a rake and manually mulch the clippings into your lawn, if you’re so inclined, so where’s there’s a will, etc.
A marvellous little mower at an exceptionally affordable price, the Mac Allister MCB1136LWM brings grass meticulousness to the masses.
Key spec
Buy now £59.00, B&Q
Black + Decker BEMW471BH-GB
Best for: medium to large lawns
You can’t have a lawn mower slam without a Black + Decker – those are the rules and there’s a ruddy good reason for them.
Let me explain by showing you this: the BEMW471BH-GB, a B+W option that’s more than good to go on gardens that go from medium to large, coming, as it does, with all the raw power of a 1600W motor, there to drive the sizeable 38cm E-Drive winged metal blade at any of six cutting heights from 70mm down to 20mm.
Designed with comfort almost as much in mind as grass attack, this B+M features handlebars like those of a racing bike to keep your wrist and forearm in a much more natural position to reduce strain, meaning you can lay into your lawn for longer without muscular fatigue.
A capacious 45L grass bag means less time wasted spent emptying, and a 10 metre power cable will see you mowing far and wide without worry.
Is the Black + Decker the most powerful, and the largest and longest option here when it comes to cutting width and lead length? No, it’s not, the next one is. But priced at a cooling shade under £150, the monetary difference between this model from the famed American brand and the German option one to follow, amply show why B+W has long been a favourite with thrifty grass owning gardeners the world over.
Key specs
Buy now £147.99, Amazon
Bosch Garden AdvancedRotak 44-750
Best for: large lawns, big budgets
It’s big. It’s bad. It’s Bosch. Jawohl, when it comes to utter efficiency in the cropping of overly proud perennial ryegrass (the UK's most common variety), you have to turn to the Germans and, in particular, the remorseless, relentless cutting machines of Bosch.
Take the Garden AdvancedRotak 44-750 as an extreme example. Under the hood sits an almighty 1800W motor that powers a formidable 44cm blade in an unabating attack on overgrown grass at some seven height levels, from 80mm down to 25mm, across up to 750m2 of previously untamed area.
With a solid 10-metre average length power cord, it’s the cutting width that gives the Bosch all the extra reach, and it’s the cavernous 50 litre cutting catcher, complete with level indicator, at the back that means you’ll spend considerably less time emptying it and more time getting the domestic alfresco drudgery done.
Make no mistake, the Bosch Garden AdvancedRotak 44-750 is a powerful mowing machine that will make mincemeat out of overgrown grass at almost any level, and that’s why it commands the big bucks. For those with large, tricky tracts of often overgrown green, along with large, deep pockets, the choice is an easy one.
Key specs
Buy now £365.00, Amazon
