I have the 217HXA and love it. It is a great mower that is very powerful and blows right through high grass on those times you let it get a little long. I enjoy it so much I use it in some areas where I use my tractor. It truly is a well-refined mower.

I too looked at the snapper. The snapper is louder, vibrates more and just did not seem to be as comfortable to use.

Did you look at the Toro SR4? I liked that as well but the Honda motor gets my vote. The old side valve Toro was also much louder and not as smooth. I like the Hydro over the Personal Pace as well.

Good Luck

Didn't look at the Toro. I don't mind spending N. of 600 bucks to get a really good quality lawn mower, so I kind of discounted the Toro in favor of some upper end Hondas or Snappers (I believe you get what you pay for). I was leaning towards the Snapper b/c lots of folks say the Hondas have tranny and carb issues ... but I don't know that HRX looks like a damn fine machine to me.

I don't think you can go wrong with either one. The basic Hydro design on the Honda has not changed in 30 years. The only real difference in the drive system on the HXA and Commercial Honda is shaft vs. belt. You would be dealing with a belt on the Snapper as well. I think the few drive problems found on this site are for the Smart Drive not the Hydro found on the HXA or Commercial model.

I have the HRX217HXA and not sorry I bought it...great mower , I also looked at the Snapper but dealer wouldn't budge much on price so got the Honda from Speedway sales and was less plus no tax & free ship and that made it a much better deal for me...nothing wrong with the Snapper though.

I too have looked at these two and the price difference is nothing if you can get 10% off the Honda (Northern or other places sometimes Ace Hdw dealers). Speedway's price is higher these days than buying local and paying sales tax.
There is another thread that discusses these two from last fall ( I believe).The Kawa engine is more powerful and is commercial grade the Honda is more efficient and quieter and consumer grade but is good enough for most users. The Snapper has a better tried and true Disc drive system (IMO)and is a better bagger. I like the BBC on the Honda and the Deck material as well as the mulch lever instead of messing with a plug. As you can see I would take either one LOL. The Honda is priced at 729 before the coupon here (Nothern Tool) and the Snapper at 650 (Atlanta).

"Didn't look at the Toro. I don't mind spending N. of 600 bucks to get a really good quality lawn mower, so I kind of discounted the Toro in favor of some upper end Hondas or Snappers (I believe you get what you pay for)."

I'm curious as to how the Toro Super Recycler came up short in terms of quality.

I've got the same Honda HRC commercial mower as stinkytiger....Can't say enough good things about the mower - It mulches great & excels at bagging. It is heavy but that's actually an advantage on yards with some slope to them like mine. The only issue I've had has been needing to have the carb cleaned because it was idling rough. But, I'm pretty sure that was because I used old gas that had been sitting in a container from the fall before. Stinkytiger made a great point about using something like Sta-Bil in your gas, especially at the end of the mowing season. I've started doing that now & will continue to use the product every time I fill up the container. Hey, I'm basically a lawn nut like a lot of people on here & I can honestly say I get geeked up just thinking about going out to cut the grass with that mower!! Yeah, it's expensive but like the old adage goes, "buy quality tools & cry once....Buy cheap tools & cry every time you use them". I mean, I could care less that someone else in the neighborhood sees me cutting the grass with the HRC or that they will know what I paid for it. What matters is that I know the mower I'm using is the top of the line, period....

I am also looking at the HRX217HXA and the Toro super recycler 20093. Anyone have an opinion on this Toro. I am also interested in the HRR216VXA, but have heard many negative comment on the smart drive controller. Is the drive system/controls better than the smart drive?

Hey Cuff 46. The Smartdrive and the Hydro found on the HXA are totally different. The Smart drive does not operate like a Hydro using pressure to control ground speed.

I too compared the HXA with the SR4 and thought the Honda for a little more was worth it. So far, I have to say I love it. The Hydro is very smooth, as well as the engine. The grass got a little high on me and it mulched to the point where you can see no clippings. I also bag an area that is new sod and it picks up great. The machine is very solid and by far the most powerful self-propelled mower I have ever used. Even in very high grass the Honda does not strain at all and tears right through it. The Toro still uses the old side valve motor that is much louder and not as smooth. I also think the Versa Mow with clip director is superior. No plug for mulching and easy to change on the fly. Other nice touches are the 9-inch ball bearing wheels twin blades. I tested the SR4 and HXA side by side at the dealer and thought the Honda was a much more refined mower. Once thing I did like about the Toro is the size. It is not much lighter but it is smaller. If you have a small yard with tight spots, the Honda is a big mower. Now that I have used it several times to me that is a benefit as it really cruises and feels very substantial. However, in a couple tight areas near a fence it takes a little getting use to where the Toro may have been easier to maneuver.

The Toro is a fine mower but IMO the Honda was worth the extra $.

Time will be the real test. I know my parents still have a Honda self-propelled unit from 1978 that still works great.

