Lawn Tractors: Expert and User Reviews

Our AssessmentThorough, objective tests rank and rate 54 riding mowers in four categories, with specific ratings for handling, ease of use and performance in each of three modes: mulching, bagging and side-discharging. Evenness of cut is included in mode ratings; editors compare lawn tractors with similar size decks, since that affects cutting evenness as well as other factors. ConsumerReports.org still doesn't measure noise level but does compare brand reliability based on an annual survey of owners, plus owner-written reviews of specific models and a forum that includes useful comments from expert Peter Sawchuck. A few articles on lawn tractors are available to nonsubscribers in the ConsumerReports.org blog.

Our AssessmentPaul Sikkema, a landscape professional, provides the most detailed reviews available for current riding mowers sold at Sears and Home Depot -- including lawn tractors, zero-turn mowers and rear-end riding mowers. Reviews cover build quality as well as performance, and the site makes distinctions among series and models much easier to understand than do the Sears and Home Depot websites.

Our AssessmentSears.com publishes owner-written ratings and reviews of the lawn tractors, garden tractors, zero-turn mowers and rear-end riding mowers sold here. The site makes it easy to browse through models, showing the rating (though you have to click on a model to see the number of reviews on which this is based). Several models have accumulated enough reviews to make ratings quite credible.

Our AssessmentThis retail site features owner reviews and staff recommendations, though the latter are based on features rather than testing. Navigation is straightforward, with user ratings and the number of reviews they're based on front and center. It's also easy to see the staff recommendations, which tractors are top sellers and which are new models. The main drawback is that some popular brands are not sold here.

Our AssessmentHusqvarna publishes owner-written ratings and reviews of its lawn tractors. Most models earn reasonably positive reviews, but a few Husqvarna lawn tractors stand out with top ratings. Reviews here are often quite detailed, so if a Husqvarna model interests you, it's a good idea to check this site before making a final choice.

Our AssessmentCubCadet.com makes it a little tedious to click through to the owner-written reviews of its lawn tractors, but many of the reviews are quite detailed and helpful. Ratings vary a lot; three models stand out among all the choices, however.

Our AssessmentThis site publishes feedback from users and is organized by brand and manufacturer. Almost every manufacturer receives complaints here; many cover various John Deere lawn tractors. Since the complaints are anecdotal, there's no accurate way to compare reliability across brands; the repair record survey at ConsumerReports.org is a better source. Also, some owners assert that the John Deere models sold in big-box stores differ from the same models sold by independent dealers -- while expert sources report that this is not true.

Our AssessmentFive lawn tractors covering a wide price range are featured here as the best choices, but the brief reviews lack credibility. Neither sources, nor testing or comparisons are documented. Sometimes a Bestcovery.com report gains some credibility via the expertise of its author, but for this one, the author isn't named. A similar August 2011 report here covers zero-turn mowers.