MTD makes Troy built, craftsman, poulan, snapper, and pretty much most other mowers.
Husqvarna is made by Husqvarna, and they use both B&S & Honda engines.
Now, here is where it gets to be downright silly. Most engines are now rated in CC or they list ft-lbs torque.
7.25 ft-lbs torque can be on anything from 150cc - 190cc mowers.
The 190cc mowers which also list 7.25 ft-lbs torque is because most of the extra power goes into the self-propelled ability, and it don't seem like anyone makes a 190cc engine without it.
I have tried a "pure" honda ($600), a 163cc/ 7.25 torque craftsman ($300), a 8.25 ft-lbs torque poulan pro (sold by sears $369), a troy built (honda engine) ($375), 156cc (I think it was that) cub cadet ($275), toro ($299), and finally a husqvarna ($250).
Honda engines have more expensive parts when they break down, compared to B&S, and also, the dealer said it is better to use premium gas or use a additive in them to protect the engine. Unsure how true this is though, but that is what they told me.
Most all new B&S EXi engines don't require oil changes, you just keep adding oil when it gets low. That is a plus for lots of people.
Anyway, in the end, I can say that these 'newer' lawn mowers are all crap. They all can't compete with my old 6.5HP B&S mower that would slice through the thickest/tallest grass without issue.
Every single one of the above mentioned mowers ALL bogged down, no matter if you tried to mulch, bag, or side discharge.
Extremely disappointing to try out all those units, and they all ended up being the same power between them, and the price range was pretty broad. Yeah, you might get some extra bells & whistles on the more expensive ones, but, lots of times you are just paying extra for the brand name.
Since I had a bad deck, and the engine block had a slight crack in it, I had no choice to retire the beast. I ended up with the husqvarna B&S high rear wheel 163cc / 7.25 torque engine. What they offered was a 3 year warranty, ball bearing wheels, and price of $250, and this wasn't a self-propelled unit. As I said, I saw virtually no difference at all between the power of all these mowers, some engines were slightly quieter, and they were all much easier to start than my old beast, they all started on the first pull, which, I admit was nice.
The easiest returns were for the lowes / HD / menards, followed by Sears.
The hardest returns was from "official" honda dealers. They didn't want to believe me that their "best" mower couldn't handle it.
They kept on trying to convince me I was doing something wrong. I had the height too low, I was going too fast, I used the wrong gas.. blah blah blah.
I spent a good 45 mins arguing with them, and even offered to drive them over to my place and show them. They didn't want to take me up on the offer.
Sorry for the long post, but, those are my findings.
Yes, I am not satisfied with the current crop of mowers and their lack of engine power.
I would also add that I went to one commercial place, and while those did have the power, I just couldn't justify the $2400 price tag.
Oh, forgot to mention I spend an extra 35 - 45 mins now cutting the grass, since the only way to prevent the mower from bogging down its to overlap the first cut so the mower is basically only cutting 3/4ths instead of the full amount, and there are spots where that isn't even enough. Did I mention I really hate these 'newer' mowers?