I tested this remote control lawnmower — now cutting the grass is a game, and I can't wait to do yardwork

When it comes to yard work, it would be fair to say that I am pretty lazy. I love making the yard look pretty with flowers and decorations, but at the slightest mention of manual labour, I am out of there.

When I tested the Mowrator S1 2WD, I realised how easy yad work can be with the right tools. No more sweating in the blistering heat as I lug a heavy corded lawnmower back and forth across the yard. That’s because the mower is operated with a remote control, so you can stand on the sidelines and watch it do all the work. With the Mowrator, cutting the grass becomes… fun!

It may be on the expensive side and too heavy for me to lift alone, but the perks of this machine far outweigh the negatives.

Initial setup couldn’t be easier, and the remote controller pairs seamlessly for fuss-free use. The settings are fully customizable from blade height to sensor detection, and the safety features make the mower a reliable addition to any shed.

To find out more about how I got on, you can read this full Mowrator S1 2WD review.

Mowrator S1 2WD review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A battery-powered remote control lawnmower.
• Who is it for? Anyone who is finding it hard to use a regular lawnmower, or someone with a large expanse of backyard to tackle.
• How much does it cost? The Mowrator S1 2WD is available at Amazon U.S. for $2,999 for the 18Ah version or $2,400 for the 12Ah version.
• What do we like? The controls are fully customizable, and the remote is easy to use. The setup is straightforward, and the safety features are effective.
• What don’t we like? It’s very heavy to move around manually, and it’s pretty expensive.

Mowrator S1 2WD review: Specs

Mowrator S1 2WD review: Price & availability

The Mowrator S1 2WD is available for purchase from Amazon U.S., and there are two models to choose from. While both of these models use the same core two-wheel-drive mower, the battery is different. The 18Ah battery version is available for $2,999, and the 12Ah battery version is $2,400. I tested the 12Ah model, and this was more than enough to tackle my backyard. After using it, I could never go back to a regular mower.

Mowrator also produces a four-wheel-drive (4WD) model of the mower, which is made to tackle larger areas and steeper slopes than the 2WD, and this is available for $3,499 at Amazon U.S..

Mowrator S1 2WD review: Design & build

The Mowrator S1 2WD is incredibly sturdy. With the entire frame built from high-strength aluminum alloy, the mower looks how it feels — rugged.

The mower measures 37.8 x 25.8 x 17.0 inches without the grass bag and 60.4 x 26.2 x 20.5 inches when the grass bag is attached. So, if you have a smaller yard, this mower won’t be for you.

Its 21-inch blade on the underside of the mower is very durable, and you’re able to purchase other blades, including a high-lift blade and a high-lift shredding blade, for whatever is best suited to your yard. The standard blade worked well for my flat lawn.

The frame is easy to grab when you need to move the mower up some steps where it can’t be driven, but it is heavy. It weighs 99.2 pounds without the battery, so you’ll need a helping hand. I enlisted the help of my dad to tackle the steps in my yard as I couldn’t do it alone.

There’s a bump guard on the front of the frame to protect the front of the mower, and this also allows it to come to a complete stop if it detects a crash. There are also four sensors on the body of the mower, which I’ll go into a little later.

With a waterproof rating of IP54, the mower can withstand light rain. The battery is sealed in a locked plastic compartment that is resistant to water splashes, but the mower needs to be stored somewhere dry in case of heavy rain.

There are two emergency lock buttons next to the battery compartment, and when these are engaged, the mower cannot be moved. This adds an extra layer of safety in addition to the front bump guard, making it safe for use in households with pets and children

There’s a gear stick on the right side of the mower that is used to adjust the height of the blade across five settings from 1.8 to 4.6 inches. This was easy to alter with little resistance and locked into place easily.

There are four tires to attach to the mower when it arrives. This is very straightforward, if a little tedious. The two wheels at the back are larger and have to be pushed on and then attached with six screws on each side. The front tires, which are used for steering, are screwed on with a bolt.

You also have to attach the grass cover to the back of the mower with four screws. The grass bag can also be removed and replaced with the included mulcher.

Mowrator S1 2WD review: Controls & sensors

The Mowrator S1 2WD is controlled by a handheld controller with joysticks and command presets. The controller is large but comfortable to hold for long periods while the grass is being cut. It weighs just one pound and measures 6.9 x 6.7 x 2.3 inches.

I liked that the mower uses a remote control so I could have full control over the cutting process. This is unlike the Navimow I110N Robot Lawn Mower ($1,299), which maps the yard and cuts the grass on its own.

It has a 2.35-inch touchscreen in the center where you can customize settings and see any warning or error codes from the mower easily. It’s charged via a USB-C cable.

The controller connects wirelessly to the mower, and the lights on the side of the machine light up red, amber, and green to signify whether the mower is connected and set up correctly.

I controlled the direction of the mower with the joysticks. The left joystick controls forward and back movement, and the right stick turns the mower left or right. There are also two buttons to make a left or right U-turn with the mower, which makes quickly changing directions easier.

I enjoyed using the Mowrator S1 2WD because it actually felt like a video game, thanks to the easy-to-use controller. I was shocked at how easy it was to use and how much it made me want to do a menial chore. It was actually fun.

