Toro Zero-Turn Mower Review: We Tried Toro’s First Electric Riding Mower and It Was Well Worth the Wait
If you know anything about zero-turn mowers, then you have likely owned or considered owning a Toro zero-turn mower. After all, Toro makes our list of the best lawn mower brands every year. A few weeks ago I tested out the all-new gas-powered Toro TimeCutter with an updated suspension system and iron forged footplate. This time, I have access to an early look at the electric version of this zero-turn mower After some extensive testing, I am finally proud to share my experience.
If you’re less familiar with types of riding lawn mowers, read up on zero-turn versus standard lawn mowers.
What is the Toro TimeCutter Zero-Turn Mower?
The 60V Max TimeCutter MyRide is Toro’s first electric zero-turn mower. It’s a massive, tough zero-turn mower that symbolizes a growing trend in the lawn care and landscaping industryswitching to electric.
Toro has had a 60V lineup for a few years but has mostly stuck to smaller residential lawn tools, like leaf blowers and string trimmers. The decision to make one of the most iconic zero-turn mowers on the planet, the Toro TimeCutter, into an electric machine is a major move.
The mower is large and powerful. One would expect an electric zero-turn to have limited capabilities since it doesn’t have the power of gas, but Toro put out a mower that can compare well to gas-powered. This mower is almost four feet wide with extreme cutting power.
One thing I’ll tell you about this mower is the level of excitement I got when the folks delivered it to my house. Seeing an all-new, innovative, massive machine get dropped off at my house felt like I just won the lottery.
And then I turned it on.
VIA MERCHANTWe Tried It
Toro 60V Max TimeCutter MyRide Zero-Turn Mower
The 60V Max is the first electric zero-turn lawn mower from the popular lawn care company Toro.
Toro TimeCutter Zero-Turn Riding Mower Features
The 60V Max Toro TimeCutter mower is loaded with many features. I’ve tested this personally, so can tell you not just the specifications, but how the mower feels and performs under various conditions. Let’s get started.
60V Max Battery System
The batteries on the 60V Max Toro TimeCutter are intense. The zero-turn mower comes with five 10 Ah batteries and one 4 Ah battery. Six batteries! That’s a lot of batteries that require charging. Also, 10 Ah batteries are some of the largest you can buy in the lawn tool industry, with most lawn tools boasting 2-4 Ah batteries. Understanding the type of battery and charge time is one of the most important considerations when buying battery-powered tools.
Despite this, Toro made it easy to access and attach the batteries. The batteries all sit in the back of the mower, where the engine would normally go. They have six placement spotsone for each batterywhere the battery can easily slide in. For this mower, the 10 Ah batteries have a handle that allows you to easily pull them out to recharge them. I love the handle system on the batteries because it does not require you to stick your fingers deep inside the machine and pry them out, as is the case with other brands.
Each battery also has a charge indicator that tells you how much life is left in each one. The 4 Ah battery that comes with this mower can easily be popped off and used with other Toro battery-powered tools, which is very convenient. I have not yet tried the 10 Ah battery with other handheld 60V Max Toro tools because they are simply heavier and probably overkill for my needs.
The battery run time on this zero-turn mower depends on the conditions you are facing in your yard. For example, taller, thick or wet grass will decrease the run time on this mower. If you are working with dry, thin grass like a lot of grasses in the Southeast, then you will certainly get more run time.
When I used the 60V Max Toro TimeCutter on my lawn, which is about half an acre, I had no problems. I then took it over to my neighbor’s yard, which is also half an acre, and mowed it with no problem. When I brought the mower back to my garage and checked the battery life, there was a sliver left in each battery. Nice!
Toro advertises a 1.3-acre coverage area for their battery run time. I think this is pretty consistent with what I experienced, although I will be curious to see how it performs in a year or two from now.
The Perfect Cutting Deck
Toro’s 42-inch cutting deck is a sight for sore eyes. When they unloaded it from the trailer to deliver it to my house, my wife gave me a, “where on Earth are we going to store this?” look. Luckily, the mower fit perfectly in an empty space in my garage.
The cutting deck comes in at 3 1/2-ft. wide means that it takes three times fewer passes on my lawn, compared to most other electric mowers. I was amazed at how this compared to my normal push mower and how wide the paths that I was mowing were. Even compared to zero-turn lawn mowers that boast a 32 to 36-inch cutting widththis was a noticeable difference.
The deck is also nearly the same IronForged deck as the gas-powered Toro TimeCutter, which is extremely solid and well-built. After all, the deck has been around for a very long time and Toro has perfected it. Toro even has bulletproof belts that operate the blades and nice wheels to support the width of the deck.
Mowing Experience
Hopping on and starting the 60V Max Toro TimeCutter was an otherworldly experience. The sound the mower makes at startup is neither particularly pleasant nor quiet, but it is much better than a gas-powered zero-turn mower.
