Customer Reviews for Cub Cadet Ultima ZT1 42 in. 56-Volt MAX 60 Ah Battery Lithium-Ion Electric Drive Zero Turn Riding Lawn Mower

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] No buying gas. No belts, oil changes or any major maintenance. Charging is quick and easy. The two major problems is that it has issues with getting wet and not working. For a machine that runs outside it should be more waterproof. If you let it dry out, it resets and is good to go. The second is that the drive control is unpredictable. When in full speed mode it is very jerky and sometimes feels like you don’t have control compared to the same gas model. When in the slow (turtle) mode it is more steady, but the speed to each wheel seems inconsistent each time you start out. It is clear the slow mode was designed because of the jerky speeds in the full speed mode. It takes some getting used to with power going to each wheel independently rather than from one motor. But once you get past that, it makes it easier to get past the sensitive controls.

If you have 3/4 acre yard that is perfectly flat with no obstacles or curves and willing to mow in the slow turtle mode the entire time - than this expensive tractor is for you! The control is incredibly jerky and unresponsive making this a terrible zero turn experience. I cannot get control to mow by my curved landscaping, or around my tree rings at all. I do have a hill in the back yard and cannot go straight up and down it. (up I can almost manage, down is impossible) Even straight lines on my very flat front yard is very difficult to maintain so I had to do turtle mode the entire time in the end. To confirm it wasn't just me, I drove my brother's Cub Cadet ZT1 (gas) and it handled perfectly. Mowed around his 36" fire pit with near inch precision. So they just don't have the control in this electric model to handle as I think anyone would expect. I did call Cub Cadet multiple times, at first I was told they drive different and I just needed more "seat time", which is nonsense after the 3-5 hours of driving this. Finally got someone else that walked me through a factory calibration of the controls that I had hope would help...but unfortunately it did not. I wasn't super impressed with the battery life either...I am a larger guy, so maybe that is part of it - but when done mowing my 3/4 acre of grass I only had 18% remaining. This could also be from the terrible control jerking it all around on the motors and having to go over multiple times to get it to mow my yard. Hard to say for sure. So it would make it an acre I'd say...but not two acres as it is rated for. I am now working with Home Depot to return this, and probably exchange for the Electric Ryobi ZTR instead as that has much better reviews. (The Cub Cadet was a new product, so no reviews were out when I bought it)

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Performance is great after the first 10 hours of use.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] When I first used my ZT1-42E it seemed to come up short on drive ability. I assumed that having been using a gas powered zero turn for a decade would result in skills that would instantly transfer over to my new Cub Cadet. What I found was that there were differences in drive ability that required my brain to adapt just like the first time I drove my old zero turn. As I used my new Cub Cadet my brain adapted and the experience became better. I’m not yet at the same level of control I had with my old mower but when I attempted to use my previous zero turn it was actually more difficult to use. In general the ZT1-42E is a great mower, has awesome battery life and the mower deck removal for cleaning is much easier than my previous one. Overall I’m very happy with my purchase. Thank you.

I took delivery on 15-April-2021 from a local dealer. They did setup and delivery. I've charged it three times and have had no issues so far. I don't have interior storage so I'm using a UTV cover. I have the bagger and removing the tube to clear the opening is a pain but I don't think that's model specific. The controls are quite sensitive and the motors could spool up a bit more smoothly. The net experience is twitchy movement at very low speed.

This zero-turn all-electric mower doesn't cut it!! I purchased with high expectations and accepted the risk as an early adopter of this technology - for this application. I trusted Cub Cadet as an established, reputable provider of high-quality lawn equipment. I love the features, cut quality, and ease of operation - with one exception. The problem that can't be overlooked and forces this poor review is this: the manufacturer claims that this model will "Mow up to two acres on a single charge without power fade." I have 1.3 acres of lawn. After 10.3 hours of operation of this mower, representing six mowings of my lawn, I have yet to complete a single mowing without running the batteries down to 5%, at which time the blades shut off and the mower must be recharged. Overall, therefore, this mower requires MORE time to complete a full mowing of my lawn than it took me with my tired, 8-year old putt-putt Craftsman lawn tractor. I have mowed at both fast and slow blade rotation speeds, and with the drive in normal and "turtle" mode. None of these combinations allow me to mow my 1.3 acres on a single charge. My yard is fairly flat and, I believe, not atypical. I cannot underemphasize my disappointment in this mower. It performs poorly, offers little value, and is significantly overpriced.

