Greenworks’ MaximusZ electric riding mower has five motors and a few compromises

The current EV market is flush with variety. I’ve driven single-motor economy-minded machines, dual-motor EVs with all-wheel drive, tri-motor vehicles that dial up the performance stakes, and even wild quad-motor performance cars, like the Rimac Nevera. But this is the first time I’ve ever driven a five-motor EV, one with the agility and speed to turn a 360 even more smoothly than an electric G-Wagon. It also makes quick work of terrible turf. This is, of course, a lawn mower, and it only uses two of those motors to drive the wheels. The other three turn a trio of blades that cut a 54-inch-wide swath in a single pass. It also promises four acres on a charge and is positioned as the ultimate mowing machine. For $8,799, it had better be. For a company that spent much of its life building white-label tools for other brands, Changzhou, China-based Greenworks has quickly leaped to the forefront of battery-powered products for those trying to phase out internal combustion in every facet of their lives. Opening a manufacturing facility in Tennessee…