The Toro 20333 Personal Pace Recycler is a big-bladed gas lawnmower that is self-propelled, so it takes the strain for you. It has settings for bagging or mulching grass, and you can adjust the cutting height easily, according to the terrain you're working on.
The stand-out feature here is blade-stop technology, but it's also got a quick-wash washout port to make cleaning the mower easy. There's also a three-year guarantee-to-start on the engine and a boast that you will never need to change the oil, ever.
We've reviewed plenty of lawnmowers but to see which model took the top spot, check out our guide to the best gas lawmowers.
Toro 20333: Price
The Toro 20333 costs $449 at time of writing at both Home Depot and Mowersdirect.com. This puts it firmly in the mid-range price bracket for home lawnmowers, and considering it has some high-end features like blade-stop technology that's a great price.
Toro 20333: Features
The thing that really sets the Toro 20333 Personal Pace Recycler apart from the other mowers we've tested is the wide, 22-inch blade. The more grass you can cut in a single pass the less time it's going to take you to mow your back yard, so this is handy for larger lawns.
We were impressed to discover that the Toro 20333 comes with blade-stop technology, enabling you to stop its single blade from turning without switching off the engine. This can seriously cut down on the number of restarts you need to do when removing debris from your back yard that you don't want the mower to go over, or bagging clippings.
You can also switch between bagging and mulching settings, and it also has the side-discharge setting that a lot of other 3-in-1 mowers have.
Dimensions: 59(d) x 44(h) x 23(w)-inches
Weight: 88lb
Blade length: 22-inches
Engine displacement: 200cc
Max cutting height: 4-inches
Min cutting height: 1-inches
Mower type: Self-propelled
Start type: Pull cord
Warranty: 2 years full/3 years to start
The minimum cutting height on the Toro 20333 is 1-inch, which is a little higher than a lot of the competition, which goes down to .075 inches, but there are 9 different cutting heights that you can set the blades at.
The final feature of note is the Personal Pace system. This is a self-propelled mower, which you can walk behind and the adjustable speed settings mean you can walk at your own pace, up to 4.8 miles an hour.
Toro 20333: Performance
The Toro 20333 Personal Pace Recycler has a powerful 160cc engine, which comes with a traditional cord-pull start. While a cord-pull start may put you off, just remember that Toro are guaranteeing that this mower will start first time for 3 years, and there's a 2-year guarantee on the rest of the mower.
Happy customers have reported that the Toro 20333 is still performing well after a couple of years of use and abuse, without anything needing tightening up or fixing.
Toro 20333: User reviews
The Toro 20333 has scored 4.2 out of 5 stars on Home Depot, with an 82% customer recommendation rating. The vast majority of reviews are either 4 or 5 stars, reflecting how impressed people are with this mower. While most of the reviews are positive, there is one frequent complaint, which is that the Brigs and Stratton engine is a bit louder than people were expecting it to be, and certainly louder than a Honda engine. Apart from that one gripe, it seems most people love their Toro 20333.
Users are particularly happy that they get a useful feature like a blade-stop system for a few hundred dollars cheaper than the Hoda models.
User MacWower comments: "I have a large St. Augustine yard plus a separate lot full of random weeds and grass types, which the Toro Personal Pace is tasked to handle. This mower seldom disappoints. Keep the blade sharp and you will be good to go."
Should you buy the Toro 20333?
The Toro 20333 Personal Pace Recycler is a really strong contender if you're looking for a new mower. It's reliable, and has a mid-range price tag, yet has some features that you only find on higher-end Honda models. We're talking specifically about the handy blade-stop system. But it also has a self-propelled Personal Pace system and a super-wide blade which cuts down the amount of mowing you'll need to do.
