The best lawn mowers for every garden

The Bosch Rotak 34R lawn mower has been on the market — not to mention lawns — for a good few years. But it’s still going strong with a huge number of positive reviews. Matching the relatively small price, it’s a lightweight and compact mower that can handle just about anything.

It has a 1300 W Powerdrive motor, which gives you the oomph to cut through long grass with ease, plus innovative grass combs that easily cut up to and over the edge of your lawn. That means neat and tidy results are guaranteed.

Some reviewers have marked it down for having a flimsy grass collecting box, but at this price not every aspect can be premium quality. Overall though, this lawnmower is great value and gets the job done.

The Flymo EasiLife 250 GO is a mid-priced robot lawn mower but it doesn’t cut back on features and performance. What it does cut, of course, is the grass. And it gets on with the job while you put your feet up.

It cuts lawns of up to 250 square metres — though versions for bigger gardens are available — and finds its way around gardens of any shape. It also spits out clippings as it goes for mulching, so there's no need to lug a grass box around.

It comes with all the necessary tools — a charging station, boundary wires, connectors, and a pin code protected scheduling panel. All of which means the Flymo EasiLife 250 GO is effortlessly simple to set up and control.

The Einhell GC-HM 400 manual lawn mower uses contactless, quiet, and effortless cutting technology that's ideal for small lawns.

It uses a ball bearing mowing spindle with five high-quality steel blades with an ergonomically formed handlebar and four-stage cutting height adjustment.

It's only really suitable for even lawns, so don't expect this to navigate any tricky terrain, but if you've got a small and regular garden space, this could be the best (not to mention cheapest) option.

This mower is also built for easy storage, with a parking position and removable grass basket. But don't forget that manual mowers take a bit more effort — another reason this one will suit low-demand gardening.

If you want power, a petrol lawnmower will get the job done. And if you're going petrol, it's worth splashing out on the souped-up Hyundai HYM510SP.

This self-propelled lawn mower is one of the best options for large gardens, with a powerful Hyundai 196cc 4-stroke petrol engine and generous cutting width. The recoil engine starts nice easy every time, and the mower boasts four walking speeds. No need to push, just fire it up and steer.

The cutting height can be easily and quickly adjusted using a single lever, the grass collector features a level indicator, and the mulching plug will mulch the grass into much finer clippings and disperse them across your lawn.

The WORX WG779E.2 cordless lawn mower offers a level of convenience and manoeuvrability that makes it great for smaller gardens. 

It's powered via a dual battery, giving you plenty of va-va-voom, with a single leaver for adjusting between lengths. Not to mention a perfectly adequate grass collection box. Reviewers rate it for being an all-round easy-to-use mower: Quick to assemble, easy to store, and pleasingly lightweight.

There are a few downsides — it only has one handle height and there’s no mulching option, which may be a dealbreaker for more serious gardeners. It does have a secret tech weapon, though: Intellicut technology, which adapts to grass and gives you extra power when the grass gets thicker.

The Greenworks G40LM41K2X 40V is a great all-rounder. Built for gardens of up to 500 square metres, it covers plenty of ground and pretty much does it all — the only thing that's missing is a rear roller for putting that finishing touch to your work.

This lawn mower comes with two 40V batteries, which you can share between any 40V Greenworks power tool. It's also built with robust 18cm wheels, which have been specifically designed for getting over tricky, overgrown patches.

With cutting lengths that range between 25mm and 80mm — not to mention a relatively broad cutting width of 51mm — this mower gives you plenty of options. You can also choose between collecting the grass in the attached 50 litre bag, or mulching the clippings and dispersing back on the lawn, to give the grass some much-needed nutrients.

If a truly good looking lawn is a top gardening priority, the Flymo EasiMow lives up to its name — it makes it easy. It has an integrated rear roller, which helps you create than professional striped effect.

It also has close edge cutting, allowing you cut right up to the edge of lawn — even against fencing and walls — to keep every last inch trim and tidy. That also saves the effort of getting out the strimmer. And if you're tight on space in the garden shed this folds down into an easy-to-store bundle.

At this price you have to expect the model to feel a bit more plasticky than some others on the market, but that shouldn't be an issue — and actually it's very lightweight, so navigating the garden should be a breeze. The only real drawback is that it's electric, so you'll have to navigate the cord too.