I bought this mower to replace my ageing Flymo Chevron 350S. Its handles were sloppy, grass bag split and, I thought, a bit long in the tooth.

How about this spangly new one? A wheeled Flymo was what I wanted, sleek design, integral grass box, wide cut and a powerful motor. The cable is long and the way it attaches to the machine is excellent. What could possibly go wrong?

The main problem is that it doesn't cut grass very well - which is a major drawback for a mower. Mostly it seems to push the grass over, at best with a sharpened blade it leaves a ragged cut. The length of the cut grass is variable and although most of the clippings go into its internal box a good deal ends up on the path. The grass box is difficult to empty into a restricted space (like a bin bag) and some inevitably falls out of the hole in the bottom which is where it is scooped up in the first place.

By design, it seems, (the picture on the box is the same) it is considerably lower at th front than the back. This makes it very difficult to push over anything othr than a bowling green when set to a low height. The wheels are not independantly adjustable - a feature I find very useful on my old machine when doing the edges. The rear roller seems to get in the way and doesn't leave stripes.

After a couple of months of valiant perseverance in the face of ridicule from the rest of the family who were laughing at me for my poor purchase, I finally admitted defeat and went back to my old mower. I had done half the lawn with the 400, and completed the other half with the Chevron. What a difference. I redid the first half and consigned the flashy new one to the garage.

The major point is that good looks and innovative layout do not make up for wholly inadequate grass cutting. Its worse than the machine I've had since 1986. I am seriously considering formal complaint to Flymo.