8 Best Zero-Turn Lawn Mowers Under $4,000

by Gabrielle DeSantis

If you’ve got a lot of lawn maintenance but don’t need quite as much cutting power as a tractor, a zero-turn lawn mower is probably your best bet. But unfortunately, these nimble, versatile machines aren’t cheap. The good news is you can find a zero-turn riding mower you’ll love for less than $4,000 if you know where to look. We’ve rounded up several of the best. 

Advantages of zero-turn lawn mowers

A tractor has a mid-mounted cutting deck, making it harder to turn and maneuver into small spaces, The Spruce reports. On the other hand, the cutting deck on a zero-turn lawn mower is mounted in the front. It also has four wheels — two in the back and two up front that swivel. Each drive wheel is controlled individually, so when only one wheel is engaged, the mower can pivot on the spot. 

This zero turning radius makes these mowers easy to navigate around obstacles, but most models don’t handle bumpy conditions well. They’re not great on wet grass, and the wheels’ movement can tear up turf if you’re not careful.

With that in mind, if the faster, more maneuverable style of a zero-turn mower is what you want, here are some great options to consider.

Top zero-turn lawn mowers under $4,000

With input from Lawn Care Guides and Bob Vila, we’ve compiled eight of the best zero-turn lawn mowers you can get for less than $4,000.

Best choices for smaller yards

Cub Cadet Ultima ZT1 V-Twin Gas Zero Turn Mower

With a 50-inch cutting deck and a 3.5-gallon gas tank, this machine works quickly and sticks with the job until done. It’s a great choice for lawns measuring two to five acres. 

Poulan Pro P46ZX 22 HP Cutting Deck Zero Turn Radius Riding Mower

Slightly smaller than the above Cub Cadet, this Poulan Pro has a 46-inch cutting deck. It also offers six cutting heights.

Husqvarna Z254 54-Inch Zero Turn Riding Mower

Made by a trusted name in outdoor power tools, this Husqvarna mower has a 54-inch cutting deck and an anti-scalp roller to prevent you from cutting the grass too close.

Best choices for large yards

Ariens IKON-X 52 inch 23 HP Riding Mower

This versatile Ariens model has attachments for mulching, spreading, dethatching, aerating, and more. It also features a 52-inch deck with 13 cutting positions.

Toro TimeCutter IronForged Zero-Turn Riding Mower

The TimeCutter is a reliable zero-turn lawn mower with a 50-inch cutting deck and three adjustable stainless-steel blades. Its three-gallon gas tank will keep you on the job longer without refueling. 

Best for hilly terrain

John Deere Z375R Gas Dual Zero Turn Riding Mower

Zero-turn mowers struggle to navigate uneven ground. But this rugged option has pneumatic tires with deep treads to grab the ground securely. With a 54-inch cutting deck, this John Deere is a great choice for rugged yards over four acres.

Husqvarna MZ48 23 HP 

With a heavy front end and sturdy tires, the Husqvarna MZ48 23 HP has added stability to climb hills. And the 23-hp engine can handle inclines without protest. 

Best electric mower

RYOBI Battery Electric Riding Zero Turn Mower

If you want to cut emissions while cutting the grass, the RYOBI Battery Electric Riding Zero Turn Mower can cover three acres on a single charge. It uses a standard 120-Volt outlet and can even charge your phone while you mow. It’s not great on hills, though.

Overall, if you’re in the market for a zero-turn mower, don’t let the cost hold you back. You can find plenty of options for under $4,000. With the right one, your mower and your yard could be the envy of the neighborhood.  

RELATED: Lawn Mower Maintenance Tips to Avoid Breakdowns

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The 2022 Toyota Tundra Takes Shot at the 2021 Ford F-150 With This New Feature

by Gabrielle DeSantis

The pickup truck waters have never been this hotly contested, maybe ever. The 2022 Toyota Tundra refresh has most truck makers with any sense rattled. It is finally getting a much-needed update. The 2022 Toyota Tundra has one small feature that seems to be pulled straight from the 2021 Ford F-150 design, and it is probably a smart play by Toyota. 

The 2022 Toyota Tundra | Toyota

Can the 2022 Toyota Tundra beat the 2021 Ford F-150? 

The 2021 Ford F-150 is piled high with killer gizmos, gadgets, and engine options. It is, without a doubt, the most useful truck platform made to date. The wide variety of engine options, tons of features and tools built-in, and the user-friendly towing add ons make it hard to deny GOAT status. 