I have had this mower for about a month now and have used it about 4 times. I have a 1.2 acre lot to mow. Pros: 1. No gas engine, mean a lot less maintenance. This machine does not even have a belt. So as long as the batteries are operating, there should not be anything to replace for a long time. No gas, oil, filters nor belts to replace. 2 Much more quite than the gas models! If not running the deck and blades, it like riding an electric golf cart. Cons: Unfortunately, the list is a lot longer than I would hoped it would be. 1. The right control lever kept getting hard to move back and forth. After careful examination, I realized both the back and forth arms controlling the right motor and sticking causing, perhaps turn on the the back and forth signals at the same time. I had to put the machine on jack to adjust the bolts and oil up the parts to get it loose and working like the left side. 2. I have not been able to go below 19% battery charge. The machine shuts down completely issuing errors like E702. Therefore, I have not been able to mow my lot completely on one charge. I have to remove the key, restart the machine to charge it before reusing it. The first time it shut down on me, it was away from the house, not being able to reach it with extension cord to charge and the fact that was going to rain in a few hours, cause me a bit of panic. I had to leave it alone for a few minute and then tried to turn it on. I think problem 1 and 2 were working together to have caused the delay in the restart. 3. The support by Cub Cadet is lacking. The reps are polite and courteous but unhelpful. There just not enough support and data for this machine yet. They are not hungry for feedback on this new product either. They referred me to a local dealer for warranty work. I called a couple of them but during this time of year, they could not do any warranty work in 3 weeks. If you don't have the means to get the mower to the dealer, they will pick it up for you for about $120 fee. So I am waiting for off season to get this battery issue checked out.

Really surprised by the power and silence of this mower. Charges quick and is so easy to use. A little touchier than zero turns I have used in the past but not bad at all. Only thing I would complain about is the price!

The unit was delivered as promised. However the hitch and hardware package was missing. Spent two hours on the phone with Home Depot customer service with no results. Mower itself will cut 2 hours on one charge but will not cut my 2 acres in one charge. The steering is very jerky. They need to engineer some damping in the reaction of the wheel motors.

Excellent lawn mower. My 13yo son is having fun mowing my lawn.

After doing a lot of research, I decided to give the Cub Cadet 56-Volt a try, as I really wanted to go with an Electric Zero Turn after having a Gas powered Zero Turn the past 5 years. Unfortunately, I just don't think they have figured out the configuration for the electric model yet. It's very hard to operate, it's over-powered at low speeds, which means it's very jerky with the controls. I had to constantly adjust the handles to go straight and its top end speed is slow than I expected. I'm optimistic the technology will catch up in the next few years, but for now, it seems that they have not yet worked out all of the kinks.

This review is of the product only and not of Home Depot. Home Depot was only the vessel to convey me this useless machine. I bought a used Craftsman in 2014 for $750. It lasted six seasons. It was not optimal. Did not have all the bells and whistles. In looking at the reviews for this machine I saw a lot of positives. No more spark plugs, filter, gas, oil, filters, gaskets, belts etc. My wife and kids could potentially use it in the future. This machine all in was $4800 and I spent and additional $150 at Cub Cadet for an arm rest assembly and mulching kit. The product arrived yesterday. Took me a couple of hours to get it unboxed and to burn the pallets and such. Tried to charge it and the thing will not take a charge. I am beside myself. Paid top dollar, trying to do the right thing for the family and the environment, and come to find out that Cub Cadet is beta testing with a $5K mower. The mere thought of the audacity in doing that to a customer is unfathomable. But they are doing this to everyone who buys this mower. In addition I tried to call support and nobody knows how to fix it. The Cub Cadet network of dealers most of them are either untrained on how to repair or uninterested in being of assistance. Nobody expressed any remorse or concern or apologized for their product. The only information that I received was one dealer that was 40 minutes away sent from a nameless email address with the contact information. Being the dope that I am, I picked up and called the dealer that Cub Cadet recommended and they said that they do not work on these products. The gentleman at that dealership was kind enough to listen to me complain about this whole ordeal and even apologized even though he had absolutely nothing to do with it! I do not own a truck. I have to rent one but it is going back tomorrow with a solemn vow that as long as I live I will never buy another Cub Cadet product, that I will attempt to influence anyone I know away from ever buying another Cub Cadet product, and that I will never attempt to buy something new to market again because it is rife with nothing but headaches.... expensive and time consuming headaches.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I bought ZT1 42E from a local dealer about 3 weeks ago . I have a little under 1.5 acres of lawn , the cut is great battery was at 48% after about 1 hr run time. Only have one compliant about the controls sometimes i experience a slight hesitation when i push the control arms forward or pull back. Also had a large pile of leaves left from the fall , drove thru them to test the power of the blades with the bagger attached and this caused the blades motors to stop due to the motor overload fault switch. Made one modification on the bagger , i removed the nut and bolt that attached it and replaced it with a cotter pin

