Consumer Reports' best lawn gear

Even if mowing the lawn doesn't sound like a relaxing afternoon, take heart: Some of the latest mowers and tractors cut time and effort as well as the grass without breaking the bank, according to the editors of Consumer Reports. Several top trimmers and blowers can also help create a trophy yard for $70 or less.

According to CR's latest tests of lawn mowers, trimmers and tractors, consumers can spend $700 or $800 for a top-scoring Honda mower. Or they can pay as little as $350 for a Toro that cuts nearly as well and has a rear bag that drops into place without fuss. Toros and some Craftsman models allow users to hose off the deck's underside from above.

The Honda HRX217HXA, $800, topped CR's latest mower ratings, which took into account evenness, mulching, bagging, side discharge, handling and ease of use. The Toro Recycler 20066, $350, was designated a CR Best Buy. CR's Quick Picks include the Toro Super Recycler 20092, $500; Honda HRR216K3VXA, $580; and the Lawn Boy 10685, $370.

CR notes that more wide-cutting tractors are hitting stores, as are models that steer with their rear wheels like pro-style, zero-turn-radius mowers. One tight-turning tractor, Cub Cadet's $2,700 i1042, has a redesigned deck that helped it get CR's top score in the side-discharge mode that tractor owners use most. And the Cub Cadet uses a familiar, intuitive steering wheel instead of a zero-turn-radius mower's twin steering levers.

Sales of greener mowers are also growing as manufacturers push more powerful cordless electrics and new versions of the age-old manual reel mower. CR's other findings include:

Some "premium" mowers aren't. More walk-behind mowers are switching to more efficient, overhead-valve engines to meet tougher emissions standards.

When more volts equal less. The $400 Craftsman 37048 cordless mower packs 48 volts instead of the usual 24, while the $450 Remington MPS6017A touts a sizzling 60 volts. Yet the top-scoring Black & Decker electric outcut both models, despite its humble 24 volts.

Where bigger isn't better. With their ultrawide, 50-inch mowing, the $2,000 Cub Cadet LT1050 and White Outdoor LT54 tractors seem like good buys. But CR found that both were mediocre at smooth cutting and only fair at bagging clippings. It might also be tempting to buy Ariens' 34-inch-wide, Zoom zero-turn-radius mower for tighter spaces. But unimpressive mowing and a jerky drive system at all but the fastest speeds zoomed it to the bottom of its category.

When two for one isn't worth it. Craftsman's $70 74540 plug-in string trimmer includes a built-in leaf blower. While two tools in one might sound enticing, high weight and low performance kept it off CR's Quick Picks list.