Worx Nitro WG761E 80V lawn mower review: cordless power meets petrol performance

A warm, sunny welcome to T3's review of the Worx Nitro 80V WG761E, a cutting-edge sward swallower with unique battery system, superb ergonomics and innovative mulching feature.

Having reviewed umpteen types of powered garden tools – from chainsaws, strimmers and hedge trimmers to lawn mowers of the push-along and wire-free robotic variety – I’ve become quite fan of the American-Chinese Worx brand, mostly because its garden gear is usually exceptionally well designed, efficient and unique among its peers.

Take this powerful 80v cordless mower, for instance, which is still holding the top spot in our guide to the best cordless lawn mowers. With its innovative and practical hot-swappable battery system, excellent multi-position handlebar design and wide 51cm cutting deck, the Worx Nitro is the perfect cordless lawn mower for anyone with a lawn in excess of 300m². If that’s you, then read on to find out why this model is less of a chore and more of a joyous jaunt across one’s ample sward.

Worx Nitro 80V review: price and availability

In the UK the Worx Nitro WG761E 80V retails at £899.99 and is available direct from Worx or SGS, where it’s selling for £100 cheaper. If Amazon is your favourite shopping haunt, be aware that it sells for a much more lofty £1,015.51.

If shopping in the US, head straight for the Worx store where it’s shifting for a knockdown $699.99. Alternatively, try Amazon where you can buy this mean silver machine for $799.99.

Worx Nitro 80V review: design and features

Most steel-decked mowers, especially those with cutting decks in excess of 50cm, are notoriously heavy to transport from shed to lawn and cumbersome when making turns at the end of each pass. By contrast, this model’s 35kg weight is lower than the norm and that makes it really easy to maneuver, even on complex garden layouts.

It’s certainly lighter than any other similar-sized model I’ve tested and that makes it much easier to haul up a few garden stairs without causing a hernia. The fact you can also remove and refit the innovative battery system to lighten the load even more is most definitely a bonus, especially if you’re not built like a brick outhouse.

I’m a stickler for well-designed products that perform at a top level and this model is very much a class leader in this regard, and filled with a smorgasbord of thoughtful design flourishes that make using it a veritable breeze.

The handlebar is comprised of a robust, one-piece aluminium assembly that folds over and locks for upright storage. To adjust user height you simply push a conveniently positioned big orange button at the top of the bar and it moves it up and down in three heights, from really, really low to high enough for a six footer and taller.

When storing, simply fold the bar over until it locks into place, stand the mower upright on its two feet and attach the grass collector to the two hooks. For its size, this is one of the easiest mowers to store without taking up valuable shed space.

Since this model is equipped with variable-speed self propulsion, it comes with two wire-style operating bars – one to fire up the blade and the other to drive the wheels. This means that when you’ve finished mowing you can turn the blade motor off and just use the drive motor to quietly steer the Nitro back to the shed. Although I’m not too enamoured of the feel of the two thick drive bars when pulled against the main handlebar (a couple of cutaways in the handlebar would improve this), I do love the feel of the side-mounted variable speed-control lever which takes the Nitro from snail pace to a brisk walk.

Heading to the 51cm all-steel deck area, the Nitro is fitted with a practical cutting height system that works by grabbing a handle and pulling on a large button attached to a built-in spring mechanism that raises and lowers the deck in seven increments, from 20mm to 80mm. The mesh grass collector, meanwhile is a very generous 70 litres which means fewer trips to the compost heap. And what’s more, it can be easily attached and removed by reaching between the handlebars instead of reaching around the back, as is the case with so many other lawn mowers. I also rate the LED headlight system which allows you to mow way past dusk.

Like many high-end mowers in this league, the Worx Nitro can also mulch grass as well as eject cuttings out of a side chute. However, it only comes with a side chute and no mulching plug. Why? Because it doesn’t need one! In a stroke of simplicity, Worx has included a handle-operated sliding steel hatch that closes the rear of the mower when in mulching mode. This is a killer feature because a) I always forget where I put the damn mulching plug and b) they are a right faff to fit and take off. With this system, you simply remove the grass collector, slide the lever to mulch and mow, baby, mow.

