Next, Consumer Reports provides three types of information that can help members pick the best lawn mower for their situation.

Model performance: We capture the performance of individual models in our lawn mower ratings. If you see a mower that you’re interested in, you can look it up in our ratings to see how well it performs core functions, like cutting, mulching, and bagging. Our ratings also include important scored features, such as ease of use and how noisy a mower is. These detailed ratings are the best indicator of how a model will work for you and your yard. 

Reliability: Each year, we survey hundreds of thousands of CR members about the products they buy and, in particular, how well those products hold up over time and prolonged usage. We use the information to generate a brand-level predicted reliability score for every type of lawn mower we test, with the exception of battery riding mowers. (We don’t have enough data on those mowers yet.) We ask people how satisfied they are with their mower over time, and also ask about maintenance and any problems. We use these responses to tabulate a brand-level Overall Satisfaction Score. The results can be found in our ratings charts.

Brand-level performance: The brand scores reflect how well mowers from a particular brand perform in our testing and surveys, and whether they provide good value. The scores are not model-specific, but they can be a good backup if you’re interested in a particular model we haven’t tested. Just remember that a high brand score isn’t a guarantee that every model in that manufacturer’s line is a winner. It’s possible for a company to earn an overall high score for its mowers even if it has a dud in its lineup. The reverse is also possible.