Toro Power Clear 518 ZE

21" wide · 35 ft throw · 84 lb

The 721 E has quietly become the default 'just buy the Toro' answer for paved driveways - 1,800+ reviews averaging 4.5 stars and a decade of the 212cc four-stroke proving itself. It throws snow up to 35 feet, starts with a push-button (via 120V cord) or first pull, and the Power Propel paddle drive pulls itself forward hard enough that you're steering more than pushing. The Quick Chute lever spins the 210-degree chute without stopping, and unlike the two-strokes of old there's no gas-oil mixing. Owners' complaints are specific: the chute lever is short and awkward for some hands, single-stage paddles ride up on hardpack and can't touch gravel, and a foot-deep wet storm means slow, half-width bites. Early units had scattered reports of the exhaust cooking a control cable, largely sorted in later production. Honda's exit from US snow blowers removed its only real single-stage rival, so at $799 the 721 E mostly competes with its big brother 821 QZE - buy the 721 if your snow is usually under 9 inches and your driveway holds four cars or fewer.

Best for The suburban homeowner with a 2-4 car paved driveway who wants the proven, no-drama gas single-stage everyone recommends.

21" wide · 40 ft throw · 95 lb

This is the biggest engine anyone puts in a single-stage - a 252cc Toro Premium OHV in a 95-pound, 21-inch machine - and it exists for people who want two-stage punch without two-stage bulk. Forum consensus on the 821-vs-721 question is refreshingly honest: it won't clear anything the 721 can't, but it's noticeably quicker through deep, dense snow and hurls slush up to 40 feet instead of dribbling it. The Power Propel paddles yank it forward aggressively (feather your grip on ice), electric start is push-button with a cord, and the Zip Deflector flips throw height with a palm tap. Knocks from the 631 owner reviews averaging 4.5 stars: it's front-heavy for a single-stage, the chute handle still requires a reach, and at $999 you're within sight of a real two-stage Power Max 824 on sale. Still no gravel, still 12.5 inches of intake. Buy it for wide city driveways with heavy plow drool at the curb; skip it if your snow is fluffy and occasional - the 721 does that job for $200 less.

Best for The homeowner in heavy-wet-snow country who wants maximum single-stage power for plow piles but has no room for a two-stage.

24" wide · 40 ft throw · 125 lb

The SnowMaster is the line Toro built to answer a specific complaint: two-stage machines are slow and heavy, single-stages are too narrow. It takes a 24-inch bite like a two-stage but uses one in-line auger spinning roughly ten times faster than a conventional one, so snow goes straight out the chute instead of being handed to an impeller. The result is a machine that clears a two-car driveway at walking speed and still lifts onto a truck tailgate. The trade-off is honest and worth understanding before you buy: the rubber-edged auger contacts the ground, so this is a paved-surface machine only, and it will not touch a gravel drive. Against the Power Clear 821 QZE it clears three more inches per pass; against the Power Max 824 OE it gives up the ability to handle a packed end-of-driveway berm.

Best for Paved two-car driveways where the storms are frequent but rarely deeper than a foot, and speed matters more than brute force.

24" wide · 40 ft throw · 131 lb

The 824 QXE is the 724 with a 252cc engine in place of the 212cc and six more pounds on the scale, and that is genuinely the whole difference. Same 24-inch in-line auger, same Personal Pace drive, same 18-inch intake. The larger engine is the answer to the SnowMaster's one real weakness — wet, heavy, late-season snow, where the smaller motor has to be driven slower to keep the auger spinning. For $50 more it is difficult to argue for the 724 unless the machine is going to live somewhere the extra six pounds matters.

Best for The same paved two-car driveway as the 724, in a region where the snow arrives wet and heavy rather than dry and light.

21" wide · 60V 7.5Ah (405Wh) · 55 lb

Toro's battery single-stage is the rare cordless machine that gas people concede is legitimate - one six-season owner on Snowblower Forum called it flat-out better than his EGO and only a notch behind a gas 721 E. The 60V brushless motor ramps power with load, the Power Curve paddles scrape to pavement and pull the 55-pound machine forward, and it throws cold powder up to 40 feet. It's also quiet enough for 5 a.m. and starts with a bail squeeze - no cord, no choke, no carburetor to gum up over summer. The honest limits: the included 7.5Ah pack clears roughly an 8-to-12-car driveway of moderate snow, but wet heavy stuff can halve that, spare L405 batteries are painfully expensive, and the stubby chute's deflector is awkward to adjust mid-pass. At $749 it undercuts EGO's comparable kit while sharing packs with Toro's 60V mowers and trimmers, which is the whole ecosystem play. Over 1,000 Ace Hardware reviews average 4.5 stars. For paved driveways and storms under 10 inches, this is the future arriving politely.

Best for The suburbanite with a paved 2-4 car driveway who already owns (or wants) Toro 60V yard tools and is done with gas cans.

24" wide · 45 ft throw · 184 lb

The Power Max 824 OE is the price of entry to Toro's two-stage world and probably the best value in the lineup: $1,399 gets you the same 252cc engine as the flagship 826 trims, a 24-inch bucket with a full 20 inches of intake, and a legit 45-foot throw. Toro's Anti-Clogging System is the sleeper feature - it meters what the auger feeds the impeller, so heavy wet snow keeps flying instead of packing the chute - and there are no shear pins to snap; hardened gears plus an engine that deliberately stalls on impact stand in for them, which unnerves first-timers and delights everyone else. The Quick Stick joystick moves chute and deflector in one motion and is genuinely nicer than Ariens' crank. What you give up versus the 826 OHAE: no triggerless steering, no hand warmers, no headlight - and 184 pounds takes some muscle in turns. Against the Ariens Compact 24 (223cc), the Toro throws farther and clogs less; Ariens counters with auto-turn steering. Over 1,100 Ace reviews average 4.5 stars. The pragmatist's two-stage.

Best for The value-focused buyer stepping up to their first two-stage for a 4-10 car driveway who can skip heated grips and auto-steer.