Finally, like all good motor-driven machines, the Nitro is fitted with a durable brushless motor that should go on running longer than you. What’s more, this motor is equipped with a management system that ramps up the torque to petrol-powered levels when the blade detects resistance from extra long grass. It then backs it off again for the shorter stuff. Worx calls it Intellicut and it genuinely helps save a lot of battery juice while having some serious backup power to hand when required.

You’ll notice I haven’t even mentioned the battery system – that’s because it deserves a whole chapter to itself.

Worx Nitro 80V review: battery system

Many power tool manufacturers produce batteries that can be swapped between one same-brand tool and another. So for instance, when you discover your strimmer has run out of battery you can simply take the same type of battery out of the chainsaw and use that one instead.

However, when it comes to cordless lawnmowers which need a lot more juice and power to run, most manufacturers provide an extra large battery that doesn’t fit any of their other power tools. Well, Worx has got around this issue by making the Nitro mower compatible with its standard 20v PowerShare battery range and it does this by running the mower on four included 4.0aH batteries that sit in a special four-battery module called Basecamp. The combined output of these four batteries amounts to a whopping 80v of raw, unstoppable oomph that’s on par with most large petrol mowers. And all with without the associated noise and emissions.

Now you’re probably thinking that charging four batteries at a time will be a right palaver. But you’re wrong because the Basecamp module is removable so you can just unclip it and plug the whole shebang into the mains and all four batteries are recharged in around four hours. You can even recharge the batteries directly while the Basecamp is still attached to the mower.

There’s more to this battery system than meets the eye because we all know that sometimes a lithium battery will have a hissy fit and stop working completely. In fact this has already happened to me twice. With this system, if a single battery should fail, the replacement cost is around £70 whereas a single large 5aH Ego battery will set you back £229 and a similarly-sized Gtech battery, £160. Alternatively, if you already own a Worx tool, you can simply grab its battery and use it on the Nitro until you’ve bought a replacement. Genius.

Worx states a running time of 55 minutes per full charge and that’s roughly what I’ve been getting after almost a year of regular summer use. My lawn is a modest 480m² and I manage to get three full cuts out of a single charge.

Worx suggests a maximum lawn space of 1,200m² for this mower and I can certainly envisage this lawn beast easily coping with that level of scope (a standard tennis court is about 261m²).

Worx Nitro 80V review: performance

I’ve been using the Worx Nitro since last summer and it continues to impress me in a number of ways. Firstly it’s a doddle to store upright without taking up much space in the shed. It’s also lighter than other 50cm-plus mowers I’ve reviewed in the past and that makes it easy to manoeuvre around the lawn without churning up the grass on the turns. I also love the unique four-battery system and the way they can all be charged in one go by simply removing the whole charging carriage and taking it indoors. And although I hardly ever mulch cut, I think the sliding rear door mechanism is a major boon for those that do.

My lawn is a manageable 480m² and this thing has cut it beautifully every time, whether its the first tall cut of spring or a series of regular 30cm summer cuts. Another thing I’ve used it for is to collect the mountain of leaves that drop every autumn. Since it has a vortex fan fitted above the cutting blade, the Nitro’s fan forces the mulched leaves far back into the 70-litre grass collector for easy disposal. A final shout out to the variable-speed drive train and, of course, that handlebar mechanism which goes down to waist height for effortless mowing.

Worx Nitro 80V review: verdict

The Worx Nitro WG761E 80V cordless mower is a powerful, robust option for larger lawns up to 1,200m². Its 51cm steel deck, innovative battery system, powerful brushless motor, self-propelled variable-speed drive and 3-in-1 cutting features make it a compelling choice for those seeking a high-performance cordless mower that matches petrol power for sheer torque and cutting power.