Ride-on Mowers
Ride-on mowers make sense once your lawn takes more than an hour to cut with a walk-behind. This range runs from compact mini-riders for a large garden to garden tractors and zero-turns for paddocks and estates, from Stiga, Honda, Stihl, Cub Cadet, Cobra, Mountfield, Toro, Ariens and EGO.
Not sure where to start? Our buying guide below begins with the two questions we ask everyone who comes into our Westbere showroom.
Ride-on buying guideWhat you're cutting, towing, size and FAQs
1. What are you cutting?
- A fine lawn you want neat and striped: go for a rear-collect machine. Collecting picks up clippings and leaves as you go and gives the tidiest finish.
- A mixed lawn with rougher areas: choose a tractor that can collect on the lawn and side-discharge or mulch elsewhere, so one machine covers both.
- A paddock, orchard or rough grass: side discharge, a wider deck and a twin-cylinder engine cope best. On wet or sloping ground, four-wheel drive (such as the Stiga Estate 9102WX) keeps you moving. If the grass is knee-high, talk to us first: a ride-on mower isn't the tool for overgrown ground.
2. Will you tow?
If you'll pull a trailer, sweeper, spreader or scarifier, choose a garden tractor. They're built with a tow hitch and a transmission for the job. Most zero-turns are built for cutting fast, not pulling, and most mini-riders aren't designed for regular towing. Tell us what you'll tow and we'll check it against the model's rating.
| What you're cutting | Towing? | Where to start |
|---|---|---|
| Fine lawn, up to about 1 acre | No | Mini-rider (to half an acre) or compact rear-collect tractor |
| Fine lawn, over 1 acre | Either | Rear-collect garden tractor |
| Lawn plus rough areas | Yes | Garden tractor with collect plus side discharge or mulch |
| Open, flat ground with trees and beds | No | Zero-turn |
| Paddock, rough grass or slopes | Yes | Side-discharge or four-wheel-drive tractor |
Choosing the right ride-on
- Size: as a rough guide, a 61 to 76cm mini-rider suits up to half an acre, 84 to 98cm half an acre to an acre, 102 to 107cm one to two acres, and 117cm upwards or a zero-turn beyond that. Measure your gate and shed door too: a wide deck is no use if it can't get through.
- Clippings: collecting gives the cleanest finish but means emptying the box. Mulching cuts clippings fine and returns them to the lawn, and has become popular because there's nothing to empty; it works best when you cut little and often. Side discharge is quickest on long or rough grass.
- Drive: a hydrostatic drive lets you change speed with a foot pedal, with no gears to select. It's worth having on almost every garden; manual gearboxes cost less.
- Tractor or zero-turn: a zero-turn turns on the spot and makes short work of cutting round trees and beds on flat ground. A tractor steers like a car, handles slopes better, tows, and offers powered collection.
- Battery or petrol: battery ride-ons, such as the EGO Z6 zero-turns and TR tractors, are quiet and need no fuel or engine servicing. The trade-off is the cost of the battery packs, and planning your cut around a charge.
Why buy your ride-on from us
We're a family-run, authorised dealer at Island Road, Westbere, near Canterbury. Every ride-on is prepared and checked in our workshop before it leaves, and we deliver UK-wide, setting machines up and showing you round them in our local area. After you've bought, our workshop handles servicing and repairs, so you're not on your own when the season starts. Call us on 01227 711100 or visit the showroom to sit on a few before you choose.
Frequently asked questions
What size ride-on mower do I need?
It depends on the area and how much of it is open lawn. As a rough guide: up to half an acre, a 61 to 76cm mini-rider; up to two acres, 84 to 107cm; beyond that, 117cm or more, or a zero-turn. Obstacles, slopes and narrow gaps all push towards a smaller deck.
Can I tow with a ride-on mower?
Garden tractors are designed to tow trailers and lawn-care attachments. Zero-turns and most mini-riders aren't. Check the model's towing rating, or ask us.
Should I collect, mulch or side-discharge?
Collect for the tidiest lawn, mulch to save emptying and feed the grass, side-discharge for long or rough areas. Many tractors do two or all three.
Is a zero-turn or a tractor better?
A zero-turn is quicker on flat ground with lots to cut around. A tractor is better on slopes, for towing, and for collecting.
Do you deliver and set up ride-on mowers?
Yes. We deliver UK-wide, and set up and hand over machines in our local area. Every machine is checked in our workshop before it leaves.
