Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've used a similar Toro 1800 for 8 years to clear a driveway in NH. It's been great, but I just did a side-by-side test with this, and it powered through dense snow I piled up for testing with no problem, and actually threw the snow further (GreenWorks 19 feet; Toro 14 feet). And the features and build quality seem better than my old Toro. I thought that meant that, together with the 4-year warranty and the lower price compared to the Toro, this was a clear winner. But now I see that Toro has upped the ante--they have just this year improved their electric model 1800, and now both units have some of the same advantages compared to my old Toro. The right decision might be different for different people, but the Greenworks is very attractive at this price. The two Toro 1800s are the old Toro 1800 18-Inch 12 Amp Electric Curve Snow Thrower #38025 and the new Toro 38381 18-Inch 15 Amp Electric 1800 Power Curve Snow Thrower. The main advantage of the Toros over the Greenworks is that they are lighter--25 lbs for the new Toro 1800 vs. 37 lbs for the Greenworks. For smaller, weaker people the Toro could be easier to handle. Or, for things like clearing steps or decks, you can easily lift the Toro to do that. You can lift the Greenworks too, but I think I'd opt to just use a shovel before I'd bother with lifting the Greenworks. Since I got the Greenworks, we've only gotten a light snow , but to test the GreenWorks side-by-side with the (old) Toro, I pushed all the snow in the top 1/3 of my driveway into a pile as high as their front openings (both about a foot), and tried powering through with each. Both went through easily. The Greenworks threw most of the snow about 19 feet; the Toro about 14.5 feet. Since that hadn't been a challenge for either, I then used the Greenworks to collect lots of snow into one area, and then shoveled that into a deeper pile. At that point, the snow was getting extremely dense, from going through the snowblower once or twice and being piled up. That pile was harder to get through with either machine. The motors were both powerful enough that the rotors didn't get bogged down. However, pushing the machines into the dense pile is hard work--unlike big gas machines, these aren't self propelled. And jamming the GreenWorks into the dense pile was harder. Not to the point where there was any question that it was up to the job--just that I had to back out and roll in again more times, and each of those was more work with a heavier machine. At the time, I assumed that it was harder to push the Greenworks in mainly because it's wider. But upon looking at the Toro website, I see that they explain that their funny "powercurve" blade shape is intended to help pull the machine into the snow. I think that works to help make it easier to get through really dense snow. All in all, I expect that clearing a large driveway with a heavy snow would be about as much work with either. With the Greenworks, you can make fewer passes since it does a little wider swath each time, but you are handling a heavier piece of equipment so it's more work. So I consider them equal on performance. But that's with the old Toro--the new one is rated to draw 15 A instead of 12 A, so presumably it's a little more powerful, although the current rating doesn't prove anything. So next consider features and quality. Comparing them side-by-side, I thought the Greenworks had better build quality and features..but then I looked at the new Toro and some of the improvements in the Greenworks are also in the new Toro! For example: -Wheels: Greenworks has the biggest wheels, but the new Toro has wheels almost as big, vs. the dinky ones on the old Toro. -Both have a handle that is easy to take off or fold for summer storage, unlike the old Toro. And the new Toro has some other nice improvments like better chute adjustment mechanisms. But the Greenworks has some nice advantages too: -Better quality safety switch system on the GreenWorks. It's both easier to hold on, and harder to accidentally activate. It's actually quite possible to accidentally activate the Toro if you carry it by the handle that has the switch. The Toro has a plastic key that is a good way to prevent kids from playing with it, but that only helps if you bother to take the key out, and are you really going to do that? -Metal blade (with rubber bumpers) on the Greenworks vs. all plastic on the Toro. -Adjustable handle height--slightly taller than the Toro at the tallest setting and has two steps lower available. -Circuit breaker built in--probably makes it less likely to burn out the motor. -Sturdier handle with more steel and less plastic, compared to the Toro. The Greenworks also has a better anchor point for the cord to prevent it pulling out of the plug, compared to the old Toro, but I can't really tell how that's set up on the new one. In any case, it's nice on the Greenworks. Both of them require minor assembly. I can't remember much about assembling the Toro, but I was very impressed by the way the GreenWorks was packaged, with the parts you need for each thing attached right where you need them, and most of them requiring no tools. I'm used to getting a bag of parts with a confusing diagram, making asembly a puzzle. None of that here--very clear how it goes together and very quick. Durability might be an issue to consider. I know that the Toro held up well, though not indefinitely. After 7 winters it needed the switch replaced--inexpensive but a pain to take apart. The Greenworks is somewhat unproven...but the fact that it comes with a steel blade and a 4 year warranty means it might be considerably better than the Toro. Comparing them side-by-side makes them both seem impressive: the Toro for packing so much power in a small, light unit (and the new one might be even more powerful), but the GreenWorks is impressive for being more solidly built, having lots of details done nicely and being an amazing bargain at 2/3 the price with double the warranty. I uploaded some pictures of them side-by-side--you can see them below the main picture on the product page. Update: After a few years, none of my assessment above has changed, but I find myself choosing the Toro most of the time, just because it's lighter. The decision probably comes down to the tradeoff between weight and cost--the Greenworks is a real bargain if you don't mind the weight.