When I was driving through the beautiful Pennsylvania countryside in the summer, I noticed that a lot of local landscaping companies were trimming yards to make them look great. The brand name I see most often on their machines is Toro. It goes without saying that Toro makes many great professional and consumer grade lawn mowers that business owners and homeowners trust. Pro Tool Reviews decided to take in some Toro self-propelled lawn mower reviews to test the line.
We introduced the Toro 22″ Personal Pace Recycler Lawnmower (20332) and the All Wheel Drive Model 20353. These two lawnmowers have the same features except for the self-propelled drive system.
Toro Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Under the Hood
The Toro 22” Personal Pace Recycler line brings some innovative features to Toro's line of self-propelled lawn mowers. These mowers feature a 163cc Briggs & Stratton engine with 7.25 foot-pounds of torque. This makes them an excellent choice for small to medium yards Choice. With the all-wheel-drive self-propelled system, moderately sloped sites are a breeze. The 22" deck also reduces the number of passes needed to effectively cover as much area as possible before moving to the riding mower .
Guaranteed to start?
As the name suggests, the promise of a "guaranteed start" has actually proven to be accurate. Toro's ReadyStart is an automatic choke feature, which means you don't have to start or choke the engine. The Briggs & Stratton EXi 163cc started without issue after a pull or two. In fact, the most times I 've ever had to pull it is twice, and 95% of the time it starts on the first pull.
Toro also put the kickstart handle in a comfortable position that I found easy to use.
Personal Pace First Impressions
A few years ago, when shopping for a new walk-behind lawn mower, I had to choose between a standard lawn mower and a self-propelled lawn mower. My biggest concerns are weight, fuel consumption and ease of maintenance. In the end, I chose self-propelled without hesitation.
On all-wheel-drive models, Toro's Personal Pace feature gives you three basic operating options. You can do it entirely manually, with fully automatic self-propelled handles that move forward as you go, or with a traction assist handle that gives you control over the amount of assistance you need.
I admit the fully automatic handle takes some getting used to since it's not a static lever. When you apply pressure to the handle, it moves forward – giving you more or less assistance depending on how hard you press it. At first, it feels like mowing the lawn with a bungee cord, as the grip handle keeps moving back and forth as you walk.
traction assist handle
After getting used to it, Personal Pace became very intuitive and the mower became an extension of my body. I find myself using the traction assist handle in the center of the mountain handle. To control how much help you need, you have to place the mower in the center of the bar — kind of awkward. I understand why they had to put the handle in the center, but I'd like to see something on the sides for a more natural push position.
-
all drive model -
standard personal pace
I like to mulch with my mower because I don't want to have to deal with emptying the bag. However, some people prefer to mow only with bags—especially those with lots of foliage. Toro includes a quick-change lever to easily switch back and forth between reclamation mode (covering grass with Toro's Atomic blade lift system) or bagging mode. Even better, you can switch while the mower is running.
Bagging and Cleaning
You can't write an adequate review of a Toro self-propelled lawn mower without checking out how it's packaged. In some parts of the country – it's a big deal. In bag-on-demand mode, I've noticed that it sometimes won't throw clippings into the back of the bag — causing it to jam. When this happened, I had to empty the bag more often. The bag is very easy to put on and take off as it rests on a sturdy two-point hinge system.
Toro couldn't resist opening the bag a little more. When dumping newspaper clippings, there were several times when I had to reach in and empty them – even with hay. Also, a few times, after dumping the bag, it left a trail of clippings once I started mowing again.
Adjusting the Height of Cut on Toro Mowers
Available cutting heights range from 1" to 4" with seven/half steps in between. Each wheel is independently adjustable, and pros seem to prefer the stiffness of the single-lever system. Another benefit is increased durability since you have fewer moving parts to break.
Use the flush port for cleaning
Like many lawn mowers, the Toro 22” Personal Pace Recycler has a flush port for connecting a hose to clean the blades and deck. Hold the plastic nut firmly as you thread it onto the hose .
While it does make the deck easier to clean, it doesn't solve every problem. We recommend (and appreciate) those who cannot lift the mower and turn it off manually. Putting the mower on its side and spraying downwards is still fine if you can. For me, the wetness of the cut determines whether I use the quick wash coupler or angle it to spray it.
Toro 20353 Lawn Mower All Wheel Drive Features
My favorite feature on the Toro 20353 mower is the all-wheel-drive traction assist system. The Toro 20332 Personal Pace mower uses the rear wheels only. You will start to lose traction when mowing on uneven surfaces, especially if you are mowing on a steep slope. With all-wheel drive, the front and rear wheels have nice aggressive tread and spin independently. This gives you the best traction when mowing on slopes.
The Toro 20353 AWD mower definitely outperforms the standard Personal Pace in this regard. Top speeds on these mowers feel similar — about 4.8 mph. I found this to be more than enough for fast-paced mowing.
Briggs & Stratton 7.25 ft lbs 163cc engine
The Briggs and Stratton 163cc engine is a beast! I travel a lot for work and often return to an unruly yard after being away for a week or two. Best-in-class cutting power makes "getting caught" a breeze.
Even the non-AWD Personal Pace models perform well. 7.25 ft-lbs of total torque at 2600 RPM is manifested when pushing the Personal Pace handle down onto the thick St. Augustine lawn. The model's power is combined with rear-wheel drive for a potent combination. The mower simply doesn't stand still. Instead, it hums all the time—even when carrying an increasingly heavy bagger.
Even when mowing tall, wet grass, I didn't feel any hesitation from the engine. It takes about an hour to mow half an acre of St. Augustine.
Plus, the engine runs smoothly and sounds remarkably quiet. While mowing the lawn, I can talk to my dad from 10 feet away. While we always recommend hearing protection, the output of this mower allows for hours of use without violating OSHA standards. Since I'm a musician and sometimes sing while mowing, I've found that the engine's pitch runs at F#/Gb (just in case you happen to write a good song while mowing!)
Toro 22″ Personal Pace AWD Mower Specifications
- Model: 20353M
- 7.25 ft-lb gross torque Briggs & Stratton EXi 163cc w/ReadyStart
- Personal Pace all-wheel drive self-propelled system
- 3-year starting guarantee on Briggs & Stratton engines
- Simple mulch or bagging setup
- Weight: 78 lbs.
- 2 Years Comprehensive Warranty
- Price: $399
Toro 22″ Personal Pace Mower Specifications
- Model: 20332
- 7.25 ft-lb gross torque Briggs & Stratton EXi 163cc w/ReadyStart
- Personal Pace RWD self-propulsion system
- 3-year starting guarantee on Briggs & Stratton engines
- Simple mulch or bagging setup
- Weight: 78 lbs.
- 2 Years Comprehensive Warranty
- Price: $369
in conclusion
Once you get used to the Personal Pace feature, this mower works very intuitively and has enough power to handle even thick St. Augustine grass (crabs for northerners!). Bagging may improve and you may find the flush port of limited use. The foldable nature of this mower makes it easy to store, but if you need to get it in and out of the truck bed, you'll definitely need help.
Toro keeps all serviceable parts within easy reach – and I like that. Whether your lawn needs a short mow or a serious mow, these Toro lawnmowers seem to be up to the challenge. If you have lots of slopes, go for an AWD model—otherwise, any of Toro's self-propelled lawn mowers should give you a professional-looking yard.