I tested EGO's self-propelled lawnmower and it's a game changer for low-effort grass cutting

Our EGO LM1702E-SP 42cm Self-Propelled Lawnmower review puts the brand's most compact self-propelled cordless lawn mower to the test to see if it can make short work of keeping on top of grass cutting.

The EGO LM1702E-SP is a cordless battery-powered mower that offers a 42cm cutting blade perfect for lawn maintenance in smaller spaces and medium sized gardens. It comes equipped with a 55L collection bag and is powered by a 4.0Ah battery. It also folds for compact storage in the shed or garage when it's not in use.

Plus, it's self-propelled which means it can make tackling sloping or undulating lawns far less energy-intensive.

I tested this lawn mower in a small 60sqm garden, assessing ease of assembly, grass cutting performance, grass collection, ease of use, battery power and storage to see how it compared to the best lawn mowers the Ideal Home team has reviewed.

EGO LM1702E-SP 42cm Self-Propelled Lawnmower review

Specifications

• Suitable for: Small to medium lawns
• Power: Cordless (battery-operated)
• Propulsion type: Self-propelled
• Variable speed: Yes
• Cutting options: Cut, collect, mulch, rear discharge
• Deck material: Poly
• Weight: 24kg
• Dimensions: H96 x W48 x D153cm
• Cutting width: 42cm
• Cutting height: 20mm to 80mm
• Battery: 1 x 4.0Ah
• Battery life: up to 300sqm on a single charge
• Grass collection: 55L
• Noise decibels: 78-95dB
• Folding: Yes

How I tested

Amy Lockwood

I'm Amy, one of the Ideal Home team's Ecommerce Editors. My job involves putting all manner of products through their paces to find the best recommendations for our readers, in this case the EGO LM1702E-SP 42cm Self-Propelled Lawnmower. I tested this self-propelled lawnmower over the course of a few months on a small and fairly flat 60sqm lawn to see if it could help to keep on top of fast-growing grass with less effort.

Getting started

The EGO LM1702E-SP 42cm Self-Propelled Lawnmower arrives pretty much pre-assembled which is a real bonus as it means there's no messing around with nuts and bolts before you can start mowing.

Once unboxed you'll just need to build the grass collector box, which was a little fiddly to do and did take some time, but at least it's a job you'll only need to do once.

Beyond that, you simply need to put the single 4.0Ah battery on to charge.

It's perhaps worth pointing out that this lawnmower isn't always sold with the battery included as standard. That's because the 56V ARC Lithium™ battery is interchangeable across several EGO tools, so if you already own the rechargeable battery, you only need to buy the LM1700E-SP (which represents the lawnmower alone). If you don't then you need to make sure you're purchasing the LM1702E-SP which EGO describes as a 'kit' and means the battery is included. You can also purchase the battery separately.

Once on charge, the 4.0Ah battery has a handy segmented display which illuminates section by section to show you how much charge the battery currently holds. The charger also features a built-in fan to keep the battery cool whilst charging.

Once fully charged, fitting the battery is easy enough, it just needs a good push to locate it into the battery holder on the top of the mower. There's a lime green button in the battery compartment that you pull towards you to release the battery again.

Also located within the battery compartment is the slot where you need to insert the removable safety key. Without the safety key in place, the mower is completely disabled and won't start. This is designed to prevent accidental start-up or unauthorised use and is especially useful for peace of mind for parents of young children.

Lawn mowing

Once the battery is charged, and fitted, and you're ready to start mowing, there are just some adjustments to make in order to set up the mower to suit you and the grass conditions.

Handily, all of the adjustable elements on the EGO LM1702E-SP are coloured lime green which makes it very easy to locate and adjust each setting.

First up, you need to unfold the handles using the easily identifiable lime green quick-adjust lever on the lefthand side of the mower.

You then extend the mower's telescopic handles by opening and closing the lime green clasps on both handles.

Using the quick adjust lever again you can then adjust the height of the handles through three height settings to find your most comfortable position.

You can also adjust the cutting height of the mower from 20mm to 80mm via a lime green lever at the base of the mower.