However, the Toyota Tundra was the alpha pickup truck for a while there. Basically, from its debut in 1999 through around 2015 or so. Once new technology made other trucks more efficient and comfortable, the Tundra slowly fell from its lofty heights as the best pickup truck. Since then the Ford F-150 has made tremendous progress and taken the mantle. 

According to Ford Authority, with the 2022 Toyota finally getting a massively overdue redesign, the Tundra shows some signs that it has been watching the F-150. Just last week, Toyota released two photos of the new 2022 Toyota Tundra. One photo is of the exterior, while the other is a cropped shot of the dash.

Check out that screen!

the reworked dash of the 2022 Toyota Tundra
2022 Toyota Tundra dash | Toyota

Infotainment screens have been steadily growing for years now. However, these massive touch scenes have been a bit slower to make their way to the pickup truck segment. The 2021 Ford F-150 was one of the first pickups to implement a huge screen like this. The 2021 Ford F-150 sports a massive 12-inch screen that looks more like a tv than a dash feature. 

The standard 8-inch screen looks like a phone screen compared to the 12-inch monitor. The big verison is capable of running Ford’s SYNC 4 operating system while the 8-inch cannot. Ford Authority states that this new OS gives users the ability to split the screen and control multiple functions simultaneously, including navigation, music, and truck features.

While it is still unclear exactly how big the 2022 Toyota Tundra screen is, we can see from these newly released photos that it seems pretty huge and has the 2021 Ford F-150 split-screen feature to boot. 

Hurry up 2022 Toyota Tundra

The first clear image released of the new Toyota Tundra
2022 Toyota Tundra | Toyota

While having a similar screen size and tech is not the most exciting pickup truck feature, it does show that the 2022 Tundra came to play. The point of this truck is for Toyota to show that it can adapt and is willing to change the super outdated (albeit great) pickup truck and put up a real fight against the best-selling pickup truck of all time, the Ford F-150. 

With the added new powertrain options and what looks to be a massively updated interior, we feel like Toyota has finally shaken off the cobwebs and is ready to play. 

RELATED: The 2020 Toyota Tundra Proves It’s More American Than the Ford F-150

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Riders Share Adds One of the Fastest Growing Outdoor Activities to Its Rad Motorcycle Rental Service

by Gabrielle DeSantis

The deeper we get into our world of excess, the more people have seen the value in ridesharing and renting. The idea that you rent something for a specific purpose as opposed to buying more and more is not only a decent personal philosophy; it’s also a great business plan. The folks at Riders Share took that idea to the motorcycle rental marketplace. With the growing interest in outdoor adventures, Riders Share just added dual-sport motorcycles to their service!

Dual-sport | Drew Ruiz

Off-road motorsports are one of the fastest-growing marketplaces

Motorcycles are one of the most fun things we, as a human race, have to offer. However, they aren’t always the most practical mode of transportation. This can make it difficult for many folks to prioritize spending the money to buy and maintain one. This is doubly true for off-road-focused machines. 

Riders Share is a service that connects motorcycle owners who want to rent their motorcycles to vetted riders looking for a set of wheels. Not only is this clearly a killer idea, but it has also proven its worth by becoming the largest motorcycle sharing marketplace. The motorcycle rental service is now expanding to include one of the fastest-growing outdoor activities.

“We are really excited to be able to offer adventure and dual-sport motorcycle rentals on the platform, especially since the adventure motorcycle market is one of the fastest-growing segments in all of motorcycling,” said Guillermo Cornejo, CEO of Riders Share and avid motorcyclist. 

“There is something uniquely American about getting out on a motorcycle and exploring nature, so we are happy to help make it more attainable for users across the country.”

Riders Share goes off the grid 

Riders Share image of someone riding a dual-sport off-road
Dual-sport | Drew Ruiz

In a timely turn of events, the folks at Riders Share just announced that the peer-to-peer motorcycle rental service is now including off-road machines. The off-road segment of the motorcycle world has blown up since the onset of COIVD-19. The lockdowns and need for social distancing have pushed more and more people into the wilder places of the world. 

We have seen this trend with camper vans, boats, and off-highway vehicles (OHV) like ATVs, dirt bikes, and dual-sport motorcycles. The addition of dual-sport motorcycles to the Riders Share services is a strong move given this ballooning interest in off-road adventure motoring. 

How is Riders Share different than other rental programs?

