The Pioneer tiller is light enough & compact enough for my primary purpose, which will be weeding between rows in my 7000 square foot garden, and small bed prep. It has a small engine for a tiller (4-stroke 99 cc.) but because the tiller tines are hardened sheet metal rather than thick bolo tines, it cuts through the soil surprisingly well. It's really hard to get everything you want in any machine without paying top dollar, so it came down to compromises. What I like: - dual direction tilling, so in counter-rotating mode, won't jump forward when breaking ground - a quick-reverse lever, that can be used from the operator position regardless of tilling mode... handy for backing in or out of tight spaces without shifting - light weight & easy to control - REALLY easy starting; it takes a very light pull, probably due to the small engine. Presumably low fuel usage as well, for the same reason. - the drive control has levers on both sides, so can be easily handled from either left or right. One handed operation was effortless. - the machine profile is well designed, so that when tilling next to a fence, there are no sharp edges to get caught. The only thing which might catch is the wheels, which stick out slightly. - relatively quiet operation - assembly was easy, didn't have to "read between the lines" anywhere - friendly, responsive customer service when I had a question What I'm not fond of: - there is only one forward speed (and one reverse). I had to watch several videos of the tiller in operation to ensure I would be happy with that speed (which I am). Unfortunately, only one forward speed seems to be the default for similar tillers in this price range. - the shift lever is located on the transmission, rather than in the operator position - the shift lever has 4 settings; forward tine, reverse tine, drive wheels only, and neutral. With the engine off, the wheels are locked except in neutral. The shift lever is not clutched, so it can be difficult to move between different positions with the engine off. Jiggling the wheels back & forth while shifting helps, and shifting got easier after several uses. - the drive wheels do not turn independently... so easier to keep straight in the row, but harder to turn. That is not really a fault, since independent drive wheels are unlikely in this price range. The wheels are attached by a bolt (precoated with thread lock) which is threaded into the end of the axle, and locked to the axle by a heavy steel pin which mates with a slot in the wheel. If the bolt is not is not tightened enough, the wheel can fall off (which happened to me). When I reported the issue to Customer Service, they were kind enough to replace the missing pin & bolt at no charge, and stated that they would be adding a torque spec for the wheel bolts. Overall, this tiller has a versatile set of features, is easy to operate, and manages to get the job done with a quiet, surprisingly small engine. A good machine for small to medium-sized gardens.
