By Bill from Belleville, IL on 2/9/2008

One word to sum up this mower, effortless! What a great mower. I have thick new sod and this mower tackled it like nobody's business. I always mulch and it has never bogged down, clogged, or stalled. The sens-a-speed can be a bit difficult in small nooks and crannies. I'm a fast walker and this mower keeps up. The foam on the handle tore pretty easily.

By Wayne from Stonington, Ct. on 6/14/2007

Pros: Very easy to use. Automatically adjusts to your walking speed. Light weight. Very manueverable. Electric start with battery charger included. Back up pull start easy to use.
Cons: Came without foam in the battery case. Requested foam from Toro. Was sent out immediately

By Pawpaw Wade from Covington VA on 5/25/2007

Easy assembly, good instructions, very good first impression - it's a well-engineered machine made with quality components.

Plenty of power and good performance overall under several conditions BUT I was disappointed to find occasional grass blades still standing when finished. It misses only a few blades but my OLD lawnboy didn't miss ANY (it seemed to suck the grass upright better.)

When attaching the mulch plate there is a latch that must fit into a hole that can't be seen and can be tricky to align (you must have this plate or the bag in place or the engine will not start).

Also, it seems as though this interlock should prevent the electric start from cranking - but it only keeps the motor from running (can still be cranked using the key).

The wheels/tires are not the same as the ones Lawnboy has used for decades - they have a wider profile and a harder surface that crunches like plastic when pushed across a gravel driveway. I'm not saying the new wheels are a setback but I definitely preferred the old time-proven style and I suspect that the new design may be responsible in part for the "missing an occasional blade of grass" symptom.

The speed-sensing clutch works perfectly and is easy to get used to BUT I trim around trees a lot and this mower requires more effort to pull backward (to change direction) than my 80's lawnboy did - don't know why. It's also heavier.

When mulching it tends to dump unsightly clumps at the end of each row - especially if the mower has to be halted, tilted up or pulled backward to change direction. I would expect this to happen occasionally but this mower does it every time - often quite large clumps.

Despite the rather negative tone of this rating I doubt that a mower is made today that I would be happier with. I expected five stars from Lawnboy's flagship but only recieved four.

By Mrsig from Davie, Fl on 5/24/2007

Starts and runs great with key or pull rope. But need more speed and power. Looks like it will last for years and years!
Real sold and seems to be very high quality parts, body and motor.