5 Best Petrol Lawn Mowers of 2023 - Tested & Reviewed

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Although primarily known for their reliable and well-designed cars, Hyundai has also been making a name for itself in the gardening world. The brand produces a wide range of garden machinery, and their petrol mowers are revered for being the cream of the crop. Among the many models on offer, there’s the HYM510SP Self Propelled Petrol Mower – a fantastic mower with an abundance of features. 

After testing it out, I really only have good things to say about it, but I’m keen to share my experience in a bit more detail:

The unboxing and assembly process for the Hyundai HYM510SP was fast and simple – it literally only took minutes to get this Hyundai mower ready to go. This is largely due to the fact that it’s such a well-designed machine – everything seems to work harmoniously together. 

Its powerful self propelled petrol 196 cc engine handles everything that Hyundai claims it will, plus more. Whether you use it to collect your cut grass cuttings or to mulch your lawn, the top-of-the-line features deliver great mowing results. It’s also wider (51cm cutting width) and faster than many of the other petrol mowers out there, and the self propulsion makes things easier, so it could really save you time.

If you have a large lawn, or if you’re a professional who cuts multiple gardens with different types of grass, the Hyundai HYM510SP is one of the best petrol lawn mowers to buy. It’s a high-quality machine that won’t let you down.

It genuinely surprises me that I don’t have a single negative comment about how this lawn mower works, but it truly runs like a dream.

After just one use I was convinced by the power and versatility of this machine, and now that I’ve used it several times it has become one of the petrol mowers that I rely on the most. The wide 51 cm cutting width, and decent range of cutting heights (from 25 – 75 mm), means it quickly copes with large areas and different grasses.

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If you’re looking for a self propelled lawn mower from a respected British brand, ‘Webb’ is well worth considering. Famous for their classic yet modern designs, along with their dedication to quality and value, their WER410SP Self Propelled Mower is a popular choice among home gardeners in the UK.

As soon as I opened the box, I could tell that the Webb WER410SP was going to impress. It’s beautifully designed, not only in terms of aesthetics but also functionality. 

It copes well with heavy, long-term mowing, always leaving behind clean and evenly-cut strips, even on rough ground with more grass. It’s happy to cut wet grass too, which is always a bonus! My only gripe would be that it sometimes chokes and struggles when the 45 L bag is only half full. 

In terms of features, it doesn’t disappoint. It offers seven cutting heights between 25 – 75 mm, a 41 cm cutting width, and a faster-than-average self-propulsion speed – you’ll get the job done in half the time. 

While Webb states that the WER410SP is the best petrol lawn mowers for small to medium gardens, I would say that they’re underestimating its power and capabilities.

Yes, its size, weight, and cutting width wouldn’t usually be enough for a large lawn, but its speed more than makes up for this. It could even be used to mow professionally – something that I’m now doing with it, cutting the lawns for some of my clients.

I would recommend this machine to anyone looking for something lightweight, powerful, and reliable – even if you have a larger garden. It’s one of the best petrol lawn mowers if you’re looking for a good all-rounder. It’s not too expensive either, considering its high-end finish, so you feel like you’re getting a good deal too.

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A popular UK garden equipment brand, Mountfield produces lawn mowers for both domestic and professional use. Their HP41 Petrol Mower is one of their domestic offerings – it’s a mid-range, hand-propelled, petrol mower designed for small gardens.

I wasn’t too impressed with the Mountfield HP41 lawn mower to start with. Assembly was a little time-consuming and its design was lacking. There weren’t any major design flaws, but there were so many ways in which Mountfield could have made the design of this machine so much better, without much extra cost involved on their part. 

Like I say, nothing major, but the instructions could have been clearer, the handles were difficult to put together, and the place to put the oil is quite difficult to access. So these were my initial gripes.

However, upon turning on the machine, I saw this lawn mower in a different way once I started mowing.

It’s powerful but extremely lightweight – to the point where you can easily run while using it and it’ll cut as cleanly as though you were walking slowly. That in itself tells you a lot about engine power. 