Like Airbnb or Turo, Riders Share gives its customers more than just a bike to rent. Because of the peer-to-peer aspect, the selection of motorcycles is far more exciting than an average rental joint. Secondly, because the bikes are owned by individuals, the machines themselves are carefully tended to by the owners. 

Riders Share’s selection spans the newest models from BMW, Ducati, Honda Husqvarna, Kawasaki, KTM, and Yamaha for customers to choose from. The motorcycles can be rented on a one-off basis from the site or utilizing the “Rider Pass” subscription. This is an industry-leading monthly subscription for discounted rides across the motorcycle rental marketplace.

The off-road motorcycle market is full of potential 

Riders Share is wise to take advantage of the off-road motorcycle rental potential in America. This country has more than 985 million acres of public and nearly 500,000 miles of public trails across the United States. Many riders are working hard to spread off-road riding curtsies, awareness, and conservation tactics. However, there is still a lot of work to be done to maintain these wild places. 

If we continue to push people into these wonderful and wild places, maybe more people will see how special the wilderness is, and we can work harder together to better maintain and honor our beautiful trails. 

RELATED: The Honda XR650L vs. Kawasaki KLR 650 – Let’s Put the “Duel” in Dual-Sport

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The 2022 Audi S7 is the A7s Faster, Stronger Sibling

by Gabrielle DeSantis

If you have somewhere between $69,000 and $95,000 to spend on a midsize luxury sedan, you may be considering the 2022 Audi A7 or S7. They’re very similar cars, only they’re not. The Audi S7 is just like its younger counterpart, the A7, only faster and stronger. 

Audi A7 | Audi

The Audi A7 and S7 look almost the same

Both the Audi A7 and Audi S7 sedans look almost identical to one another. There are some subtle differences, like the exhaust, but they’re virtually the same (looking) car. However, if you pay attention to the S7 badge on the grill of the car, you’ll notice a little bit of red. From a distance, this is one way to know that you aren’t just looking at any old A7. 

Both the 2022 Audi A7 and S7 were just announced, and there’s some information about each available. For starters, the Audi A7 will start at about $69,200. The Audi S7 will start at $84,700.

Both the 2022 Audi A7 and 2022 Audi S7 will be all wheel drive. In Audis, this is known as quattro. The 2022 Audi A7 will come with two possible setups. The standard setup will be a 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 engine. It will be capable of 355 horsepower. 

Then there’s the A7 hybrid, which is similar to its standard counterpart. The hybrid will have a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine capable of 369 horsepower. 

The 2022 Audi S7 will unsurprisingly be even more powerful than either of them. It will have an eight-speed, 2.9-liter V6 engine capable of an astonishing 444 horsepower. There’s also an RS7 which puts both the A7 and S7 to shame (and costs $115,000), but that’s a story for another day. 

Is there a difference in the gas mileage between the A7 and S7?

Audi S7 | Audi

It’s not shocking to learn that the 2022 Audi A7 is expected to get better gas mileage than its more powerful sibling. The 2022 Audi A7 gets 22 city and 29 highway miles per gallon, while the S7 gets 18 city and 28 highway miles per gallon. The hybrid version of the A7 gets the best gas mileage of all, at 68 miles per gallon when the gas and reserve electric miles are combined. Not bad for a car capable of 355 horsepower!

The insides are similar, and storage space is the same. This is to be expected, of course, since they are basically the same car. They both have panoramic sunroofs, heated front seats, and WiFi. 

The A7 and S7 come with a 12.3” driver information screen. They both also come with dual-screen infotainment systems with a 10.1 inch screen on top, and an 8.6 inch screen on the bottom. Car and Driver called the screens and infotainment system “easy to operate” and said they have “crisp graphics.”

What are safety features like in the Audi A7 and S7?

A dark green Audi A7 parked along a curb.
Audi A7 | Audi

Both the 2022 Audi A7 and S7 get rear airbags standard. However, advanced safety features are not necessarily standard in the Audi you may buy. For example, to get adaptive cruise control in the A7, you’d need to spring for the Premium Plus trim. As more automakers are recognizing the huge advantages of making safety systems standard in cars, making this one optional is a bit of a surprise. 

Overall, if you’re just looking for a beautiful midsize luxury sedan, the 2022 Audi A7 seems like a great choice. If, however, you want to know that your car could go a few seconds faster in the event that a giant asteroid is about to hit earth and your car is the only thing standing between life and death, then you should choose the S7. 

RELATED: The 2021 Audi Q7 Is Almost Perfect

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