Stiga Tornado

In a word RUBBISH. Constantly throwing belts, steering arm bent, very poor machine. I am looking for another make NOT Stiga that's for certain. Show details

Issues after 3 months – Mow lawn twice a week. Today mowed, turned off to close gates, mower wouldn't turn over. Had to leave mower in yard.Don't expect this from a new mower. Show details

Excellent ride on – UPDATE I have owned this mower for two and a half years now. In that time I moved to Brisbane and a near acre block. Here the grass grows like crazy. I am extremely pleased I bought a Stiga. In my street everyone has double blocks. Everyone has ride-ons, the predominance being John Deere and a few Husquvarnas. My lawns are the best in the street.… Read more

My lawn is the only lawn that is not strewn with grass cuttings. The Stiga's shaped deck mulches the cuttings perfectly, never leaving clippings on the lawn.

Reliability wise, the Stiga has been excellent. All this comment about thrown belts is a little hard to understand. I do check the belts for wear. I have replaced the cutting deck drive belts twice and the motion drive belt is about due for replacement. I will probably look for kevlar belts for my next replacement. My Stiga has been hard worked as I mulch down many things, rather than dispose of in the Council bins. I have used a trailer to move large quantities of soil and dressings around.

When I moved to Brisbane my mower and furnishings left three weeks before me. I had to borrow a lawn mower from a neighbour. I won't say which brand, but by comparison, the thing was rough, a single cylinder machine, whilst mine has twin cylinders. It had a "tension the belt" to engage the cutting deck whereas the Stiga has pushbutton electromechanical clutch engagement of the cutting deck and, of course, it failed to mulch the cuttings, throwing huge quantities of cut grass everywhere. Using this replacement mower made me appreciate just how good my Stiga is.

I have replaced the cutting deck wheels. These I replaced with heavy duty wheels available cheaply on eBay. The original wheels were damaged by running into things, I have a tendency to try and mow to the very edge and cut down on whizz- banging. The replacement wheels have stood up to this abuse well.

All in all a very pleasing two and a half years of ownership.

ORIGINAL POST Excellent ride on I researched the purchase of this mower and felt this was a great balance between quality and price. Looking at second hand John Deere mowers, I noticed the rusty decks and split seats and comments about replaced spindles etc. The Stiga deck is reinforced with a pressed shape that adds rigidity. It is powder coated, not painted. The deck has a twin linkage system, unlike most others in this price range and cuts evenly, a complaint, I noted with many other brands. The steering is a quadrant based system with large bearings and should last. Many others were a cheap rack design with metal to metal contact that would give trouble. Too, I found the dealer, R.E.A.L Landscape supplies at Lakes Entrance, a straight forward, no gimmick kind of guy. The engine I chose was the twin cylinder Loncin. Loncin used to manufacture Honda engines so they should know a thing or two about quality control. It is smooth, economical and quiet. With these machines, operating in a dusty environment, maintenance will be the difference. I noted the supplied Hydrostatic transmissions are factory filled with 30 grade mineral oil, whereas the manufacturer recommends full synthetic 5w 50 oil. This peculiarity, one must presume is to obtain the required run in mating that can only be achieved with mineral oil. Full synthetic being "too slippery" for run in. At ten hours all oils will be drained, new filters fitted and full synthetics added. This Stiga has made the arduous task of mowing, fun. BTW, I am 72, so time to stop wasting 3 hours a week pushing a mower. I did have to trim a few trees to mow under, but the small turning circle make these trees easy. The flat level grass, that can only be achieved with a wide deck mower, is a constant source of joy. The machine has been perfect and a joy to use. The Stiga is a bit like owning a Mercedes - well built even in those areas you don't always see. I will update this review at 100 hours.

Breaks down more often than it works – Piece of absolute junk that throws belts constantly. It doesn't work more often than it does and spends most of its life in the repair shop. I'm about to get rid of it.  Show details

Great budget mower – we have a small block with about 3/4 acre of lawns quite undulating with a quite a number of trees such as along the drive way which means lots of sharp turns. Also a small 1/2 acre vineyard wich means a lot of reversing down the rows . This is the third (budget !) mower we have had in 10 years and by far the best in its price bracket (NZ 3.5K )… Read more

Fuel consumption seems the same as the others. Comfort etc is also the same. Instructions such as mulching kit are not very clear. Booklets are huge because 20 + languages but not of much use . Make sure to get sales person to explain . Overall very happy with it after 6 months

One of the best mowers I have ever used – I have the model with the Italian engine and mechanical gearbox.Tornado 2098. A stick can flip the belt off but it's possible to put back on once the belt covers are off. You need to line it all up and have it just riding up on the edge of the magnetic clutch pulley then turn the pulley by hand and on it goes. And I replaced a plastic idler… Read more

pulley and that's it. A very reliable machine and I've used Husqvarna, Cub Cadet (shudder), John Deere, Toro and Kubota. It helps to be mechanically minded but it's still a great little solidly built machine. I've never had to charge the battery on mine and it's never had a starting problem apart from a simple choke adjustment. I use my mower as a lawnmower, less now with the drought, but I mainly use it with a trailer to move firewood and soil and Ive used it like that for nearly four years with no problems. The seat is comfortable and the controls well laid out.

Headache – This machine has not once started with the key. Bought new came with a plug in charger which should have made me leave it in the shop. Now when I jump start it there is not enough charge to keep it running so stops when you disconnect the donor battery so then you have to physically push it out of the way to use the push mower. It was reasonably… Read more

priced but the one of the most disappointing things I’ve ever purchased. Hate to think what problems they would have with a hydro drive. Leave it in the shop!

Very disapointed – The good points are the Briggs engine and the hydro static drive which is really good to use but I made a really bad mistake in having the larger cutting deck (42 inches ?) which stick outside the wheels ,preventing access through gates etc. My main complaint is the number of time s I have had to have the cutting apparatus seen to, belts being… Read more

thrown,cutting deck adjusted, bits replaced.,It`s been the worst machine I have ever brought .With a smaller cutting deck It may be better but don`t buy the larger one .You have been warned.

Frustration – At end of warranty period started slipping belt. Only 30 hours of very light work on 24 perch house block.

Throws belts off – I have only had my ride on for abt 3 weeks and apart from the very first time I used it, it has thrown the belt which then stops the blades from cutting. Had the belt put back on but the first time I used it, it came off again and both times, I've only got about 4 metres of mowing down It's comfortable and easy to use Keeps throwing the belt which then stops the blades cutting