Bosch Rotak Universal 650 Corded Rotary Lawnmower

I read a numbet of highly positive reviews and so was expecting great things moving from a flymo to bosch. Sadly the flymo was better!!! The Rotak is a beast and an embarrassingly noisy one. The grass box is poor. The cuttings shoot out the gaps in the side between the chassis and grassbox and fill indicator is pointless. Its heavy to turn and manoeuvre. The only thing i like is the cutting height adjustment.

Quite disappointed as I assembled my purchase. The Accountants seem to have taken over at Bosch. I've been a fan of Bosch garden products for many years and I purchased this mower to replace my Rotak 40 - which has given many years of faithful service. Too many parts on this latest model seem quite flimsy, are made of cheap materials and don't fit together particularly well (e.g. the grass collection box). The power cable is ridiculously short for a mower designed to cut lawns up to 650 m2. I'll see how it goes but this might be might be my last purchase of a Bosch lawnmower.

I bought this to replace another well used Bosch mower. I was not disappointed,
Easy to put together and adjust the
height of cut. Effortless to guide over the lawn.

Like the new cut height button
Grass box is awful, massive gaps either side, cuttings flying out
Quieter than my old Bosch
Awkward to store as the handle doesn't fold completely
3 out of 5

I’ve had this about a month now and have used it several times. Bought to replace an old Rotak 40 over 10 years old. The new one is heavier and in my opinion not as manoeuvrable. The height adjuster works ok at present but have seen reviews where it failed. I’ve set it to the lowest which is just about ok. It cuts well is reasonable quiet and produces reasonable stripes in lawn. Bad points are the short cable , 10 metres , a joke compared to the old one. I’ve rescued the old cable and may swop it over. Otherwise far too short. No mulching facility. The old one you just left the box off and the grass came out the back. This one you need an attachment cost circa £30 , for a piece of plastic, otherwise clogs up. I have tried putting something in to hold the flap up but so far not successful. I also have an area where I dont collect grass and use a high setting. The grass box is very flimsy and folds. Going to be very easy to break. Also difficult to fold back down. A very backward step. Chose this as old Bosch proved very reliable. This one looks good on the surface but actually only just adequate. It’s difficult to find anything else decent At this price point. Good point is price at B&Q which is much less than other places. Also this is the new version of the Universal. Still have kept it and will see how it goes.