One thing I loved about this mower is how unique of an experience it is to turn on and use. While it looks identical to a gas-powered zero-turn, it was extremely easy to get started. One of my friends came over while I was testing this mower out and I let him take it for a spin. The first thing he commented on was how he wasn’t going to smell like gas after using it. I had never considered that, but between the easy start, the remarkable speed and the cutting ability, it felt like an added bonus.
The 60V Max Toro TimeCutter also comes with a few bells and whistles. One thing I noticed immediately was a cupholder. I know it sounds petty, but if you are out in the sun and trying to mow, having a place to put a water bottle is very convenient.
Something I wish the TimeCutter had is armrests. If you have used a zero-turn mower before, you know how tired your arms can get if you have to keep them held up and pushing the controls forward. The gas-powered version of this zero-turn mower does have armrests, so I’m not sure why the electric version dropped them.
How We Tested the 60V Max Toro TimeCutter
I tested the 60V Max Toro TimeCutter the best way possiblein my own yard. I have about half of an acre of land between my front and back yards. I took this zero-turn out to my backyard and tested it around all of the expansive and curvy garden beds I have. I then took it around to my front yard and let it get some action by mulching some leaves I never got around to cleaning up. After the mower proved itself in my yard, I took the liberty of mowing my next-door neighbor’s yard as well. My neighbor also has a half-acre yard but has a slight upward slant to their lawn, which helped me test out the suspension system and traction of the wheels.
I was very impressed with how this mower handled the slight slant and even more impressed with how comfortable it was. I didn’t get tossed around by bumps, transitions from pavement to grass or going up and down hills. The maneuverability in my yard when mowing around the curvy garden beds made me feel like I was driving a Formula One car, with tight steering that was surprisingly responsive for a mower that’s as wide as some cars.
Pros
- Easy to start
- Wide cutting deck
- Battery system that can be used with multiple tools
- Little-to-no maintenance
- Durable footplate and frame
- Highly responsive steering
- Classic design with a new electric feel
Cons
- Charge time requires about four hours for all batteries
- No arm rests
FAQ
Does the Toro TimeCutter come with a floating deck?
Yes, the Toro TimeCutter has a deep floating deck that is responsive to slight bumps and hills.
What is the total width of this mower?
The 60V Max Toro TimeCutter has a total width of the mower is 45 inches, 42 inches of which mows. This is enough clearance to still fit into your garage or shed but wide enough to tackle some serious acreage efficiently.
What other experts and reviewers had to say
Sean Stebar, a product manager at Toro, touts the benefits of the 60V Max TimeCutter. He says, “This is the first battery-powered ZTR to our residential lineup of mowers. The 60V Max TimeCutter is built on the popular TimeCutter platform, and can hold its own when it comes to the power and speed of its gas-powered counterparts.”
I reached out to my lawn mowing expert colleague, Tyler at The Lawn Review, to get his thoughts. He actually came over to my house a week or two after I tested this mower out and was blown away by both the gas and electric versions of the Toro TimeCutter. His experience was similar to mine but he made a really good point about the speed. Most zero-turn mowers max out at 5 or 6 MPH. The 60V Max Toro TimeCutter clocks in at about 7 MPH. I know this does not seem like a major difference but it is a 15-20% increase in speed and is noticeable if you have used as many zero-turns as Alex and me.
Toro TimeCutter Zero-Turn Riding Mower vs John Deere Zero-Turn Riding Lawn Mower
Toro’s 60V Max TimeCutter is a first-of-its-kind zero-turn mower from the classic manufacturer. We’ve heard John Deere is releasing a zero-turn mower as well and are excited to see what features this mower will have as compared to their gas-powered editions, as well as Toro’s TimeCutter.
I imagine that John Deere will take a similar approach as Toro: Use the frame and design of their classic, trusted mowers to create an electric equivalent that rules. It will be hard for John Deere to replicate the same mowing experience and suspension system that Toro accomplished with their MyRide suspension system, but I’m excited to see what they will do to compete in this space.
Final Verdict
Would I recommend the electric Toro TimeCutter? Absolutely. This mower was so much fun to use and is an amazing step forward for the electric lawn care industry.
In particular, I recommend this zero-turn mower to homeowners with one to two acres who are looking for a reliable, quiet, low-hassle mower that is a blast to use. If you are sick of smelling like gas, fidgeting with oil changes and other yearly maintenance, and want to step up your electric game, the 60V Max Toro TimeCutter is an amazing place to start.
Where to Buy the Toro TimeCutter Zero Turn Riding Mower
VIA MERCHANTWe Tried It
Toro 60V Max TimeCutter MyRide Zero-Turn Mower
The 60V Max is the first electric zero-turn lawn mower from the popular lawn care company Toro.
Since the 60V Max TimeCutter is brand-spanking-new, it can only be purchased through the Toro website or at a local registered Toro dealer. However, it’s just a matter of time before it’ll be available to Home Depot and other home improvement retailers.
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