A petrol lawn mower is the quickest, most powerful and convenient way to cut your garden grass. Petrol mowers are ideal for larger gardens and have a much more powerful engine than cordless or electric lawnmowers, which means they can cope better with rough surfaces, thicker grass or taller heights. They also have the advantage of being able to be used on hard-to-reach areas of the lawn that aren’t easily accessible for cordless and electric mowers.

Petrol mowers can be used as rotary lawn mowers, which use a single spinning blade to cut the grass, or cylinder mowers, which have two cutting wheels and are typically more efficient at cutting long, tough grass. Both types of petrol mower can be powered by either two-stroke or four-stroke fuel. Two-stroke fuel consists of unleaded petrol mixed with engine oil, which you have to mix yourself; four-stroke fuel is the same as that in your car and is used for handheld machinery such as lawnmowers and hedgetrimmers.

A petrol mower is usually pushed by the user, with the controls located on the handlebar, including the throttle and starter cord. Some models have a grass collector bag or mulching plug, while others are self-propelled and move themselves forward with the help of the engine, rather than requiring you to push them. They are louder and less environmentally friendly than electric or battery-powered mowers, but they are very quick and offer the flexibility of being able to work on a hard surface or on uneven lawns.

STIHL, the manufacturer of this model, specialise in grunt-filled gardening machinery and this petrol mower is no exception. It has a large, 55L grass catcher so you won’t have to keep stopping to empty it and the engine can handle up to 1200m2 of turf terrain on one tank. It has an excellent range of features, too – from the 46cm cutting deck and the variable height settings to the self propulsion and the adjustable handlebar height.

The petrol lawn mowers that you’ll find at John Lewis have a powerful, yet quiet and reliable Honda-built engine and come in several different sizes depending on the size of your garden. They’re easy to start with an electric ignition, which is especially useful if you have a lot of thick grass or if your lawn is covered in fallen leaves. The handles are ergonomically designed and comfortable to hold, and many models have a variable self propulsion system that allows you to adjust the speed at which you’re moving as well as an impressive range of cutting widths and heights. You can even get a mulching attachment to divert your grass clippings to your flower beds, instead of them going to waste in the bin. The ‘John Deere R43’, ‘Hayter Spirit 41 Push Petrol Rear Roller’ and ‘Hayter Osprey 46 Push 4-Wheel’ are other popular petrol mower models that you might like to consider.