RWD. No elec. start. Toro/Lawn-Boy, probably LB 10685.

RWD is the best. If starting is an issuse, look at Honda's. Mine is over 20 years old, and it's still a breeze to start. Electric start just adds things that can break.

Most members of this board will tell you that rear wheel drive is best. It probably does provide the most effortless locomotion, especially if you are bagging and the bag begins to get heavy.

I have never had a rear driver; it always seemed to me that you would constantly be having to disengage to maneuver and back up. I always had a front wheel drive and they have served me well for many years. (I'll be 71 this year.) I would describe front wheel drive as being similar to power steering on a car. It definitely makes it easier, but sometimes a little push is needed.

You can usually get rear wheel drive for about $30 more on a similar mower. Electric start can be had for $50 to $75 more. As I mentioned above, I am an old guy with some arthritis in my shoulders, but I can still start my mower, which has the HONDA GCV 160 OHC engine, with relative ease, and it is 8 years old this year. I have an engine hour meter on it, and I use it between 60 and 65 hours a year. If I require a new mower in a few years, I might consider an electric start when I am 75+.

'I have never had a rear driver; it always seemed to me that you would constantly be having to disengage to maneuver and back up.'

This is the standard question that people have who have never used a RWD. Particularly with the Toro/Lawn-Boy 'Personal Pace/Sens-a-Speed', there is no special manipulation required for backing up or pivoting - when you stop walking, the drive disengages, making the mower ready to pull back. To pivot, you just pivot on the rear wheels as usual. With a bail-controlled drive, like Lawn-Boy 'Variable Speed', you just let go of the bail, and the mower instantly becomes a push mower for backing up or pivoting.
The reason we generally do not recommend FWD is, unlike FWD on an automobile, FWD on a mower is next to useless. When you really need the drive, the weight is usually on the rear wheels (going uphill, heavy grass bag, etc.). On FWD the front wheels constantly slip, wearing out the tires. Even xlindax admits it has to be pushed. The only reason makers like Toro even produce it is it's cheap. It also wears out much faster than RWD.

Honda engines tend to be easy starters.
If you get an mower with a BBC (blade brake clutch), you can leave the engine running while you dump the bag, avoiding another start (repeat each time you dump the bag).

I paid $500 for my Honda back in 89. All its' needed are 3-4? spark plugs and oil changes. It seemed expensive then, but in the long run...

You said your lawn isn't big enough for a rider. If it's still on the "large" side, you want a better quality mower than if you have just a tiny patch.

Rear wheel drive is the only way to go for reasons stated above by saxman. The Personal Pace (TORO) and Sens-a-Speed (Lawnboy) are extremely useful and easy to use. I would forgo the electric start, it will invariably be the first thing to cause problems on your mower (the starter, the battery, or connections).

I have had the Toro 20017 for five seasons on ~.5 acres with no problems and just routine maintenance.

In terms of bang for the buck - the $350ish Toro and Lawnboy RWD mowers are your best bet.

If you are willing to spend a little more for a premium mower, than Snapper, Toro, Lawnboy, Ariens, Honda and John Deere all make mowers that are worth owning.

I have a Toro Super Recycler and would recommend it as a good mix of feature/function for the price (Toro now calls these SR4s) - especially if you mulch.

Happy shopping!!

Jim

Thanks, Saxman, for the best explanation of rear wheel drive mowers I ever read. Makes me want to try one, after all these years. If I ever have to get another mower, I will definitely try one of those; probably a Toro or LawnBoy.

THANKS for all the good information! I am going shopping this weekend armed with this information....going to try to crank the pull type and see if I have to say ugly words to do it..hahaha....
Thanks again!

I wanted to echo the comments here. I just bought the Lawn-boy 10685 last summer and I'm a huge fan. It's really easy to use, and the RWD helps it get up and down the hills. It's a great deal, especially if you can get a discount with rebates or anything.

Two things help make engines easy-starting; a large starting pulley and an enrichment system (choke/primer). Most all lawn mower engines now have these features. The large pulley reduces the starting pull effort (but also reduces the resulting number of revolutions) while the enrichment system insures a fire on the first 'wet' compression stroke to compensate for the reduced number or cycles of the starting pull (everything in engineering is a compromise). The Tecumseh (primer) and Honda (manual or automatic choke) starting systems are particularly effective. I haven't owned a new Briggs & Stratton in many years so I can't comment, but I would guess they 'get it' too.

I have a new Briggs Quantum 6.5 hp. It has the primer system on it. You push it three or four times when it's cold and it starts on the first pull. My dad has a Techumseh on a leaf sucker-upper cart ad it has the primer also. Prime it and it will start the first pull no matter how slow you pull the rope. I was quite impressed by that. Maybe it's due to the large fn blade acting as a flywheel, but it has to be about the easiest starting engine I've seen.