Very solid zero turn mower with great battery range. Mowing 3/4 acre of grass and after an hour it still has 46% battery left with max blade speed and slow mower speed. Very good power, speed and range. Same impressive steel frame as on the gas mower. Of course, it's also very quiet so you can listen to your ear pods on normal volume. After using an electric push mower, I was worried about range, but that will not be an issue with this mower for me as it has plenty of battery capacity.

Love it so far. Is very touchy or should I say responsive. I'm new to zero turn, but I can say it's the way to go for a large yard. Battery lasts for 2 acre yard and you can see your display of what's left on your battery.

The mower is a bit tricky to start due to safety features requiring to apply the brake and push the button holding it a few seconds. It also requires some learning to get used to too responsive and powerful wheel motors to make it move in the direction you want. Once you learn all of that you have a very quiet and very powerful machine that never gets stuck anywhere. I used it to easily pull a pretty heavy cart where my old Husqvarna 24hp mower would definitely fail to pull due to poor wheel traction with the ground. No disgusting fumes, no noises and no hassle with the fuel and maintenance is a huge plus for me. Hope it lasts a long time.

I really wanted to be impressed, but at this point I'm disappointed. I was having the E108 error code, which prevents the mower from running. The first disappointment is there is no published list of error codes. I asked the question here and the Cub Cadet representative said to call the number on their website. That might be OK if you have an issue during their operating hours. When I was able to call, I waited 10 minutes before given the option of a call back, which I selected. When I finally got a callback, the rep couldn't help me because he didn't have the information and he couldn't forward me to the person that might be able to help because their system doesn't allow transfers on callbacks. They worked it out that they would email me a service center contact in my area. Guess what, I'm still waiting on that email three days later. I can't recommend this mower until Cub Cadet gets their act together. Why display error codes when no one at Cub Cadet can tell you what they mean? So, if you decide to spend $4500 for a product that may not run when you get it, be prepared to have a 600 lb paperweight until Cub Cadet can figure out how to help a customer.

Having driven nearly every manufacture of zero-turn mower, call it an idiosyncrasy or just good times, from gas to diesel, propane to electric I will say firstly the cons. Initially, see the question regarding E108 fault code, as was the case with me, yet no help for me from the manufacture. Next the electric response isn't as fluid as hydrostatic. I thought this was strange, given it is DC electrical current, and we know DC power is paramount because of its smooth flow and even voltage. Just increase the current thank you, but alas at the onset it can sputter, and if you leave it there it will be a jittery ride, but it is minutely responsive. That means small movements mean movement. Takes a minute to get used to. Especially when historically you have to move your arms to move a zero-turn. Slight movements here please, or you will run over a fence, as in my case, or whatever happens to be at your side- that happened in the first 5 minutes, so keep folks onlooking at a distance when you begin please. Luckily no harm no fowl in my regard. Despite the technological/electrical learning curve it is a great mover, and I highly recommend it. See my answer to question number one regarding fault code E108, for I'd like to save you the phone call, as Cub Cadet recommended, and an irritated wife who can't get out of the garage, since they didn't have an answer for me. At any rate, it's relatively quite, triple fast, I scarcely say anyone could mow out of slow with this thing- challenge posted, nice seat but it should have the arms attached at $4500 not an accessory, oh one more thing you might find irritating, as I do when repeating nonsensical actions. When you exit the mower for whatever reason, move a branch, fix the fence you just ran over, get a drink- water please, you have to set it back to initial mow setup each time before you can start mowing again. This means locking the brake, setting the levers outboard, pushing start again, then you can push the mow button. This should have an over-ride to keep you fluidly mowing not repeating steps from the onset. I realize and appreciate safety as a foundation- initially, but once that has been established let me get to work; I have acknowledged what I am doing- thank you. It is a great mower, your neighbor will love it, your brother-in-law will call it HAWT, your daughter will want to immediately mow with it and letting your offspring expound their sense of purpose and prowess you will allow this for fostering their acumen is a fatherly foundation- just go get the wire and fence stretcher first.