You don’t have to sell me on a zero-turn riding lawn mower. As someone who has a half an acre yard, I’ve been mowing with zero turn lawn mowers since I bought my house. They’re speedy and make maneuvering around the many trees and obstacles in my yard easier. I’ve even been able to use them to mow the slopes in my yard (with lots of care of course).
However, I’ve been using gas-powered zero-turn riding mowers – and to be honest, gas-powered machinery isn’t my favorite. Sure, I like that they’re powerful and seemingly have an endless supply of fuel, but they’re loud, emit exhaust, and require much more maintenance. You can understand then why I was very excited to try a battery-powered zero-turn riding lawn mower – the John Deere Z370R Electric ZTRAK Mower.
John Deere is well-known for their quality of mowers, and the Z370R Electric ZTRAK Mower reflected the brand’s reputation. I tested a 42-inch deck version of this battery-powered riding lawn for a few weeks, mowing my half an acre yard with so much ease that it quickly became one of my favorite products I’ve ever tested. This John Deere goes up to 7 mph, is comfortable to sit in, and even charges my phone while I mow. I loved how the handles are very responsive, as well as the unique charging design.
Keep reading to get my full take on the John Deere Z370R Electric ZTRAK Mower and how, despite the high price tag, I’d still tell you to run to your nearest John Deere dealership to put in an order. In the meantime, check out our full guide on the best riding lawn mowers to see how it stacks up against its competitors.
John Deere Z370R Electric ZTrak Mower: Price & availability
Even among riding lawn mowers – zero-turn or otherwise – the John Deere Z370R Electric ZTrak Mower is very expensive. It is sold at $6,399 through the likes of Lowe’s and local dealers, like United Ag & Turf and Storm Lawn & Garden LLC (at least in Dallas where I live).
While I love everything about the John Deere Z370R Electric ZTrak Mower, I think it’s priced slightly high, and that may have more to do with the John Deere brand name or the warranty. It comes with a five-year or 200-hour battery warranty, which means John Deere will replace the battery within that time if it should fail. After that, it's unclear what the price of a replacement battery would be, though I imagine it'll be cheaper than buying a new mower. You're also saving a lot over the years on things like maintenance, which is not a major financial requirement for this mower.
Score: 4 out of 5
John Deere Z370R Electric ZTrak Mower: Setup
The John Deere Z370R Electric Ztrak Mower was delivered through a John Deere dealership to my house. I didn’t have to do anything except schedule the delivery date and time. The riding mower was completely put together when it arrived at my house. It was even fully charged so I could start mowing right away.
For those who order this riding mower, you’ll go through the same seamless process of delivery.
John Deere Z370R Electric ZTrak Mower: Design
There are two types of riding mowers – zero turn mowers and lawn tractors. Where lawn tractors have a steering wheel and function like a car does in terms of maneuverability, a zero turn lawn mower utilizes two handles so that it can effectively turn at zero degrees. The John Deere Z370R Electric ZTrak Mower is a zero-turn lawn battery-powered lawn mower.
You can’t actually see the batteries of this mower or even remove them. They’re built into the mower. You don’t have to remove the batteries to charge them. In fact, this mower does not come with a separate charger. There is a three-pronged outlet on the backside of the mower where you plug an extension cord into when you’re ready to charge.
Even more exciting is that the batteries are encased in such a way that neither water nor dust can harm them. You can essentially spray the mower from top to bottom with a garden hose and no damage will ensue.
The zero-turn lawn mower I tested has a 42-inch deck, though it can also be ordered in 48 inches too. Both are effective sizes for mowing medium-to-large yards. The deck can be raised between 11 different positions (1.25-4.5 inches) with a foot lever and a dial.
There is a 20-inch-tall, padded seat with armrests. It’s quite comfortable. On the left side of the seat is a cup holder. There is a storage compartment with a USB-C port to charge your devices on the right side, as well as a screen with icons, height adjustment lever, mower engagement switch, light switch, power button, and a mode switch. The light switch turns on the front and side LED lights, while the mower engagement switch turns on the blades. A key pin must be inserted in the power button to be able to turn the machine on.
The mode switch allows you to switch between the different modes on the screen – bagging mode/high blade speed/full travel speed, high mode/standard speed/full travel speed, and low mode/standard blade speed/limited travel speed. It also has icons to notify you when the battery needs attention, of a temperature alert, when push mode is in effect, and provides an hour meter reading.
Rather than look at the side screen for the battery status, it’s better to look at the status display that’s on the deck, between your feet. It uses green bars to note the battery life. Those bars turn red if there is diagnostic trouble and amber as a warning of diagnostic trouble.
The handles double as motion control levers and the brake. When the handles are pulled completely outwards, the machine is in park. Pull them together and the mower is engaged and can move forward or backwards with the push or pull of the handles.
One last thing to note – this zero-turn mower can mow on slopes, though John Deere suggests to only mow on hills that are 13 degrees or less. Admittedly, I mowed on inclines that were steeper, but I know that comes with risks and I only did it once (I’m very adept with zero-turn mowers) to see how well the machine handled hills.
Score: 5 out of 5
John Deere Z370R Electric ZTrak Mower: Key specifications
John Deere Z370R Electric ZTrak Mower: Performance
I test a lot of products, and some yard tools, are far more complicated than they need be. That’s not the case with the John Deere Z370R Electric ZTrak Mower. To be honest, I didn’t even read the instructions before I used it the first time because the design itself is logical. This is something I love!
I always kept the pin key in the power button so it wouldn’t get lost. To start the mower, I pressed the power button until I heard two beeps and saw the battery screen light up between my feet. From there, I pulled the handles in and pushed them forward.
