Up to about half an acre. Past that the passes start to add up and a 30-inch deck or a rider saves real time.

Slopes, banks and damp grass. A front-wheel-drive mower loses grip as soon as the front lifts on an incline. With power to all four wheels it keeps pulling, so you're steering rather than shoving.

There's no speed lever. Push a little harder on the handle and it speeds up, ease off and it slows. It takes about five minutes to stop thinking about it.

Yes. The Recycler cutting system mulches clippings back into the lawn, and you can switch to bagging or side discharge depending on how long the grass has got.

It's aimed at half an acre to an acre — the range where a 21-inch machine takes too long but a rider is more than you need. On a big lawn the wider deck cuts the number of passes substantially.

Measure your gate first. At 30 inches of deck the machine is wider than a standard walk-behind, and a narrow side gate can be a problem. If yours is tight, the 22-inch Recycler is the safer choice.

It stops the blades while the engine keeps running, so you can move a bin or a toy out of the way and carry on without restarting.

The two blades are timed to overlap, which gives an even cut across the full 30 inches rather than a ridge down the middle where a single blade would run out of reach.

It's much smaller. The engine sits behind the seat instead of out front, which makes the whole machine shorter and far easier to store and manoeuvre. The trade-off is a narrower deck and less towing capacity.

With a 30-inch deck it clears most standard gates, which is the main reason people choose it over a full tractor. Measure your gate at its narrowest point before ordering.

No. You pick a speed with the lever and drive — there's no clutch pedal work while mowing. If you'd rather not shift at all, an automatic or hydrostatic machine is the alternative.

An 18-inch turning radius, so it comes around trees and flower beds without the three-point turns a bigger tractor needs.

You get on and off in a second, which matters on a lawn round with a lot of gates and obstacles. You also see the deck edge better, and the machine is shorter than a sit-on zero-turn so it fits more trailers.

Yes. The platform folds up and you walk behind it — useful for steep banks where you'd rather not be riding.

Yes. It's built for daily commercial use with a 36-inch TURBO FORCE deck and a 15 HP Kawasaki engine. For a home lawn it's more machine than most people need.

It clears most standard gates, which is why the 36-inch size is popular for residential lawn rounds. Check the narrowest gate on your route before ordering.

Roughly two acres and up. Below that a rider or a wide walk-behind usually makes more sense, both to buy and to store.

The operator platform is suspended separately from the frame, so bumps go into the springs rather than into you. On rough ground over a couple of hours the difference is the whole point.

The lap-bar steering takes a session to get used to — each bar drives one wheel. Practise on open lawn before you go near flower beds. Once it clicks, trimming around obstacles is far quicker than with a steering wheel.

Zero-turns lose steering traction on steep ground and shouldn't be run across severe slopes. The operator's manual gives the limits for this model — read that section before you mow a bank.