What types of garden tractors can you choose for your lawn?

Do you have a fairly large or very large garden? A plot of land kept as a lawn in the countryside, where you might grow fruit trees? From the lawn around your home to an agricultural field, the common need—albeit with different frequencies and purposes—is to mow the grass. For any grassy area of a certain size, a garden tractor—which you operate while seated—becomes an essential tool for mowing with less effort and saving time. Drawing from our catalog, we’ll show you how to find the best garden tractor for your needs: not just for lawn care, but also for clearing tall grass and other tough vegetation.

How to choose the garden tractor that’s right for you

The Oleo-Mac catalog offers a complete and updated range of garden tractors, including ride-on, rear-discharge, side-discharge, zero-turn, and all-terrain models. Let’s start with the key criteria to consider when choosing the right garden tractor for you:

• Area to be mowed: size and other features.

• Type of work: routine maintenance or clearing.

• Mowing frequency: regular or occasional.

• Finish level: precise, quick, or designed to nourish the grass.

• Versatility: the ability to use the garden tractor for tasks other than mowing.

The larger the lawn, the wider the garden tractor’s cutting width needs to be. The size of the area to be mowed determines the diameter of the cutting deck—where the blades rotate—and, consequently, the engine power. A wider cutting deck speeds up the work, but requires a larger garden tractor, and therefore one equipped with a more powerful engine. This affects the tractor’s maneuverability, its ability to operate in confined spaces, and how easily it can navigate around plants, flower beds, and the like. Oleo-Mac garden tractors offer a variety of solutions, suitable for small and medium-sized areas (up to 4,000 sqm) and large or very large areas (up to 14,000 sqm), with cutting widths ranging from 72 to 125 cm.

There’s a big difference between mowing an open lawn and one full of “obstacles”—trees, bushes, flower beds, edging, protruding manholes, fixed garden furniture, etc.—as well as between mowing a flat surface and an uneven or sloped area. If you have a garden full of plants, you’ll need a compact and agile garden tractor, such as a ride-on, to maneuver around them with precision. For “complex” but very large areas, you can instead go for a zero-turn mower. If, on the other hand, you need to mow an uneven or steep lawn, you’ll need a rugged machine—perhaps one with four-wheel drive—that offers excellent traction and safety features: in other words, a professional all-terrain garden tractor.

For a lawn that needs regular and frequent mowing—such as a garden—a rear-discharge garden tractor with a grass catcher, or a garden tractor with a mulching system is the best solution. With mulching, the grass isn’t collected but is chopped up and left in place, where it decomposes and fertilizes the soil. If your lawn only needs a quick or occasional mowing—just when the grass is tall—a side-discharge garden tractor is fine; alternatively, a rear-discharge garden tractor without a grass catcher will do. Do you need to cut dense, tough vegetation instead of grass? That’s what all-terrain garden tractors are made for.

Our compact garden tractors are equipped with single-cylinder or twin-cylinder engines: the latter are ideal for large areas, steep terrain, and tough vegetation. The transmission is typically a pedal-operated hydrostatic system: it moves forward smoothly, making for easy and comfortable handling (especially in areas with many obstacles where it’s best to keep both hands on the steering wheel). We have equipped the new OM 86 R/12.5 K M (rear discharge) and OM 86 L/12.5 K M (side discharge) models with a manual transmission, designed for those who prefer a compact garden tractor that is both powerful and straightforward.

Thanks to the mulching kits and standard or optional grass discharge deflectors—available among the accessories—you can convert Oleo-Mac garden tractors to mulching and side/rear discharge modes. What’s more, a garden tractor isn’t just for mowing the lawn: with the right accessories, you can use it to tow loads (such as gardening and farming supplies, branches to be disposed of, and so on), to compact the soil, and to clear snow from the driveway.

Which is the best garden tractor?

Now let’s summarize, by type, the features and benefits of the different types of garden tractors. For each one, we’ll also suggest when to choose it and when it’s better to go for a different type of garden tractor.

Ride-on mowers

• Features and benefits: unlike traditional garden tractors, the ride-on has a rear-mounted engine. They are compact and easy to handle, with a tight turning radius. Since they lack the front end found on traditional garden tractors, they offer excellent forward visibility.

• Oleo-Mac selection: MISTRAL 72/12.5 K H and MISTRAL 72/13 H models with a cutting width of 72 cm, for small to medium-sized areas (up to 4,000 sqm). The second model comes standard with 4 cutting systems in a single garden tractor: collection, rear discharge, side discharge, and mulching.

