Ok
now for my 2 cents worth
My folks live on a 200acre property and have a bit of grass to cut. Its up hill and down dale and their Honda cops a flogging. Now the thing is starting to give trouble after a few years. When we were looking I thought Honda as it was the mower for the Pros. It cost them a pretty penny too...
Now as a kid I used to mow the grass on the same farm. Back then I used to use a "Rover" mower with a Briggs and Stratton (briggs and struggling?) engine on it. I tell you something, I prefer the Rover and guess what? I still use it today for my 1/4 acre and it starts first pull. Now it doesn't have the fancy options but runs so reliably I wouldn't hesitate in getting another.
At the end of the day its what you prefer. My old Rover is my weapon of choice and I actually like the B&S motors, they are simply, kind of under engineered but give hundreds of hours of service at a lower cost if looked after (check the oil and change it once a year)
Cheers
Rich

