Despite its diminutive size, the Sun Joe MJ401E-PRO 13 is an affordable mower for small backyards. It’s also designed to travel over trickier terrain, making it a good option for those with uneven green spaces. While it has a low MSRP of around $139 at time of writing, it comes with a generous two year warranty for extra peace of mind.
You’ll quickly spot that the Sun Joe MJ401E-PRO 13’s cutting height range isn’t as varied as those on the very best electric lawn mowers, but it’s decent enough for small gardens. Due to its smaller size and use of electric power, it’s also more eco-friendly, making it a good choice if you are looking to reduce your impact on the environment.
In our Sun Joe MJ401E-PRO 13 review, we look at the mower’s spec, design and features, and see how it compares to other mowers of a similar performance and price. We’ve also analyzed user reviews from existing customers to see what you can expect from using this compact mower yourself.
Sun Joe MJ401E-PRO 13 mower: Design
Type: Electric Push Mower
Battery: Corded Electric
Cutting width: 14 inches
Minimum Cutting Height: 1.18 inches
Maximum Cutting Height: 2.25 inches
Weight: 30lbs
Warranty: Two years
Like all of the brand’s products, the Sun Joe MJ40E-PRO 13 is designed for sheer ease of use. Simplicity, accessibility and value for money are the name of this mower’s game, with the main body made of just three central components, including the bag.
The bag is, in fact, detachable with the PRO 13 version, and can be replaced with a side discharge chute. This chute delivers fine grass trimmings to the left hand side of the mower. When this 10.6 gallon bag is detached, the overall design becomes much sleeker, and the mower can be moved around with much more ease.
A collapsible handle makes storage of the Sun Joe MJ40E PRO-13 much simpler, compacting the already tiny mower even further. The 14-inch blade is housed in a body that is only 16.1 inches in total. Having only an extra inch either side of the blade is what makes the mower so suited to smaller lawns.
Sun Joe MJ401E-PRO 13 mower: Features
As you might expect with such a small mower, the Sun Joe MJ40E-PRO 13 packs fewer features than its larger peers. However, it does come with a few useful tools that can help small yard gardeners. Chief among those is the precision offered by its blade size and cutting heights.
The three-position cutting height ranges from 1.18-2.52 inches, which is combined with the 14-inch blade width. While this does not cut huge swathes in a large lawn, it does provide a very precise cut on smaller yards and garden areas with difficult shapes or inclines. We’d also recommend our Snapper XD 82V Max StepSense review for a mower that powers up when it encounters tricky terrain.
Weighing in at 30lbs, the Sun Joe MJ40E-PRO 13 is much lighter than other mowers for small yards. For example, the Greenworks 48V 20-inch push mower clocks in at 63lbs. Despite this relatively small frame, the 10.6 gallon trimmings bag is still a decent volume. Or, if you want an even nimbler mowing experience, a discharge chute can be used instead.
Sun Joe MJ401E-PRO 13 mower: How could it benefit you?
Ultimately, the Sun Joe MJ401E-PRO 13 is built for anyone who wants to trim their personal gardens on a budget. Considering its size and price, it provides a surprisingly solid set of benefits.
It has a relatively potent engine for its size, and can easily cover a quarter acre backyard in about an hour or so. Other benefits include:
- A replaceable 10.6 gallon trimmings bag that can be swapped out for a chute that disperses trimmings to the left of the mower.
- The 13-amp electric motor is relatively powerful and much quieter than its gas competitors.
- It is much cheaper than many other similar products.
Sun Joe MJ401E-PRO 13 mower: User reviews
Out of 1,217 reviews on Amazon, the Sun Joe MJ40E PRO-13 sits at a solid 4.4 out of 5 stars. 68% of these reviews were 5 stars. A similar trend continues on Snow Joe’s website, with an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars generated from 21 reviews. None of these reviews dipped below 3 stars, with 71% being a perfect score.
The prevailing opinion of the Sun Joe MJ401E-PRO 13 throughout its many user reviews is that it is slightly unusual, but incredibly effective for its price. According to reviews, the process for adjusting the cutting height is a bit difficult and sometimes slips back into lower positions.
Many high rating reviews comment on the product’s maneuverability and power for its size. Its ease of use is also praised. One 5 out of 5 stars review in particular was written by a first time mower, who found the simplicity incredibly appealing. More average 3-star reviews mentioned that the product is great value, but the 14-inch blade width does not quite cut it for them.
Should you buy the Sun Joe MJ401E-PRO 13?
If you are looking for a lightweight mower that you can move around with no issue, the Sun Joe MJ401E-PRO 13 is the mower for you. Its small but mighty 13-amp engine gives it enough cutting power to handle some surprisingly tall grass in yards no bigger than a quarter acre.
Of course, the fact this mower is best for quarter acre lawns does have its downsides. Even for small gardens, this 14-inch blade is quite small, and will mean more effort is needed than with a 20-inch wide blade. The Sun Joe MJ40E-PRO 13 is, however, a great budget buy for novice gardeners with small yards. For our top pick of electric mowers overall, read our EGO Power+ 21-inch LM2102 review.
