I think that any differences in mulching or bagging performance will be so minor as to be unnoticable unless you really look for them. If you are mulching 80% of the time then get the mower that is marketed as a mulcher...the Toro. Trust me the SR machines bag superbly. And I think you will find the Snapper will do a comparable job as well. It sounds like you favor the Snapper. Just get one and start mowing with the standard blade. Hold off on improving the blade until you find there is a problem with mower performance on your lawn.

The 20057 is basically a solid mower. I bought a 20038 with the Intek engine in 2003 and it starts on the 1st or 2nd pull every time. That SR mowing deck is fantastic for mulching and once you get used to the drive system it works great so long as you are not having to turn on steep hills(which is a real trick, but you can do it) I am not seeing the Intek Engines in the stores, but that is basically what sold me on the whole package, originally. I think I would skip the blade brake and go with the best engine/deck combination. If you want a blade brake and super easy starts- get a Honda. My Honda snowblower is so much easier to start. (no comparison) Bagging with the model I have works well but dumping the bag is messy since it tends to clog then dump all at once. The Toro does a really good job on bagging leaves in the fall, though. I haven't used a rake in 4 years except for the corner spots.

I'm glad that you are happy with your purchase. I have a ten year old Honda. My experience: The engine is indestructable. After 10 years, the carb has gotten gummed up and my choke sticks. Not unreasonable. Simple solution was to quit using the choke. It still starts first pull most of the time even without choking it. I will get around to cleaning the carb one of these days. No complaints about the deck. My deck is steel and shows no rust and very little wear. I have the double blade mulch setup and it does a good job mowing. I mulch most of the time and it only leaves cut grass on top of the lawn if I let it get too long before cutting. But...... I have a slight incline in my yard. Slight. I've had to replace the wheels once because they wore smooth and slid on the incline. I'm getting ready to replace them again because the second set it almost smooth. BTW, my lawn is about 1/3 acre, a corner lot in a subdivision. Cables. I have to replace the cable to the self propelled clutch about every other year. There doesn't seem to be anything that is stressing it, it just breaks after a while. I've replaced the safety/blade clutch cable a couple of times as well. The self propelled cable also needs adjusted yearly. The clamp holding it doesn't seem to be as secure as it should be and it slips, causing the self propelled mechanism to be hit or miss. The bagger frame. It fell apart. Three welds just gave up and it fell to pieces. New ones are quite costly and the replacement seems to be constructed exactly the same as the old one. The fabric bag actually lasted longer than the frame! The handle. The paint came off of it after a couple of years where I hold it while mowing. This isn't my first go around with a mower and I've never had this happen with far cheaper models. I had to cover it with electrical tape to keep it from rusting. Also, the plastic bracket on the right holding the two drive levers crumbled after a couple of years. These are all niggling problems to me because I do the repairs myself. I've always managed to figure a way to mow even when it is broken. On the other hand, if I had to take it in for repair every time, I would probably be pretty unahppy. I'm sure I've spent enough to buy a new one and my wife mentions that every time it breaks. I just hate to get rid of it when the engine and deck are working so well. I'll probably consider Toro and Snapper whenever I break down and decide to replace it.

Man I hate to see cultural animus in a lawn site thread but some people just can't help themselves. Anyone driving an Anerican owned (that's right, I didn't say made because for anyone that doesn't know it Toyota has the largest percentage of US sourced parts and labor. Not Ford Chevy and especially not Dodge) can mainly thank Honda for bringing providing us with their superior engineered and produced vehicles that simply forced the US brands to step their game up. Anyone that says with a straight face that they have owned US and Japanese cars and had more issues with the Japanese vehicles is either horribly unlucky or is lying through their teeth. 20y ago there was no comparison between the two, from NVH to the blatant lapse in QC that allowed vehicles with panel gaps so large to leave the manufacturing facility that when one took a 88 Dodge Aries k down the highway it sounded like there was a wind machine blowing in the back seat. Give me a break. The engine tech on Honda machines are superior in myriad areas. They are much quieter, produce less emissions (don't let the fact you don't believe in climate change stop you from worrying about it...), more efficien power production and because of that much,much, much better fuel economy. On my old snapper with a Briggs mower I would seriously have to refuel once during each mowing session (that mower would have been ~14y old if it were still functioning) and now with my ~9y old HRT with the GCV160 I can almost mow my lawn twice before refilling and yea, the tanks has commensurate capacaties. That's almost a 400% gain in fuel economy. Doesn't take a brain surgeon to see that glaring advantage. The Briggs was about as hard to start as you could imagine, that's what caused me to kick it to the curb. The last stint of pulling the starter cable for 5m, foot on the deck sweating my you know what's off sealed the deal ( I'm not a tiny guy either 6'1" 190). My Honda has started first pull everyone in the 5y I have had it and this is a sissy pull pretty much just using my shoulder and arm strength. I'm sure there are some older B&S out thee that are freaks and just won't die that start first pull everytime but the fact is that is the exception and simply not the rule. If there is one weakness of the Honda mower it would be the carb. But if you don't let stale gas gumm it up and properly maintain the machine (IMO anyone that does not maintain their machines according to the factory guidelines should not be allowed the gear pleasure of caring for their lawn, it's ignorance of the highest degree).