Cutting costs: you can get a good petrol mower for less than $400.(TEST: Petrol lawnmowers)

Publication: Choice (Chippendale, Australia)

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COPYRIGHT 2005 Australian Consumers' Association

IN A NUTSHELL

* Most of the models on test cut grass very well, but not all are easy to use.

* Our test revealed two good models for under $400, but other models et this price point weren't us satisfactory.

On test: 11 four-stroke petrol-powered catcher lawnmowers, mainly chosen from the cheapest available models in each brand. Where a brand has a large range of models, we added a second, higher-priced model. The resulting lawnmowers ranged in price from $299 to $699.

None of the mowers had any problems cutting short grass. Some differences began to appear on medium and long grass, but most still cut well. The ease of use scores brought out the biggest differences--some models were let down by poor manoeuvrability, excessive vibration, poor controls or difficulty in adjusting the cutting height.

All but one of the mowers not only cut grass well, but left the lawn looking reasonably neat. The exception was the TALON, which consistently left a small trail of clippings behind it as well as not cutting as well as the others in medium and long grass--it scored lower for cutting performance. It's also heavy and comparatively hard to manoeuvre.

DIFFERENT STROKES

Nearly all current petrol mowers are four-stroke. They're popular for two main reasons: they use standard unleaded petrol and they're much less polluting than two-strokes. A four-stroke motor typically emits half the carbon monoxide and one-tenth the hydrocarbons that a two-stroke produces. Four-strokes have an oil sump that should be checked and the oil changed regularly, just like the oil in a car engine.

Two-strokes emit more pollution because they bum a mixture of petrol and oil rather than straight petrol. Some people still prefer them because their motors are simpler and very. Also, because they don't have an oil sump as four-strokes do, two-strokes tend to be better suited to mowing steep slopes. On a steep angle, the oil in a four-stroke's sump can drain to one end and stop lubricating the engine--very bad for its moving parts. However, advised us that four-strokes can generally cope with slopes of at least 15[degrees].

What to buy

Models are profiled in rank order.

VICTA BRONCO BRA484A

Price: $569

GOOD POINTS

* Excellent at cutting grass.

* Excellent controls.

* Best ease of use....

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