Last year, I tested and reviewed John Deere’s then-latest zero-turn mower, the 370R. It was the brand’s first foray into a battery-electric zero-turn mower, and I was impressed. It was quiet, cut well, and was generally a pleasure to use. But this year, I tested its newer mower, the 370RS, that features removable 56-volt Ego Power+ batteries, a format that holds some advantages if you already own some Ego cordless tools.

That 370R I tested last year gets its electrons from a sealed battery unit that enables the ability to mow up to 2 acres per charge, according to John Deere. The dealer that delivered my test sample also mentioned that they offer a 10-year buy-up battery warranty for a few hundred dollars—a no-brainer considering the cost of the mower.

I happily mowed with the 370R for a couple of months and was sad when it had to leave—I liked it a lot. But this past fall, John Deere announced a new battery-electric zero-turn with power supplied by six removable Ego batteries. That was a surprise given the recent launch of the 370R, so I had to take a look. A few weeks into testing the 370R, I can say this mower makes sense for anyone looking for a premium electric zero-turn that offers the versatility of being able to swap the mower’s batteries into other compatible Ego tools, such as a string trimmer or leaf blower.

In place of a gas engine or the sealed battery unit in the 370RS, you’ll find a hood that lifts to reveal six battery bays that accept Ego Power+ branded 56-volt batteries. Yes, the same Ego batteries that may power your self-propelled lawn mower, leaf blower, string trimmer, or other portable power equipment.

This partnership might seem like an odd move for an established brand like John Deere. As far as I can tell, the company doesn’t make small homeowner-grade (or professional-grade, for that matter) yard care tools like blowers or trimmers. And the brand has seemingly abandoned walk-behind mowers. Instead, it specializes in big tools—riding mowers, agricultural equipment, and earth-moving machines.

If you’re the type of person who obsesses over things other than lawn care equipment (like camping, Lego, drones, etc.), you may be thinking “OK Colin, who cares?” But if you need a riding mower and already own some Ego tools, you should.

I can understand the logic. With the 370RS, John Deere now has an avenue into small yard equipment without expending a ton of effort. When you’re ready to mow, you can open the hood, grab a battery, throw it on your Ego string trimmer, and go to town. Same thing when it comes time to blow the grass clippings off your driveway; just pop out a battery, attach it to your Ego blower, and go. If you don’t have these tools already, the money-saving advantage is that you can buy the bare-tool versions because you already have the batteries.

Of course, this is the benefit of staying within any brand’s battery ecosystem. You can have several tools that run off of one battery (or a couple—having spares is always good) and not have to fiddle with different chargers and battery brands. Ego also happens to make some quality riding mowers, which obviously use these same batteries, too. But if you aspire to own a John Deere, now you can get a green-and-yellow zero-turn that runs on the same stuff that also powers other yard tools.

I’m not going to go crazy talking about how this zero-turn cuts. My test mower is a brand new machine with sharp blades, so it naturally mows well. There is ample blade speed and power from the motors and batteries, so I had no trouble cutting through tall grass during my tests.

The controls are straightforward. An On button wakes the machine, a knob you pull starts the blades, and lap bars propel you forward, backward, and around. You adjust the deck height by pushing in a foot pedal, turning a dial on the control panel, and then releasing the foot pedal. It’s all easy and intuitive.

No surprises with cut quality, either. This mower comes standard with only side-discharge functionality (more on that in a bit). And if you are taking just a little off the top as is recommended, you’ll barely notice the sprayed grass on your lawn. Cut a bit more off with each pass, and you’re going to see the grass.

My gripe with this mower, which was also my gripe with the 370R, is that for nearly $6,500, your only way to mow is to side discharge. I get that most riding mowers only come this way from the factory, but for that price, throwing in a mulch plug would be nice. You can buy a mulch kit replete with new blades for roughly $330 for the 370R, which would likely also fit the RS, but I feel like this should be part of the standard package. If Ryobi can include a mulch kit with its $3,000 R1 riding mower, why can’t we get one on a $6,500 John Deere?

Standard with the 370RS are six Ego-branded batteries—two 10.0-amp-hour and four 6.0-amp-hour. John Deere claims the 370RS can mow up to 1.25 acres on a full charge, which seems plausible to me. I have a half-acre property, and I got more than two mows in before I need to recharge.

What’s interesting is that the 370R, with its sealed battery unit, is rated to mow up to 2 acres per charge. That’s a pretty significant amount of extra mowing capacity—3.2 kilowatt-hours versus 2.46 kilowatt-hours to be exact—for what is essentially the same mower for the same price. The only difference is the added versatility you get with the swappable Ego battery packs in the 370RS.

Speaking of charging, the 370RS comes with an Ego-branded charger that you can mount on a wall and charge your mower like you would an electric vehicle. The charging dock plugs into a standard 120-volt outlet, and then a cord from the dock plugs into the mower, charging every battery at once. It takes a few hours to charge all the batteries—I’ve never tracked charging time all that closely because I tend to charge after a mow. This is the easiest way I’ve found to deal with charging. This way when I need the mower next it’s ready to go, and I’m not having to track time until I can start cutting grass again.

If you’re looking to invest in a high-end battery-electric zero-turn mower, the John Deere 370RS is absolutely worth considering. It cuts well, is easy to operate, and can power Ego-branded yard work and power tools with its batteries. That’s a win for versatility.

If you are already invested in a different battery platform for your trimmer, blower, and other yard tools, it’s probably smarter to get the 370R for its additional runtime at no additional cost.

Shop the John Deere 370RS Zero-Turn Mower