10 Best Ride On Mowers Australian Buyers’ Guide 2023

What are Riding Lawn Mowers?

Riding lawn mowers or Ride on mowers are, as the name suggests, lawnmowers that you sit on and drive, but it’s not quite that simple.

There are a few variations to consider when looking for ride-on lawnmowers, and the first is whether you want a true ride on mower (with a steering wheel, and traditional central blade), or a zero-turn mower, which is more expensive, but more accurate, and has a lever steering system.

Riding lawn mowers are perfect for gardeners with big spaces, or contractors with lots of small spaces. They save time, they save effort, and they do a better job than most push mowers with a suspended cutting deck rather than a rolling deck. 

Do You Need a Riding Lawn Mower?

Riding lawn mowers is, if you need one, indispensable, and if you don’t, a waste of money. So don’t get caught up in the excitement of ride-on lawn mowers if your lawn is only small, or even average-sized, as you could save yourself a bunch of cash by buying a push lawnmower, or even a robot lawn mower instead.

Also, for groundskeepers, riding lawn mowers might not be enough, and you should really be considering zero turn mowers for specialist work.

Ride-on mowers are for gardeners with a lot of space to manage, but a budget to consider, to make sure you understand the sort of space you have, the limitations of ride-on lawnmowers, and the price you’re willing to pay (which is a big influence in the quality of mower you’ll end up with.

What to Look For When Buying Ride On Mower

When choosing a new ride-on mower, you need to consider budget over all else. What you spend is what you get with any lawn mower, and riding lawn mowers are no different.

Some riding lawn mowers cost upwards of $25,000, and some cost as little as $3,000 but there is a huge difference in comfort, and quality as you might expect.

There are three main factors to help you decide what lawnmower you want, regardless of budget: What’s the turning circle like? What fuel does it use? How wide does it cut?

We’ll explain each in detail below, but by understanding these three factors, you’ll be able to find the best budget option for you.

Turning Circle

While perfect corners might sound nice, it’s important to keep in mind that this is a luxury, only usually afforded to golf course mowers, and high end zero-turn mowers.

Perfect corners on ride-on mowers are achieved by front mounted cutting decks, where the driver sits behind the blade, therefore being able to drive the cutting blades right into the corners and over the lawn edges for perfect results.

That might seem useful, but think about your garden. If your lawn has curved corners and hedges, then you can save at least $1,000 by choosing a riding mower with a central cutting deck, which will do a perfectly good job of lawn-hedge cutting.

What Fuel to Use

This is more of a long-term question, because buying a ride-on mower is an investment for most gardeners, and even for commercial gardeners, it’s worth considering electric engines for your lawn care machinery. 

Most lawn mowers are still sold with petrol or diesel engines, but the future is electric, so why not take the leap now while electric mowers are less expensive than petrol. 

Ride on Mower Cutting Depth / Width

The most important factor, especially when buying an electing riding mower, is the cutting width. The wider the blade, the longer our charge lasts, because you’ll cover more ground in a short time.

Conversely though, narrower blades make neater cuts, so it depends on how much time you’re looking to spare. To find the cutting width, look out for the measurement of the ‘cutting deck’ in mower listings.

How to Use a Riding Mower

There is not a one-size-fits all guide to using ride on lawn mowers, but generally the new electric engine riding mowers are much easier to use, and far simpler to start than petrol mowers.

To start an electric lawn mower, make sure any blade guards are down, and start the engine. Push the throttle and away you go. Electric lawn mowers are normally automatic too, so there are no gears to worry about either.

For petrol engine lawn mowers, you can buy automatic engines, but they’re much more expensive, so for the average petrol or diesel ride-on lawn mower, they should be started and driven essentially like a car. 

Check the manual before starting up any new lawn mowers.

Riding Lawn Mower Safety Tips

Lawn mowers are built with safety in mind at every turn, so almost all lawn mower related injuries are through improper use. 

When using a lawn mower, ensure any blade guards are in place before use, and when you service the mower, or clean the blades, ensure the key is nowhere near the ignition to prevent accidental starts.

Where possible, rake over the lawn before first use too, as large stones can blunt the lawnmower blade and flick out from beneath the machine.

1. BAUMR-AG 36" 48V Brushless Electric Ride On Lawn Mower 

BAUMR-AG makes humble but effective tools. They’re not focused on showing off to the neighbours, but the lawn you’ll get as a result will be a talking point.

The 36” cutting desk isn’t huge, but it gives you more control, and more opportunities to get those perfect stripes in your lawn.

The steering is beautifully simple, with headlights to help you work into the evenings too. If you’re after a simple, elegant tool, the BAUMR-AG is the ride-on mower for you.

2. EGO POWER+ Z6 Cordless Brushless Ride On Mower

I’m a big fan of the EGO ride on lawn mowers lately. They’ve put a real stamp on the electric mower market, and are clearly building products they believe in.

What’s really striking about this EGO mower, is that the ZT4204E performs as well as petrol mowers, if not better. 

There are still some limitations with run time, but you can easily cover 2 acres on a single charge, and thanks to the rapid charging batteries you can charge from empty to full in under two hours.

3. Rover Mini Rider 382/30 Manual Petrol Ride On Mower

If you’ve got a standard lawn, then there’s no point paying anything over $3k for a ride on mower. Mini ride-on mowers like this compact Rover Mini rider are perfect for smaller lawns. 

They get the job done, they take up no space in the garage, and they’re easy to start too. I’ll admit there’s a temptation with smaller models to cut costs, and find a budget model, but try to avoid that mistake if you can. 

Just because you’re after a smaller mower doesn’t mean you can cut corners. Rover makes precise and efficient ride on mowers of all sizes, and this is a really reliable lawn mower for small gardens.

