MX534SPH 53cm (21in) Petrol Rotary Lawnmower powered by a Honda GCV170 engine, 4 Drive speeds

I decided to replace my push mower with a self-propelled mower after an injury that made it difficult for me to walk/mow my large garden. Needless to say, I did a lot of research an read a lot of reviews before resting on this mower purchase. Some reviewers mentioned inferior quality which made me more reluctant mainly because I did not know the Cobra brand, but after I saw it had a Honda engine I felt much more at ease. I went on youtube then to watch "Getting Started - Cobra MX534SPH Lawn Mower - with Martin Fish" who did an outstanding job walking me through the assembly and features, and demonstrated the mower. I ordered it the next day, two days later (a day earlier than it was supposed to arrive) I had it in my possession. This mower is top quality and the one I received had ZERO faulty parts. It was very easy to assemble with minimal assembly and effort. I added the SAE30 oil which was provided in the box and some petrol, then took it out to test it on some tall grass on a steep hill in the back of my garden. The maximum height setting is great for tall grass and can be set all the way down to the lower cut settings. It started up straight away, in fact it seemed eager to start up as I barely pulled the cord and the engine was already well on it's way. The auto-choke is amazing! I uploaded a quick video to show how easy the pull is. The video vibrates some when I start because my phone hand was directly on the handlebar trying to hold the start lever, but that is deceiving as there is not a lot of vibration in the machine. The 167HP motor worked wonders on the grass, I have it set to mulch so it doesn't eject the grass but churns it and puts it back into the lawn. A perfect cut. The powerful motor also led the way up and along the hill at the speed setting I set. If you are looking for this type of mower, it's a beautiful machine. I highly recommend. You won't be disappointed!

Where I am coming from: I have owned a large, heavy, reliable 24" Honda petrol mower for 24 years, I chose this as a replacement when the Honda finally expired. So I am judging it against the old Honda. Overall, after setting it up and using once, I am very pleased. Its a powerful, well designed machine. What I like: - The price, can't really remember but I think the Honda cost nearly as much in 2000. - Honda engine inspires confidence, starts with one pull, bags of power and fast (I am still using the slowest speed). - I like the idea of (but have not yet used) the mulching option, and the option to stack grass to the side I will use if I have left the grass to grow long - very easy to raise and lower the cutting blades - good grass compactor and it holds a surprising amount. There's a useful indicator when it is full. - yes it has plastic parts but they seem strong, contrary to other reviewers comments - its as light as a feather (not really, but compared to my hefty old 2000 model its quite manoeuvrable) What's not so good: - the instructions are pretty useless (but there's that good online video that another reviewer mentioned, use that - "Getting Started - Cobra MX534SPH Lawn Mower - with Martin Fish") - the mulch plug is very hard to remove (and you need to remove it to use the grass box). The front part you use to pull it out needs squeezing VERY hard, its like a clip. - unless I'm missing something, the blades rotate whenever the engine is operating, so you need to put it on its highest setting before you try to navigate across a pebbly drive back to the garage. My old Honda had the option to disengage the blades. But raising the cutting height is easy, to be fair.

First petrol mower I've ever had. A big blade for my big lawn after the failure of the robot mower. 4 speed, 4 stroke petrol, starts first time. Am enjoying cutting the grass, total freedom from electric wires and losing my temper spending more time flinging wires than cutting the lawn. Good solid chassis with a great little novelty that's more than that, the water hose point to clean the blade, just plug in the hose on standard fittind run for 30 sec and the underside is clean. Honda engine, bigger than the step thru mopeds in Saigon in 1966. Quality at a good price. EDIT: So you're wondering why only 4 stars - I apologise, I was enjoying writing the review and forgot to include the critical element. I go mad when I see a review of something and the reviewer give 3 or 4 stars and then says "really good" or something... and here's me doing the same thing, expecting you all to have a direct link through telepathy. It's the height adjuster. There's about 5 different settings so you have the whole gamut I reckon. And again it's quality...but there's no scale. There's no way of knowing what height you're cutting at. Coupled with this I've had a few "incidents" where the handle has caught a tree or the side of the shed and knocked it back, the problem being About saving the planet - I seriously wanted to go cordless rechargeable but the expense is too prohibitive. For the lawn size £700 plus (market leader) , the mains powered standby electric mower is 2kW and it was a 3 - 4 hour job to cut the lawn so that ain't good for my leccy bill. I am surprised at my choice but happy with it. Bit of serendipity and a damned pleasurable way to spend half an hour instead of 3 sweaty hours. When we ban the infernal in 2030 I'm going to take ma mower to Cape Canaveral and tie it to the nearest rocket (when the good 'ol boys ain't watching) and do me a mini tesla man and send that mower into the Kuiper belt and beyond. EDIT: ok, So sorry, I was getting carried away with the review and never gave the critical part. So this guy has given it 4 stars but not mentioned why. Well, I get upset at folks who give a review of 3 or 4 stars then say something like “really good” or “does what it says on the tin” and now here’s me doing the same thing. Right. Reason for 4 stars is the cutting height adjuster. There is no scale to tell you at what height you’re cutting at. The mechanism is the same quality as the rest of the mower – very good in my book – but you just can’t tell whether it’s 2” or .5”. Also, if you’re trying to get as close a cut as possible to an obstruction (shed, tree) and it’s on the right hand side, the handle stands everso slightly proud and with the self propelled mode on, if caught, the torque is enough to knock it back a notch. I managed to scalp my lawn on a couple of occasions because unfortunately pushing the handle back (towards you) lowers the height. I’ve thought about tippex, or white marker pen – even masking tape but TBH there’s not a lot of area on the mechanism you can apply your mark to. I generally now take it to the top of the garden do a quick test. Also just noticed (you can see it in the photo,) I’ve lost one of the 4 handle fastners. There are three lobed M8 spinner nuts. I’m fairly sure they came with shakeproofs and I’m also fairly sure I hand tightened correctly. No worries – not like you need to remove them much (the handle doesn’t fols when storing) I’ll get some nyloks when I’m out and about. Other than that – great machine and very happy with it!