depends greatly on the size of your lawn. I have a 70X30 foot rear garden and own the tiny Qualcast 32 - it cost about �60 and is light enough for me to throw around on the banking. Certainly not as high quality as my brother in laws Suffolk Punch but hey he has a MASSIVE garden.
For a billiard table lawn I would agree on a Suffolk Punch cylinder mower, for a rougher cut any Mountfield, for a ride-on mower I recommend Countax. I have all three and they have served me well for many years with am minimum of servicing required. All three are petrol mowers incidentally.