Thanks for the follow up. I'll probably go ahead and get the HRX in the next week or so unless someone out there tells me any negatives about the mower. I'm not in too much of a rush, as I still have 4 feet of snow in my back yard. The Honda dealer told me it is a very popular model and will probably sell out by June.

Here's another plug for the HRX...the finest mower I've owned (and I've owned several).

Here is an HRX217HXA yard that I used to own. The top pic is after the leaves had been mulched.

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You have a nice yard !!!!

My trans went out on my HRB215sxa. It was about 16 years old. I purchased a Hrx217HXa. This is the best mulcher. I also like the feature where you can bag and mulch. No more plug for mulching.
As for the carburetor problems I have heard of- I always use stabile.

Agreed. I always treat my gas w/ Stabil before I pour it into my JD. I will do the same for this push mower (whichever one I end up w/). Its cheap/smart insurance.

I too am looking at the Honda HRX217K2HXA as well as the Toro 20093. The Honda has the Toro beat as far as features and ease of use and the engines are also great I understand. I was told by a dealer that sells both that the Toro does mulch better though and that is a priority for me.
I can't get over the price difference though, $799 for the Honda, $629 for the Toro. I currently have an 11 year old Toro Super Recycler so may just make it last for a couple more years although if I could find a good price for the Honda (from a nearby dealer) I might just take the plunge.

All the dealers are charging the same price in my area, including Home Depot $729 for the Honda.

Greetings!

I have a quick question kind of related to this thread. What is the difference in a Honda HRX217HXA and a Honda HRX217K2HXA?

I believe they are the same model, but if that is the case why do they have different model numbers?

Thank you for enlighting me!!

Honos

Honos Wrote: "What is the difference in a Honda HRX217HXA and a Honda HRX217K2HXA?"

Nothing. They are the same mowers. In 08 Honda changed the name of the deck material on the HRX from Xenoy to Nexite. This is why the model # changed.

What's the difference between Xenoy & Nexite? Is it better/cheaper etc...I wonder what prompted the change?

Shaggnasty wrote: "What's the difference between Xenoy & Nexite? Is it better/cheaper etc...I wonder what prompted the change?"

Nothing, they are the same deck made of Xenoy. Honda purchased the rights from GE to use the name Nexite on the product to market it as their own brand.

I looked at both the Honda and the Snapper. I use the mower mainly for trimming and for picking up maple seeds from the lawn. Everyone tells me the snapper Hi-Vac with the Kawasaki engine would be the best for my application. I am using an old Snapper now, but it is getting pretty old, and needs replacement. Any comments about this? Charles Ranheim

I bought a CP215517HV a couple of weeks ago for $800 delivered. This is an commercial, 21" HI-VAC with the Honda 5.5 HP GXV160KA12 commercial engine and commercial steel wheels. This was a new, old stock model. The current commercial HI-VAC model has a plastic control panel with a cup holder and a slightly different ground speed control. The dealer included a side discharge chute and mulch cover at no additional cost. These are extra cost options on the commercial HI-VAC model.

Another Snapper dealer offered me a CRP2160KWV for $750. This is the current commerical mulching model with the commerical Kawasaki FJ180V engine and commercial steel wheels. This dealer offered to included a side discharge chute and rear bag kit at no additional cost. These are extra cost options on the commercial mulching model.

From my experience you can get a commerical Snapper 21" HI-VAC or mulching model for about the same price at the consumer grade HRX217K2HXA. To get the Honda 5.5 HP comercial GXV160KA12 engine that came on my new Snapper in a Honda mower you would have to buy the $1,169 Honda Commercial HRC216K3HXA model. Both the Snapper and the Honda commerical mowers have 14 guage steel decks and the consumer grade Honda HRX217K2HXA has a plastic deck. I have a brother who bought a plastic deck Honda Harmony. Even though he is careful with his equipment and only uses the Harmony for trim work, the deck cracked. Since Honda deems steel decks better suited for their commercial mowers and my brother's cracked deck experience, I prefer Snapper's steel deck over the HRX217K2HXA's plastic deck.

I just got a snapper commercial hi vac with the kawi engine! At first I thought I should have got the honda engine, but now am happy that I went with the kawi. It ran me about 900 whole american dollars. Which I am happy about after just seeing the price of those hondas! It does have a cup holder. BTW don't use it for beer, it will just foam all over the place! lol
Cheers!

I called all the dealers in the Cincinnati, Ohio area and only one dealer had a HI-VAC in stock and that is the CP215517HV (17 Series) with the 5.5 horsepower Honda commercial engine that I purchased. Cincinnati Snapper dealers seem to only stock the Snapper mulching mower.

If I was going to order a HI-VAC, I probably would have ordered the model you bought. Dewar Equipment Company, that I have used for Toro and Lawn-Boy equipment sales and/or service (Toro Master Dealer), gave me a very good price on the mower I purchased and I was happy to get it. Dewar Equipment has been very honest and competent on sales, service, and parts.