You simply pull the lever towards you to engage one of the seven height settings. Each height adjustment locates very positively and it definitely doesn't feel like the cutting height could drop whilst you're mowing as I've experienced with some cheaper and flimsier models.

All adjustments done you're then ready to start mowing.

I hadn't used a self-propelled mower before testing out a couple of models for the purpose of this review, so I was interested to see how much easier this feature would make grass cutting, and low and behold the reduction in effort began before I even got to the grass.

As long as you don't engage the blade, you can turn on the mower's self-propel mode as soon you take it out of storage. If you have a long or uphill walk from your shed or garage to your lawn (or you're kind enough to have offered to cut a neighbour's lawn) this means the lawn mower will almost propel itself to your destination. You simply need to keep your hands on the handles, walk behind it, and steer – no real pushing is required.

At first, I wasn't sure how I would feel about operating a lawn mower with a mind of its own, but I was soon sold. The driveway I was testing it on had no incline to speak of, but it was still far less effort to get the mower from the garage to the grass than if I had been pushing it solely under my own power.

Once it was on the grass, the true test of the EGO LM1702E-SP began.

To turn the blade on you press the safety button down, pull the lower bail switch upward to meet the handle, and then release the safety switch.

You can then press down and keep pressing down on one or both of the lime green self-propel buttons located on either side of the mower handle to turn the self-propel function on.

The self-propel speed control knob is the large green section in the middle of the handlebars and allows you to adjust the speed the lawnmower is moving at.

The variable speed feature is a great function as it means you can walk behind the mower at the most comfortable pace for you – from a slow dawdle up to a pretty brisk walk.

However, this is the one element of the EGO LM1702E-SP's controls that I found a little lacking and not very intuitive to use.

The speed dial rotates forwards and backwards, so you twist it away from you to go faster and towards you to slow down or turn the self-propel function off (you can also stop pressing down on the self-propel buttons to stop the self-propel mode).

The problem is that you can only see the arrows telling you which way is which when the dial is rotated fully 'on' and the lawn mower is running at top speed. And even then the labelling for which way is faster and which way is slower is a little ambiguous.

Add to this the fact that you only need to rotate the speed knob very slightly to switch up and down a speed gear and you can easily end up going faster (or slower) than you want.

I did soon get used to which way was which, but I had to re-remember every single time I took the lawn mower out to use it, so clearer labelling – ideally using numbers to show each speed setting – would certainly have helped my brain.

Those niggles aside, once I'd got the hang of holding the bail switch in, depressing one of the self-propel buttons, and then toggling my speed, the EGO LM1702E-SP was a dream to use.

The grass I was cutting wasn't on a slope or steep hill, but like most lawns, it has lumps and bumps and in self-propel mode, the LM1702E-SP glided over it effortlessly.

At roughly 60sqm, it's only a small garden, but still, pushing a 24kg lawnmower back and forth takes work, with self-propel mode turned on it really was just a walk in the park.

I did find I needed to turn the self-propel functionality off for tight turns and at the edges of borders, but for the main grassed areas cutting was far easier thanks to this nifty machine.

The EGO LM1702E-SP can be used to mulch, but – a little annoyingly considering its not inconsiderable price point – a mulching plug isn't included in the kit and instead needs to be bought separately.

Instead, I collected all of my clippings using the 55L collection box which I found did a great job. Handily, the plastic-topped grass box features a 'full-grass indicator' which is a little lime green (of course) section on the top of the grass box.

I found the grass box was pretty much full by the time we'd cut all of our small garden, so if you have a medium-sized lawn you may find yourself emptying the grass box a couple of times each mow.

As far as battery charge goes, we managed to cut the grass on our 60sqm garden around 2.5 times before the battery needed recharging.

Ease of use

In terms of performance, the EGO LM1702E-SP is very easy to use, with its self-propel functionality making cutting the grass a far easier task than with a non-self-propelled mower – and that was on our relatively flat lawn, on a sloping lawn that self-propel function would really make light work of mowing.

All in all the EGO LM1702E-SP feels very robust and well-made, and all of the adjustments and controls are easy enough to operate – with the exception of the variable speed rotator. Although I got the hang of it eventually, I do feel it could be labelled better and each speed setting more positively differentiated.

