Quick Answer: The Country Clipper Boulevard (48”, 54”, or 60” deck, Kawasaki FR691V engine, starting at $6,249 MSRP per the manufacturer’s own site) is the best overall pick for most homeowners. Budget buyers should look at the entry Avenue (42” or 54” deck, from $5,199), and buyers who want a larger engine and wider deck choices can step up to the XLT (48”, 52”, or 60” deck, Kawasaki FR730V, from $8,249). For commercial-duty hours, the Challenger (52” or 60” deck, Kawasaki FX730V) is the entry commercial tier — Country Clipper doesn’t publish its price, but a current 2026 dealer listing shows $9,249 for the 60” model. Country Clipper invented the industry’s first joystick-controlled zero-turn in 1989 and still offers joystick or twin-stick steering on the same chassis, a genuinely uncommon choice among the brands covered on this site.
Country Clipper doesn’t get mentioned much on this site, and that’s a real gap: it’s the company behind the first joystick-operated zero-turn mower, a 1989 invention briefly licensed to Snapper before Country Clipper launched it under its own name in 1990, and it’s still family-run today as a division of Shivvers Mfg. in Corydon, Iowa — a small Iowa manufacturer that got its start building grain-drying equipment before entering the zero-turn market in 1984. Here’s how its current six-tier lineup breaks down.
Country Clipper zero-turn mowers, compared
| Model | Best for | Deck | Engine | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avenue | Best budget | 42", 54" | Kawasaki FR600V or FR651V | from $5,199 |
| Boulevard | Best overall | 48", 54", 60" | Kawasaki FR691V | from $6,249 |
| XLT | Best residential upgrade | 48", 52", 60" | Kawasaki FR730V | from $8,249 |
| Challenger | Best commercial entry | 52", 60" | Kawasaki FX730V | See dealer (roughly $9,249 per 2026 listing) |
1. Country Clipper Boulevard — Best Overall
Country Clipper Boulevard
- Country Clipper's mid-tier residential model, sitting between the budget Avenue and the upgraded XLT, per the manufacturer's own published lineup.
- Like every current Country Clipper model, it's exclusively Kawasaki-powered — the entire lineup, residential and commercial, runs Kawasaki FR- or FX-series engines, with no Briggs & Stratton, Kohler, or Vanguard option anywhere in the range.
- Available with either traditional twin-lever steering or Country Clipper's own single-joystick control on the same chassis, per current 2026 dealer listings showing both versions sold side by side.
2. Country Clipper Avenue — Best Budget
Country Clipper Avenue
- Country Clipper's entry residential tier, with the smallest deck choices in the current lineup (42" or 54") and the lineup's smaller-displacement Kawasaki engines.
- The only published-MSRP model under $6,000 in Country Clipper's current range, per the manufacturer's own site — a meaningfully lower entry point than the Boulevard above it.
- Shares the same dealer-only sales channel as every other Country Clipper tier, so expect final out-the-door pricing to include freight and dealer prep on top of the published starting figure.
3. Country Clipper XLT — Best Residential Upgrade
Country Clipper XLT
- The top residential tier, stepping up to the largest FR-series engine Country Clipper offers outside its commercial range and adding a 52" deck size not available on the Avenue or Boulevard.
- Historically sold as a redesign of the older Challenger-era residential platform, per trade coverage of Country Clipper's prior lineup changes — current specs come directly from the manufacturer's own site rather than that older material.
- Like the rest of the lineup, both twin-stick and joystick control versions are sold, per current dealer listings.
4. Country Clipper Challenger — Best Commercial Entry
Country Clipper Challenger
- Country Clipper's entry commercial-grade tier, moving from the residential FR-series engine family to the heavier-duty, commercial-rated Kawasaki FX730V.
- Country Clipper's own site lists this and its two higher commercial tiers (Charger, Boss XL) as "See Dealer" with no published MSRP — unlike the three residential tiers above, which all show a starting price. A current 2026 dealer listing for the 60" twin-stick and joystick versions shows $9,249 for either control option, but treat that as one dealer's asking price, not a manufacturer figure.
- Above the Challenger, Country Clipper's Charger (52", 60", or 72" deck, Kawasaki FX850V or FX921V) and Boss XL (60" or 72" deck, Kawasaki FX1000V or FX921V) push further into wide-area commercial territory, per the manufacturer's own site.
A family-run brand with a real engineering first
Country Clipper is a division of Shivvers Mfg., a family-owned manufacturer in Corydon, Iowa that originally built grain-drying equipment before entering the zero-turn mower market in 1984, per the company’s own 40th-anniversary trade coverage. That’s a different ownership structure from most of the brands covered on this site, many of which sit inside larger multi-brand holding companies (see our zero-turn mower brands guide for how ownership compares across every brand we track).
The brand’s real claim to fame is steering, not deck size: in 1989, Country Clipper developed the lawn and garden industry’s first joystick-operated zero-turn mower, briefly marketed under the Snapper name (see our best Snapper zero-turn mower guide for how that brand has changed hands since) before Country Clipper launched it under its own brand in the spring of 1990, per the company’s own 30th-anniversary materials. Nearly 40 years later, it’s one of the only brands we cover that still lets a buyer choose joystick or twin-lever steering on the identical chassis — current 2026 dealer listings show both control versions of the same Challenger model sold side by side, rather than forcing a control-scheme choice into a separate trim or price tier, unlike Cub Cadet’s wheel-and-pedal Synchro-Steer (see our best zero-turn mower steering wheel guide).
Every current Country Clipper model, residential and commercial, is exclusively Kawasaki-powered — FR-series engines across Avenue, Boulevard, and XLT, FX-series across Challenger, Charger, and Boss XL, per the manufacturer’s own site. That’s a narrower engine strategy than brands like Swisher or Toro, which offer a choice between engine makers on the same deck.
We found two resolved CPSC recalls worth knowing about. In 2014, roughly 1,650 US units (2012-2014 model years) were recalled over an ignition module that could overheat and melt, a fire hazard — the remedy was a free dealer repair, and no injuries were reported. In 2015, about 450 Edge, Edge XLT, and Wrangler models were recalled for gas caps with threads that didn’t match the fuel tank opening, letting fuel leak — again a free dealer fix with no reported incidents. Both recalls are resolved and don’t apply to any current Avenue, Boulevard, XLT, Challenger, Charger, or Boss XL model.
The bottom line
The Country Clipper Boulevard is the best overall pick for most homeowners shopping this brand, with the Avenue covering tighter budgets and the XLT stepping up engine size and deck choices within the residential range. Buyers who need commercial-duty hours should look at the Challenger and its higher-tier siblings, though expect to call a dealer for an actual price rather than finding one published. Whichever tier you land on, Country Clipper’s joystick-or-twin-stick choice and all-Kawasaki engine lineup are genuinely distinct from most other brands on this site. See our zero-turn mower brands guide for how Country Clipper’s dealer-only, family-owned model compares against every other brand we cover.
Last updated: October 26, 2026 — model lineup, deck sizes, engine options, and residential MSRPs sourced directly from Country Clipper’s own current site. Commercial Challenger pricing is a current 2026 third-party dealer listing, not a manufacturer-published figure, and disclosed as such. Joystick-invention history and company ownership sourced from Country Clipper’s own 30th- and 40th-anniversary trade-press materials. CPSC recall details (2014 ignition module, 2015 gas cap) confirmed directly against cpsc.gov recall notices.