This riding mower emits no noise when at a standstill. When I moved the mower forward without the blades on, it emitted a 70-75 dB sound rating. The sound increased to 80-91 dB when the blades were engaged, which is not very loud for a riding lawn mower.
As someone who has half an acre, I put the speed on High Mode, so I could mow as fast as possible. The 42-inch deck helped considerably because I was able to mow more patches of yard at a time.
What I noticed right away about the riding lawn mower is that the handles are very sensitive. I didn’t have to extend or pull my arms very far. A slight push or pull and the mower would already be turning in the direction I wanted to go.
With zero-turn capability, I was able to get a super close cut on the side of the deck that didn’t have the discharge chute, especially when cutting around the driveway, trees, garden beds, or my firepit patio. My yard has quite a bit of obstacles and it took so much less time to cut with this zero-turn mower than it does with a tractor that has an 18-inch turn capability. I’ve no doubt that in my front yard, which has very few obstacles, I was going the maximum speed of 7 mph.
While I don’t usually use a riding lawn mower on the slopes of my yard as a safety precaution, I did make two passes, vertically, on a slope in my yard just to see how the John Deere mower would do. It did as well as I expected and didn’t slip at any point. I probably would take the safer route and not do this in the future, but if my push mower ever broke down, it’s nice to have this option.
The mower cut all the different types of grass and weeds in my yard with precision. Everything appeared even. I would usually lower the deck to 2 or 2.25 inches, depending on how low I wanted the grass to be. It was so easy to lower and lift the deck with the foot pedal and the rotate dial.
I rarely looked at the mower’s screen (on the right side) while I cut. There seemed to be no reason to. I paid more attention to the battery screen between my feet. The battery never dipped below half a charge after mowing my yard. I usually charged my phone while mowing and I didn’t notice any impact on the battery when doing that.
While I didn’t need the LED lights, because I never used the machine in low light situations, they were in working order and a nice option to have. I was very comfortable sitting in the high-back seat, and loved how I could spread out my feet. I’m only 5’5”, so I imagine it would be a comfortable sitting situation for someone taller too.
I did use this John Deere mower soon after it had rained, and the wheels got a bit muddy. I was so thankful that I could clean them without having to worry about the battery getting wet. To be honest, this was one of my favorite elements of the riding lawn mower. It’s difficult to prevent water from spraying on the engine or the battery compartment when cleaning mower wheels, but I felt assured while cleaning the John Deere mower that I wouldn’t damage it. (And I didn’t!) Connecting the hose to the deck was similarly easy to do.
Whenever I was done mowing my yard and cleaning the John Deere Z370R Electric ZTrak Mower, I would back it into my garage and plug an extension cord into the backside of the mower. I prefer this charging design, rather than having to store a separate charger to charge the batteries.
Score: 5 out of 5
John Deere Z370R Electric ZTrak Mower: Maintenance
Maintenance is minimal with the John Deere Z370R Electric ZTRAK Mower. Behind performance, it’s my second favorite aspect of this riding lawn mower.
Since this is a battery-powered riding lawn mower, you won’t ever be expected to deal with filling it with oil or gas or removing either product before storing it away during the winter. There is no spark plug that will need to be changed, nor air filters or mower belts! You also won’t have to grease any parts.
John Deere suggests cleaning the mower deck with the washout port after every use; I’d add blowing the debris and grass off with a blower too. It doesn’t hurt to check the tire pressure, brake system, and safety interlock system every eight hours.
Once a year, check the mower deck level, and if necessary, sharpen and replace the mower blades. If the battery messes up, contact a John Deere dealership. You can’t do maintenance on it on your own.
John Deere Z370R Electric ZTrak Mower: User reviews
There are 23 reviews related to this John Deere Z370R Electric ZTrak Mower resulting in a 4.3-star rating. The mower received two one-star reviews which brought the average down. One person complained about delivery and the other about the mower not starting after the third time. Beyond these two outliers, customers noted how responsive the steering is and raved about the minimal maintenance the machine requires. Overall, most people liked how the mower cut, even if the responsive steering surprised them at first.
Should you buy the John Deere Z370R Electric ZTrak Mower?
Buy it if...
Don’t buy it if…
How does the John Deere Z370R Electric ZTrak Mower comapre?
John Deere has a variety of zero-turn mowers that can handle larger yards, even those that are eight acres or larger. If you want something smaller, check out the Cub Cadet RZT-L42 Riding Lawn Mower as it has a 42-inch cutting deck and can handle 1-3 acre yards. Take note that it’s powered by gas and thus requires more maintenance. The Ryobi RY48111 48-Volt Zero Turn Riding Lawn Mower is a better option for environmentally-minded homeowners who want a battery-powered lawn mower with zero-turn capabilities and an 8 mph speed. Unlike the John Deere, the Ryobi utilizes a steering wheel which might be more comfortable to users. However, it only has a 3 mph reverse speed and customers complain that it’s not that comfortable to sit on. Lastly, the EGO POWER+ 52” Z6 Zero Turn Riding Mower is comparable in many ways in that it’s a battery-powered riding mower with less maintenance. Keep in mind, it has a 52-inch deck and can mow up to 4 acres on a single charge. It also comes with a bagger. While you won’t have to remove the batteries to charge them, EGO does supply a charger you’ll have to use.
How I tested the John Deere Z370R Electric ZTrak Mower?
I used the John Deere Z370R Electric ZTrak Mower to mow my half an acre yard a couple of times. This included mowing around obstacles and up and down inclines. I tested everything from its cutting capabilities to how fast the mower can go and how well it turns. From the testing, I was able to provide an in-depth review for potential buyers to consider.
Find out more about how we test.
- First reviewed: April 2024