Personally, I also found the combination of holding in the bail switch, depressing the self-propel button, and then twisting the variable speed rotator to control a lot of different actions for my brain to take in at once!

For me, it was a bit like patting your head with one hand and rubbing your stomach with the other. I found the Worx WG749e Cordless Self-Propelled Lawnmower which I tested at the same time (this has a lower and upper bail switch to pull towards the handle to activate the self-propel function) easier for my brain to pick up. However, my Dad also tested both models and he preferred the controls on the EGO, so it obviously depends on which way your brain is wired!

I also found the positioning of self-propel buttons on handles meant I could sometimes catch them when pushing the mower when I didn't intend to.

However, I did love the EGO's user-friendly lime green accents that made locating each adjustable feature super easy. The grass box full indicator is also a really useful feature, and I loved being able to see at a glance how much battery charge was left through the clear perspex battery compartment.

This helps you to see how much charge you have left whilst mowing, plus by pressing one of the two green self-propel handles on the top of the handle of the mower you can check the charge left in the battery without turning the mower on. This is really handy when the mower is in storage so you can quickly see if you'll have enough juice to get the grass mown or whether you need to stick the battery on charge first.

The EGO LM1702E-SP also features some snazzy headlights which can be turned on and off manually just above the battery compartment. I'm not personally planning on cutting the grass in the dark, but I'm sure there's some scenario when this could come in useful!

The one thing I didn't enjoy as much was emptying the grass box. The positioning of the grass box handle didn't feel very ergonomic, and meant removing and relocating the grass box back onto the mower felt a little unbalanced.

Removing the grass box was made more awkward as there's a crossbar on the mower handles which means you can't pull the grass box away from the mower in one clean action. Instead, you need to use the quick adjust lever to lower the mower handles towards the deck for clear access. It's not a big issue, but it is one more step to go through.

However, that crossbar on the handles does have a plus point because it allows the mower's telescopic handles to be shortened for storage. This means that, once folded down, the height, width and depth of the mower is very compact. That's brilliant news for storage as the mower's footprint when standing vertical is very small. It also means the mower can very easily fit into a car boot.

It's just a shame there's no handle at the front to help lift the EGO LM1702E-SP into its vertical storage position, as at 24kg you do need all the help you can get to protect your back.

Verdict

A self-propelled cordless mower is always going to be more of an investment than a simple cordless mower, and the EGO LM1702E-SP is a fairly expensive self-propelled option.

However, everyone who used this mower was very impressed by its build quality and performance, as well as its super compact design that made for space-saving storage and easy manoeuvring in our small garden.

The LM1702E-SP's design is well-thought-out, the lime green colouring that marks the adjustable components is a great user-friendly touch, and its battery has some great features that mean you know exactly how much power you have left.

If you want to make mowing less of a chore and more of a pleasure, struggle to push your current mower or have a steep or undulating lawn to mow, the EGO LM1702E-SP's self-propel function is also priceless.

That said, the LM1702E-SP isn't without a few niggles. First up, not including a mulching plug as standard seems a little stingy, especially as far cheaper mowers provide one as standard.

Second, the lack of a handle on the front of the mower is a shame. The LM1702E-SP is super compact in its folded vertical storage position, but, without a front handle to grip, getting the mower into and out of its storage position isn't as easy as it should be, especially when it weighs in at 24kg.

Third, the grass collection box is a little fiddly to remove and refit, its handle isn't very ergonomically positioned, and the crossbar on the handle means you need to lift up the mower handles for the easiest removal.

And fourth, I found the variable speed dial left a little to be desired. Although I'm willing to concede perhaps my brain just operates differently!

However, all things considered, I think this is a great mower. It's compact with a space-saving vertical storage feature, easy to use, does a great job of cutting and collecting grass, and features some ingenious design features – like its easy-to-read battery levels, full-grass indicator, and headlights – that make it feel like a really robust and premium product.

If you're looking to make lawn mowing a less arduous task then its self-propel functionality is also a real boon and takes a huge amount of effort out of keeping your lawn looking stellar.