After the initial setup of the mower, I decided to simply drive it around rather than getting straight to cutting. This gave me a chance to get a feel for the machine and how it moved.

The handling is very easy to get used to with the lag-free controls, and the preset U-turn function is very useful for maintaining straight lines in the cut grass. I chose to turn the sensors off as my yard is on the smaller side, so I could get closer to the edges of the grass.

Blade & sensors

To start up the blade, there are two buttons on the top of the controller that need to be held down simultaneously. At least one of these buttons needs to be held down the whole time the blade is being operated, as a way of making sure you remain fully aware, kind of like how some self-driving cars require you to have one hand on the wheel.

There are buttons to set the cruise control setting, which maintains a consistent speed for the mower so you only need to steer with the right joystick, and custom commands. Below the screen on the left, there are switches to alter the blade speed. On the right is a switch to control the speed of the mower’s movements.

In the center is the emergency stop button, which immediately stops the mower if you can’t get near it to engage the emergency stops built into the top of the mower.

There are ultrasonic sensors positioned around the mower, and when these detect movement, the controller beeps. When the object gets too close, the mower stops completely, which adds an extra layer of protection if you are using it around children and pets.

However, these sensors are, well, sensitive. So I ended up turning them off to be able to cut the grass closer to the walls in my yard. I like that I was able to alter the sensitivity of the sensors as since I have a smaller yard, I could cover more ground.

There’s also a bumper on the front of the mower with crash detection. When I bumped into a bush in my front yard, the mower immediately shut off. This wasn’t a hard crash by any means, but it demonstrated how effective and sensitive these safety features are.

Mowrator S1 2WD review: Performance

I tested the Mowrator S1 2WD on one of the hottest days of the year here in the U.K. — this was the ideal day for it since I could take a step back and let the Mowrator do the work for me.

The mower repeatedly got stuck on one patch of grass in my yard. This wasn't a mound or a divot, so I’m not sure what stumped the mower here, but I didn’t have a problem anywhere else.

Other than that, it cut the grass well. I used it on the lowest cut setting and the blades chopped up the grass with ease, along with picking up any leaves or tree bark from the flower beds that had become strewn on the grass. The leaves are left behind by the Navimow I110N Robot Lawn Mower, so if you have a lot of trees in your backyard, the Mowrator is the better choice.

Some areas of grass in my yard are on steep slopes, so the 45º climbing capabilities of the Mowrator came in handy.

When emptying the mower, the grass bag was easy to detach and carry. This made getting rid of the grass cuttings a breeze, and since the bag is so big, I only had to empty it once. The grass bag easily snaps back into place, too, with the help of some magnets.

My backyard has a few levels of grass, so I needed to carry the mower up some stairs, but as I mentioned, it is very heavy and I couldn’t do this alone. Luckily, my dad gave me a helping hand.

As I mentioned earlier, the crash detection on the mower is very sensitive. This is obviously a good thing, as any little tap was picked up, and the mower stopped. But it was quite frustrating when I scuffed a bush and the mower shut off. This gets annoying when you are trying to get as close to the edge of the lawn as possible. Luckily this can be disabled.

The back wheels have a tendency to scuff up the lawn on sharp turns. It didn’t happen with every single turn, but enough that I noticed it. There’s not much that can be done to mitigate this, but when I used the mower on slower speed settings, it happened less often.

Mowrator S1 2WD review: Battery life

The battery life of the Mowrator S1 2WD was more than enough to take care of my whole yard (around 2000 square feet), which took about an hour.

The 18Ah version of the mower can run for up to 2.25 hours. If your lawn is bigger than mine, you won’t be held up for too long, as charging the battery for 180 minutes sets you up for another full charge. You’ll just have to hope the weather doesn’t turn especially bad while you wait. The 12Ah battery model can run for up to 1.5 hours and takes about two hours to charge fully.

The mower is fully electric, so there’s no need to worry about filling up with fuel. The mower also comes with a charging converter that is easy to set up and plug into the battery.

I love that the mower is completely cordless. On my usual mower, the cord gets tangled easily as I turn corners, and the Mowrator completely eliminates that issue.

Mowrator S1 2WD review: Verdict

The Mowrator S1 2WD is the answer for any lazy gardeners. If, like me, you dread the thought of dragging a lawnmower back and forth in the blistering heat but you don’t want to sacrifice too much control over your mowing (as you might with a robot mower), the S1 is the answer to your prayers.

The setup is incredibly straightforward, with only a few pieces to build yourself, and the controller connects to the mower with immediate ease. The settings are fully customizable with the control, so I was able to use the mower in a way that worked best for my lawn. It cuts well and takes care of any loose leaves on the grass, too. Since it can climb to an angle of 45º, it made dealing with the grassy banks in my home easy.

It’s on the heavy side, and I would recommend having an extra pair of hands with you when moving it around or navigating steps. It’s also on the expensive side at nearly $4,000, but it makes life so much easier and removes so much unnecessary strain from landscaping that I think it’s worth the money. This mower is a game-changer for anyone with a larger backyard.