Its ability when mowing through longer grass also impressed me. However, it did fail when it came to damp grass. Granted, you’re not really meant to cut wet grass anyway, but most of the other mowers that I tested still could. 

Manoeuvring this machine was extremely easy, thanks to the fact that it’s so lightweight and its decent cutting width.

However, it’s rather ‘light’ when it comes to features as well (in that there aren’t many). It doesn’t really do anything other than mow and collect grass cuttings. Again, if this is all you need, then it’s a good machine as paying more for extra features would be a waste anyway. 

It’s one of the best petrol lawn mowers if you’re looking for a simple and lightweight hand-propelled model to mow a small garden.

It’s not good for cutting wet grass, but it’ll handle both long and short grass with ease, as well as tackling inclines and rough ground. It may seem a little basic in terms of design and features, but it’s sturdy, powerful, and reliable.

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A relatively new garden machinery brand, Cobra prides itself on offering innovation, quality, and value for money. This is definitely true of their M41C Hand-Propelled Petrol Lawn Mower – it’s the lowest-priced of all of the lawn mowers on this page, yet offers features that some higher-end models lack. 

After opening the box and seeing that the Cobra M41C was almost already fully assembled, I had high hopes – after all, there can’t be many people that actually enjoy assembling lawn mowers, so the minimal assembly was thoughtful on Cobra’s part! Its design is also bright and eye catching – something else that appealed to me. 

My opinion of this lawn mower kept improving after I first started to use it, especially after seeing it mowing through grass littered with pine cones. I was also impressed with how it seamlessly cut through damp grass too. 

This cutting power is its main selling point, given that these jobs would cause some mowers to struggle. The 41 cm cutting width and 10 different height settings (between 25 – 75 mm) make it adaptable for most garden sizes and grass types.

However, its inability to go over even small bumps in the ground is a let down. This makes it harder to use in uneven gardens, and really it needs a totally level area to work well. 

The overall conclusion with the Cobra M41C is that it’s a a very good petrol lawn mower. If your garden is bumpy in any way, then there are perhaps better mowing options for you. However, if you have a flat and even lawn, whether it’s small, medium, or even on the small side of large, this mower will get the job done just as well as more expensive machines.

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Manufactured in the USA, Murray lawn mowers are known for being hardy and durable. The EQ200 Petrol Lawn Mower is the brand’s budget option, but it’s still the second most expensive petrol lawn mower that I tested. 

As soon as I opened the box and started to assemble the Murray EQ200, I could tell that this would be a strong and capable machine. Assembly took a little longer than other mowers, but it wasn’t complicated in any way and no tools were required. It just needed a patient, methodical approach.

The lawn mower’s thoughtful design was appreciated, particularly in terms of the handles (they are wide, foldable, and height adjustable) and the large size of the grass collector bag. When I turned the machine on it continued to impress.

Granted, it was quite loud, but it coped well with every type of grass that I threw at it. Whether it was short, long, thick or wet grass, the six cutting heights combined with the powerful engine meant that it could mow them all without any problems. 

The only stumbling point (literally) was on bumpy and uneven ground – it didn’t manage such an even cut over lumpy terrain. Flat lawns are definitely where this machine really shines. Inclines could be an issue too, simply because this mower isn’t self-propelled. That said, it’s light enough to push uphill for short periods of time. 

The Murray EQ200 keeps its promises with the features that it offers, except when it comes to the rear-discharge function (which is pretty much useless). It gets blocked easily and doesn’t work as well as you might expect from an otherwise well-designed machine.

If this is important to you, then you’d be better off looking for a lawn mower that prioritises this feature. However, if you’re happy to always use the grass collector bag, then this mower performs well in other respects.

It’s most appropriate for small-to-medium lawns, but this is purely because it’s hand-propelled. If you’re after a high-quality machine that offers good cutting performance, this is a great option to consider. In fact, I’d even say that because of its power, cutting width, and bag size it could easily handle larger lawns too (as long as you didn’t mind pushing it).