Rover Pro Cut 760 Self Propelled Lawn Mower

You need to be strong ! – In August 2018 I purchased a Rover Pro Cut 760 mower. It has electric start, it's self propelled and has a 19" alloy deck, all the things I thought I wanted as my wife and I are getting on in years. Firstly the positives: The push button start works every time, it has a very generous grass catcher with a little flap which stays popped up if there is still sufficient air flowing through the catcher (meaning there is still enough room for more grass in there), all four wheels rotate on ball bearings and it has a generous fuel tank (who likes stopping to re-fuel). It is driven by a 173 cc. Rover four stroke motor (apparently two stroke mowers are a thing of the past), and finally it has a 5 year domestic warranty. That all sounds terrific doesn't it, until you have to push it! I haven't weighed this beast of a mower, but it took two of us to load it into my Pajero at the shop. It would appear all mowers have what they call a "blade brake" which means when you release the upper of the two funny looking handles (see picture), it disengages the plate which the blades are attached to, so while the motor is still running, the blades are stationary. It's a real nuisance to someone who's been cutting lawns for a lifetime and still has ten fingers and ten toes, but it's all about OH&S now-days, protecting people from themselves and litigation. Engaging the blades again is a two step operation, push the top handle down against the main handle, and then push a lever on the side downwards to engage. So all that's a given, but this mower is so heavy, you also need to use the self propelled function through long grass or up any incline. That doesn't sound so bad except when you have to constantly engage and disengage this function to turn around or to move in and around shrubs, trees or any thing else you don't want to mow down! The self propelled function is engaged by lifting or lowering the bottom funny looking handle. So while trying to keep the top handle pressed down against the main handle to keep the blades going around, you need to pull up or release the bottom handle simultaneously by freeing up some fingers or your thumb to do the task. I'd rather try my hand at knitting! This mower works very well if you have long straight runs of lawn to mow, but if you have garden beds, trees shrubs, or an irregular shaped area, you'll find it very frustrating and time consuming, unless you are very STRONG and don't need to use the self propelled function. Three stars is probably a bit generous but I couldn't give it two stars which is "bad".