Petrol lawn mowers

Battery has taken the mainstream, but petrol still earns its keep on large, rough or rural lawns where there's no convenient charging and runtime is king.

Petrol or battery?

For most European gardens the answer is now battery — quieter, no fuel, far less maintenance. Petrol pulls ahead when the lawn is big enough that mid-mow recharging is a chore, or remote enough that mains power is awkward. Before you decide, run the numbers: our running-cost calculator puts petrol, cordless and corded side by side for your lawn and tariffs — our petrol vs electric running costs guide explains the full breakdown, and if you're still weighing up mower type rather than just power source, robot vs cordless vs petrol walks through the decision. And within petrol itself: self-propelled or push? Our self-propelled vs push guide breaks down what that costs in weight, price and effort.

Ranked on sourced data: best petrol lawn mowers (by engine size) and best self-propelled petrol mowers (by cutting width). And explore what else we cover in depth: robot mowers and cordless mowers.