Best Petrol Lawnmowers UK 2024 ⛽ Push & Self Propelled

Hello and welcome to this review for the best Petrol powered Lawnmowers in the UK which will include both the lower priced hand push Petrol Lawnmowers and also self propelled Petrol Lawnmowers. We have reviewed over 50 petrol Lawnmowers and narrowed our results down to our top 7 options which should speed up the process when it comes to your own online research.

The advantage of choosing a petrol powered lawn mower over other types of lawn mowers is that there are many benefits in its favour.  First of all there is no danger of running over an electrical cord by chance or tripping over it as with the electric powered mowers plus your can get serious power for dealing with overgrown grasses and tougher type mowing conditions.

There is no worry of battery running out midway like the battery operated mowers. The worst part is that you will encounter a run down mower whenever you want to mow the lawn which generally happens with the battery operated one and most often you forget to charge the batteries after use which slows you up and your mowing work for the day.

Best UK Petrol Lawnmowers - 7 Recommendations

1, Yard Force 40cm 127cc Self Propelled Petrol Lawnmower

For great value for the money, we would recommend the Yard Force 40cm self-propelled Petrol Lawnmower with a 4 stroke 127cc engine and it comes with a price tag that most families can well afford. It is a well-established brand in the market place now and they have received plenty of positive reviews in recent years which is good to see. It is suitable for medium sized lawns up to 500m2 to 600m2 and there are 5 mowing height options that range from 2.5cm up to 7.5cm.

The main thing we liked here also was the price level to be honest along with the self-propelled support and easy reliable starting. In addition, the grass box has an average storage capacity of 45 litres along with a solid robust frame. Adjusting the mowing heights is done with a central lever, it weighs around 24kg which is not all that bad and it comes backed with their 3 year warranty for peace of mind

Price Guide: £200 - £250 @ Argos

View also: Our Yard Force Lawnmower review here

2, Mountfield HP41 123cc Autochoke Petrol Lawnmower

One lawnmower that we really liked is the lower priced great value for money Mountfield HP41 Auto-choke Petrol Lawnmower with a 4 stroke 123cc Stiga engine and this lawnmower is generally available for less than £230 when seen at the time of our review.

It starts easily every time with the Auto-choke and you know you are getting a reliable piece of gardening equipment when you are buying from a brand like Mountfield in our opinion. This is a hand push lawnmower but there are also self-propelled versions readily available at a slightly higher cost

This smaller lawnmower has a lightweight design with the polypropene deck so you won’t have to worry about rust or corrosion setting in and it is well able to deal with lawn sizes up to 250m2 to 300m2 in our opinion. While the width is 41cm wide, the mowing width is 39cm and the grass collection is slightly smaller at a capacity of 40 litres.

Price Guide: £180 - £230 @ Amazon

View also: Our Mountfield Lawnmower review here

3, Hayter Harrier 159cc 48 Autodrive VS Rear Roller Lawnmower

For those of you who don’t mind paying extra for a higher quality British made lawnmower, you should definitely take a closer look at the premium Hayter Harrier 48 Auto-drive VS Rear Roller 159cc Lawnmower which has multiple features such as the self-propelled support, a rear roller for stripes, a wash port, the vari-pitch cutting technology and variable speed controls to suit your mowing pace.

It is on sale with a company called Mowers Online based in Gloucester and they offer a 90 day money back guarantee as well as a long 5 year warranty.

As you have the self-propelled support with the variable speeds (1.8-3.3mph), all you have to do is steer it and manage the controls so this lawnmower is well able to cover much larger lawn areas of up to 800m2 to 1000m2 in our opinion. It can cut lower than your average lawnmower with mow height options that range from 1.6cm to 6cm and with the rear rollers in place, you get a nice striped lawn effect appearance with a professional look.

Price Guide: £850 - £900 @ Mowers Online

View also: Our Hayter Harrier Lawnmower review here

4, Hyundai 48cm Self Propelled Electric Start 139cc Petrol Roller Lawnmower

For those of you who want to avoid recoil pull cords, then we would recommend the electric start Hyundai 48cm self-propelled Petrol Roller Lawnmower with a 4 stroke Hyundai 139cc engine.

This lawnmower is suited for lawn areas up to 500 to 600m2 from what we have seen and it has the larger grass bag collection of 70 litre capacity as well as the rear rollers in place for generating the eye catching lawn stripes. To help get you started, it comes with a 600ml SA30 oil pack and it is self-propelled to help you get around the lawn areas with ease.

The big attraction for this lawnmower is the electric start button but you also get the recoil pull cord as back up. The handles can be folded down when not in use and there are 5 mowing height options as well as the electronic CDI ignition system and a 3 year home domestic warranty in place. You get 5 mowing heights 2.5cm to 7.5cm and this 139cc engine has plenty of power for tough mowing conditions

Price Guide: £500 - £550 @ Hyundai Direct

View also: Our Hyundai Lawnmower review here

5, Webb 41cm 132cc Self Propelled Petrol Lawnmower WER410SP

Another great value self-propelled lawnmower that is worth a closer look is the WER410SP Webb 41cm self-propelled rotary Petrol Lawnmower with a 4 stroke 132cc engine which is usually on sale for less than £300 when seen at the time of our review. This lawnmower is suited for lawn areas up to 500m2 to 600m2 from what we have seen and there are 7 mowing height options from 2.5cm up to 7.5cm as well as the single speed self-propelled support to get you around the lawn with a lot less strain.