4. Ryobi Brushless Ride On Lawn Mower

I don’t normally rave about Ryobi products because the battery packs are fiddly, and almost never get supplied with the product. But, Ryobi have pulled something pretty special out the bag with their new brushless riding mower from Bunnings.

Ok, so it’s not that powerful, and recharging is more complicated than plugging the entire machine into a charge point, but it works, it’s a great budget riding mower, and it’s convenient too.

The Ryobi ride-on mower can have its entire cutting deck removed so it’s available for use as a basic utility vehicle for towing trailers and heavy goods, making it one of the most adaptable mowers on review here. 

5. Cub Cadet CC 30 E Mini Riding Mower

I’ve always been a fan of Cub Cadet mowers, they look good, they’re quiet, and they’re efficient at what they do.

Their new range of fully electric ride-on mowers and zero-turn mowers has revolutionised the lawn care industry in recent years and puts huge pressure on other companies to provide greener options for gardeners.

What I really love about the Cub Cadet CC 30 E ride on mower though, is that it’s small. It might not cut the biggest lines with every pass, but that means it’s easy to store, and great for smaller gardens where the lawn is just a little too big for a push mower, but riding mowers seem like an extravagance. 

The Cub Cadet electric ride-on mower is a great middle-ground option for the average-sized garden.

6. BAUMR-AG 30" 48V Brushless Electric Ride On Lawn Mower

On a slightly tighter budget, or looking for something to manage a modest lawn? BAUMR-AG has got you covered. Their 30” electric ride-on mower is ideal for smaller gardens or homes with less storage space.

The simple steering makes it ideal for beginners, or anyone looking to upgrade from a push mower, and the electric motor charges quickly too.

7. Rover RZ 42 V-Twin Petrol Zero Turn Ride On Mower

I’ll start out by saying that I’m not a fan of the steering on this petrol ride-on mower from Rover. It’s heavy, clunky, and pretty hard to get used to. However, it cuts really well. It’s fast, and it covers a LOT of ground on one tank.

If you’re going to stump for a petrol ride on mower, you could do a lot worse than this professional standard lawn mower from Rover. The 42” cutting width, in combination with the easily adjusted cutting height makes for a perfect lawn every time.

8. Kubota T2290KW Riding Lawn Mower

Kubota are a high-end lawn mower manufacturer, and their price match, so this isn’t a mower for a casual gardener, but for serious lawn perfectionists, you won’t get a neater cut or a more intuitive drive than the Kubota, with its standard steering, full suspension and 42” cutting deck.

The only downside is the petrol engine, so if you’re looking for long term investments maybe think about electric instead, but as far as petrol mowers go, Kubota have great fuel efficiency, using Kawasaki engines you can trust.

9. John Deere X584 Ride-on Mower

John Deere is one of the best mower manufacturers in the world, with a reputation for landscape and agricultural machinery dating back almost 200 years.

The biggest advantage of John Deere tractors and John Deere ride-on mowers is that they integrate their own engines, making them really easy to maintain, typically with cheaper services too.

The John Deere riding mower x500 series is a great, simple, lawn tractor that gets the job done.

10. Stiga Tornado 4108 Ride On Automatic Drive Mower

For gardeners who prefer to rein in their spending, the Stiga Tornado is a good budget mower. It’s not the best mower in the world by a long shot, but for around ¼ or the price of the top-end models, you’ll have a capable lawnmower that stores easily, steers well and can manage bumpy ground too.

BAUMR-AG makes reliable tools, at reasonable prices, for industrial, professional and domestic use. The BAUMR-AG 36" 48V Brushless Electric Ride On Lawn Mower sticks to that trend nicely with a lightweight electric lawn mower that can cut up to 2 acres on a single charge.

If you’re happy driving around on something that looks agricultural, rather than the shiny bells and whistles of more expensive mowers, then this BAUMR-AG ride-on mower is the best choice.

EGO’s new line of electric ride-on mowers easily rival traditional petrol models for power, convenience, and ease of use. They charge quickly too which is a big bonus, and a step forward for the electric ride-on mower market.

If you’ve got the budget, and the space, EGO is, by a long way, the premium choice of ride-on mowers, and the Power+ Z6 is the best they sell for now.

For a small to average garden, ride-on mowers can seem like an over-investment, but this mini ride-on mower from Rover is a super reliable mower that cuts evenly and smoothly.

It's less powerful than larger models, but let’s face it, if you’re working with a small garden your main concern should be space, not power. The compact Rover Mini rider is the best value ride-on mower you can buy, and store away nicely.

Ride On Mower Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the best lawn mower manufacturer?

The two best lawn mower companies are John Deere and Kubota, with very little separating any of their comparable models. Kubota typically use Kawasaki engines to build better performance. 

John Deere build their own engines for all products, making them much easier to maintain. The cutting performance, pricing, and lifespan of each mower brand are relatively similar.

How much do riding lawn mowers cost?

Ride-on mowers can cost anywhere from $3,000 to $30,000 and the price makes a big difference in quality, but how much you spend should be defined by two things: 1) Do you need a professional finish?; 2) How big is your garden?

Is a riding lawn mower worth it?

If you have a lawn bigger than a quarter of an acre then a riding lawn mower is probably worth it. Cutting large lawns is incredibly time-consuming, and while riding lawn mowers cost almost 10x as much as push mowers, they save more than 10x the time.

How fast do riding lawn mowers go?

The average riding lawn mower has a top speed of around 4-5 mph, which is equivalent to a slow jog, so you’re not going to win any drag races in a lawnmower any time soon, but it’s definitely faster than cutting the lawn with a push mower.

Cleaning up after mowing your lawn can be time consuming. To save time especially for bigger lawns, it is essential to use a lawn sweeper so check out our complete guide here.