Side discharging: A combination of evenness, which is how close the mowers came to even, carpet-like mowing, and how evenly clippings were dispersed from the side-discharge chute.
Mulching: Reflects a combination of evenness, which is how close the mowers came to even, carpet-like mowing, and how completely the mower distributed the clippings over the lawn's surface.
Bagging: Denotes a combination of evenness, which is how close the mowers came to even, carpet-like mowing, and a measurement of the effective capacity of the grass bags, determined when each bag was full or when the chute clogged and clippings weren't being collected.
Handling: Includes clutching or drive engagement, braking, steering, turn radius, and stability.
Ease of use: A composite score that includes leg room and seat and steering-wheel comfort, along with ease of blade engagement, cut-height adjustment, parking-brake engagement, bag removal, and cutting-mode changes.