It’s not that heavy at 26kg and the grass collection bag is average with a storage capacity of 45 litres. It offers a mowing path of 41cm wide and you are supporting a British brand when you buy from Webb. It cuts and collects the grass cuttings as well as can be expected and it offers great value for the price as well as a 2 year warranty.

Price Guide: £250 - £300 @ Amazon

View also: Our Webb Lawnmower review here

6, Cobra 46cm 135cc Petrol Self Propelled Lawnmower M46SPC

One petrol lawnmower that exceeded our expectations was the M46SPC Cobra 46cm Petrol self-propelled Lawnmower with the 4 stroke 135cc Cobra DG450 OHV engine which starts superbly every time and it has a wide mowing path of 46cm as well as the larger 60 litre capacity grass collection bag. It also has a higher number of 10 mowing heights to choose from and it is designed for lawn areas up to 600 – 700m2 in our opinion.

Mowing heights can be adjusted with a central lever and the self-propelled support works great to get the job done easier and faster with a lot less strain on the body. There is plenty of power in this engine to deal with slopes and difficult mowing conditions and it comes with a 2 year warranty and a single speed of 3.2 km per hour.

Price Guide: £250 - £300

View also: Our Cobra Lawnmower review here

7, Fox 51cm 173cc Petrol Turbo Self Propelled Lawnmower

Last on our list is the Fox 51cm Petrol Turbo self-propelled Lawnmower which has a higher power level 4 stroke 173cc engine and it performed better than expected for dealing with difficult mowing conditions such as long, damp and thicker grasses. It’s from a brand that we were not too familiar with to be honest but it has multiple features built in such as the mulching function, side discharge and the rear collection so there are plenty of mowing options available to choose from.

It’s a larger and heavier machine at 36kg but you have the adjustable speed self-propelled support to get your around the lawn with ease and a lot less effort – just steer it, manage the controls and away you go. It is started with the recoil pull cord, the grass collection bag is quite good at 60 litre capacity and it comes backed with a 2 year warranty for peace of mind. You don’t have to worry about the pace of the mower either as the speed level is adjustable to suit your own needs.

Price Guide: £250 - £300

View also: Additional best lawnmower lists here

Tips to Consider before you Buy

Even buying one of the many cheap petrol lawn mowers that are available is a major purchase and getting the wrong one for your lawn can end up being a costly mistake. How does the lawn mower move across the lawn? Is it Push Powered - which is a nice way of saying that you do the hard work. Or, is it Self-Propelled? A petrol lawn mower that is Self-Propelled sees the engine connected to a the rear wheels (or roller) which drives them forward at an easy-going speed - without any need for you to push yourself.

Naturally, a Self-Propelled petrol lawn mower requires more engine power than a Push Powered mower.  Has the lawn mower got a Rear Roller or not? Whether it's self-propelled or not, a Rear Roller will neatly flatten the grass once the cutting blades have down their work and contributes towards creating that classic striped lawn.

Mowing Widths

The Cutting Width describes the size of the blade and consequently the width of grass that will be cut in one rotation. The greater the width, the more grass will be cut at any one time. There is a price for this though, a wider Cutting Width means the mower is having to do more work and so a larger engine is usually required. The height to which you can cut the grass on your lawn is one of the important settings on a lawnmower.

Cutting to just one height at all times and on all lawns isn't necessarily the best thing to do if you want a healthy lawn. The more Height Settings that are available the more precision in the cut you will have and the more control you will have over your lawn.

Grass box Capacity

The size of the collection box that captures your clippings. The larger the grass box your petrol lawn mower has the more grass can be cut before you need to stop and empty it. Ideally, and depending on how often you cut your grass, a larger grass box is needed the larger your lawn. A larger collection capacity means you could avoid having to stop half way through your mowing to empty, so try and buy a mower with a grass box suited to the size of the lawn you will be cutting.

Engine

Finally, we come to the engine. Is more power always best? In a nutshell, yes. The power an engine has the better the cutting blades will cut, certainly with longer grass. In addition, consider the Cutting Width of your mower - the more the blades need to cut in one rotation, the more power will be needed.

The more resistance against the blades the more strain on the engine and you'll want more grunt to call upon. Also, if you're looking at a Self-Propelled petrol lawn mower, the engine will also drive the back wheels and so will need a bit more power than a standard Push Powered mower.

More Popular Lawnmowers

If petrol mowers are not for you and you would like to consider a more environmentally friendly option, then feel free to look at some of the best electric mowers as follows:

Best UK Corded Lawn Mowers – Take a look here

Best UK Cordless Lawn Mowers – Take a look here

Best UK Hover Lawn Mowers – Take a look here

Best UK Reel Lawn Mowers – Take a look here

Conclusion

On a final note - Petrol lawn mowers are more powerful than electric mowers, can make much lighter work of a large lawn and give you a better finish at the same time. The additional power of a petrol lawn mower can make them the better choice for most midsized and bigger lawns. I hope you have an idea what to consider when buying a petrol lawnmower, the pros and cons of each choice and reviews of the petrol lawn mowers.

Petrol lawn mowers tend to be a good deal heavier then electric models and are also more expensive. Petrol mowers will often need a strong arm to start them as they often use a ‘pull cord’ to get them going  but Petrol mowers tend to be more powerful than electric mowers. Choosing the right lawn mower will save you time and frustration and I hope the above review was useful to you in choosing a petrol lawnmower for you own individual needs.