I've been a great deal of research on buying a new ride on mower, or ride on tractor/mower. I see a lot of ads for Zero Turn Riding Mowers. What are Zero Turn Riding Mowers. I can imagine how you could have such a thing. Do they work better? Are they more efficient?
In addition to the response above, one of the main advantages of the zero turn mower is the speed at which you can mow an area where there are a lot of obstacles, such as trees flower beds etc. As the name suggests the zero turn mower can turn without leaving any uncut areas, thus enabling the lawn to be cut with fewer passes of the mower.
The steering is controlled with levers rather than a traditional steering wheel. The levers allow the the power to each rear wheel to delivered individually, thus enabling the machine to be maneouvered through 180 degrees.
In answer to your questions - they can be more efficient for large flattish areas and areas requiring lots of turns. If the terrain is rough, uneven and hilly, they may not be such a good bet. But as usual, it depends what model you choos ea nd what you want it to do.
Hope this helps