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Tier B — Petrol garden tiller Garden tiller

Honda FG201

Honda's micro tiller: GXV50 49cc 4-stroke, 30 cm width, 23 cm depth, just 17 kg. A step up from the FG110 for small beds. Verified via Honda UK.

Indicative price
£450–£600

Honda FG201 tiller
Honda

Specifications verified.The specifications here have been checked against the manufacturer's published figures and/or dealer listings. The price is still sourced from current online listings — confirm it against a live quote before you buy.

Researched and maintained by the TractoMate team · specs checked against manufacturer data · updated September 2026 · How we research & verify

Who it's for

Best for: Small beds and raised beds needing a light tiller.

Strengths

  • Honda 4-stroke reliability
  • Very light at 17 kg
  • Good depth for size
  • Easy to store and carry

Trade-offs

  • Narrow 30 cm
  • Not for virgin ground
  • Premium for size

Where the FG201 sits on Honda's tiller ladder

Honda's UK tiller range is a genuine ladder. At the bottom is the FG110 (1 hp, 23 cm); the FG201 is the next rung at 1.6 hp and 30 cm; then come the FG205 and F220 at 45–54 cm, the 80 cm mid-size FG315 and FG320, the heavy contra-rotating FF500 and FR750, and finally the F510 and F560, which are two-wheel tractors with implement drive rather than tillers. The FG201 is therefore the second-smallest thing Honda makes for turning soil, and everything about it follows from that.

The GXV50 is a 49 cc four-stroke: no mixing fuel, quieter and cleaner than a two-stroke mini tiller, and part of an engine family Honda sells in vast numbers. The 17 kg weight is the headline — most adults can carry it one-handed to the far bed — and the 23 cm depth is more than you would expect, because on a front-tine mini tiller the tines are the drive and a light machine can be held back to dig. The FG110 review covers the smaller sibling if 30 cm still sounds too wide.

What it will and will not do

Its natural habitat is the raised bed, the greenhouse border, the strip between rows and the flower border that needs compost worked in. On soil that has been cultivated before it makes a fine tilth quickly and turns in its own length. It is also the right size for a gardener who cannot lift a full-size rotavator into a car, which is a bigger part of the market than manufacturers admit.

It will not break new ground. Virgin turf, compacted clay or a couch-grass allotment will make a 17 kg machine bounce and skate, and you will end up holding it in place with your back. The sensible pattern is to hire a heavy machine for the first break-in — see our rotavator hire guide — and use the FG201 for everything afterwards. If your beds are within cable reach of a socket, an electric cultivator does the same job for less; the FG201 wins where there is no power and you want no cable.

Buying new or used in the UK

The FG201 is sold both by Honda dealers and online, including Amazon UK, which is where the £450–600 range here comes from. The online price is usually keener; the dealer route gives you a prepared machine, a person to ring and simpler warranty handling. For a mini tiller that is mostly bolt-together and rarely goes wrong, many buyers reasonably take the online price — but check the seller is a Honda-authorised outlet so the warranty is valid.

Mini tillers are the classic bought-used-twice-then-sold machine, so the used market is healthy and often lightly used. Check three things. The carburettor: a machine that has sat with petrol in it for a winter may be gummed and need a clean. The tine shafts: look for string, wire or bindweed wound tight behind the tines, which wears the seals. And the transmission grease and recoil starter — both cheap to sort, both a sign of how the machine was treated.

Who should not buy the FG201

A full-plot allotment holder. At 30 cm you will make a great many passes over a plot, and the machine's light weight becomes a liability on anything firm. Anyone on heavy clay, anyone clearing overgrown ground, and anyone who thinks a mini tiller replaces a rotavator should look at the FG320 or FF500 instead. It also carries a premium for its size; the FG205 gives 45 cm for less money if width matters more than weight.

The right buyer has several raised beds or a greenhouse, values being able to carry the machine rather than wheel it, and has already accepted that the first dig is someone else's job. For that gardener it is one of the few mini tillers that feels like a tool rather than a toy, and Honda's dealer network means it will still be serviceable in a decade. Our best small rotavator guide sets it against the rest of the class.

Specifications

Specifications for FG201
Category Garden tiller
Type Front-tine · Petrol garden tiller
Power source Petrol
Engine Honda GXV50 (49cc)
Power output 1.6 hp / 1.2 kW
Working width 30 cm
Weight 17 kg
Status Current model
Indicative price £450–£600
Price basis Online listing

Front-tine machine. Width and weight determine how much ground you cover and how manoeuvrable it is — heavier machines bite harder but ask more of you to turn and transport.

FG201 — your questions

How much does the Honda FG201 cost?

The indicative price is £450–£600, based on current online listings. Always confirm against a live quote — these figures are estimates pending verification.

What size plot is the FG201 suited to?

Small beds and raised beds needing a light tiller. With a 30 cm working width it is built for tight spaces, raised beds and getting between rows.

Is the FG201 petrol, diesel or electric?

It is petrol (Honda GXV50 (49cc)). That means strong sustained power for breaking and turning ground, with routine fuel and oil maintenance.

Honda FG201 or FG110 — which is better for raised beds?

The FG201 gives 1.6 hp and 30 cm against the FG110's 1 hp and 23 cm, for a similar or lower price online, and the extra width means fewer passes across a standard bed. The FG110 is worth choosing only where 23 cm is the point — narrow rows, tight borders or a very small greenhouse. For most raised-bed gardeners the FG201 is the better balance.

Will the Honda FG201 cope with an allotment?

For maintaining already-worked beds, yes, though 30 cm means many passes. For breaking in a new or neglected plot, no — at 17 kg it cannot hold itself in hard ground. Hire a heavy rotavator for the first dig, or buy an 80 cm machine such as the FG320 if you are cultivating the whole plot each season.