• When to choose them: ride-on mowers are perfect for precise cutting and maneuvering around plants and flower beds, as well as in tight spaces.

• When not to choose them: for large areas and steep slopes (maximum 17%). If you have a very large, even complex lawn, and want maximum maneuverability, we recommend a zero-turn mower. On rough terrain, however, a specialized mower is preferable, such as the Oleo-Mac all-terrain garden tractors.

Rear-discharge garden tractors

• Features and benefits: they collect the cut grass in a dedicated grass catcher. The larger the grass catcher, the less often you have to stop to empty it—a task you can further simplify with an accessory like the electric discharge kit.

• Oleo-Mac selection: numerous models with cutting widths ranging from 86 to 125 cm, equipped with single- or twin-cylinder engines, suitable for areas up to 4,000-9,000 sqm, such as the OM 86 R/12.5 K M, OM 92 R/16 K, OM 105/16 K which we recommend for home users, and the OM 106/24 K H, OM 124/24 K H, OM 125/22 V for professionals. These are versatile garden tractors because, thanks to their dedicated accessories, you can use them with different cutting systems: rear discharge, which ejects the clippings onto the ground for a quick cut, and mulching.

• When to choose them: rear-discharge garden tractors are the best choice if you want a clean, tidy lawn without clumps of grass.

• When not to choose them: if collecting the clippings isn’t a priority, in which case a side-discharge garden tractor is more convenient.

Side-discharge garden tractors

• Features and benefits: they discharge cut grass to the side, operating continuously (without interruptions to empty the grass catcher).

• Oleo-Mac selection: various models—such as the OM 86 L/12.5 K M and the OM 109 L/19 K V —with cutting widths ranging from 86 to 108 cm, featuring single- or twin-cylinder engines, for areas up to 4,000-8,000 sqm. You can also use them with the mulching system.

• When to choose them: side-discharge garden tractors are ideal for medium to large lawns that you don’t mow often, where you want to get the job done quickly and don’t need a perfectly manicured finish.

• When not to choose them: if you want a flawless finish—like an English lawn—we recommend a rear-discharge garden tractor equipped with a grass catcher.

Zero-turn mowers

• Features and benefits: they have a rear-mounted engine and are controlled using 2 levers that let you adjust the speed and change direction, turning or spinning 360° in place. They also offer excellent forward visibility.

• Oleo-Mac selection: ZT 108/19 K V and ZT 117/24 K V models, with cutting widths of 108 and 117 cm and a twin-cylinder engine, designed for very large areas (up to 14,000 sqm), even on slopes (up to 32%). You can use them with side discharge or mulching.

• When to choose them: zero-turn mowers are perfect for large gardens with many obstacles if you want a uniform cut, working smoothly and quickly without wasting time maneuvering to reverse.

• When not to choose them: if you prefer to drive the garden tractor like a car, with a steering wheel and pedals, though driving with the 2 levers is very intuitive and easy to learn.

Professional all-terrain garden tractors

• Features and benefits: these models are designed to cut through the toughest vegetation (brush, brambles, shrubs, undergrowth, reeds, etc.) and to operate on difficult terrain.

• Oleo-Mac selection: the compact APACHE 85 2WD model and the APACHE 92 PRO 2WD, APACHE 92 PRO 4WD, CHEYENNE 92 4x4 and CHEYENNE 110 4x4 models. These are professional garden tractors with cutting widths ranging from 85 to 110 cm and a twin-cylinder engine, designed for very large areas (up to 7,000-10,000 sqm). They are equipped with blades featuring floating blades or, in the case of the CHEYENNE 110 4x4 model, with 3 rotors and 6 mulching blades. You can use them even on very steep slopes (up to a 40% gradient), and thanks to the self-locking differential, they provide excellent traction on any terrain. CHEYENNE models come standard with roll bars and seat belts.

• When to choose them: all-terrain garden tractors are right for you if you’re a landscaping professional or if you need to cut overgrown areas and dense vegetation on uneven, sloped terrain where you don’t need to collect the grass.

• When not to choose them: if you don’t have specific needs regarding vegetation or work environment, and can handle everything with a standard garden tractor (rear- or side-discharge) or a zero-turn mower.

Sometimes, instead of a garden tractor, a grass trimmer or a brushcutter might be a better choice: here’s a comparison of the 3. Finally, here are some articles dedicated to garden tractors:

• Let’s clear up a common question: can you drive a garden tractor on the road?

• Using a garden tractor in the vineyard, even in combination with a brushcutter.

• Guidelines for cleaning and checking garden tractors.