Newgal

I live in the Boston area - lots of heavy, wet snow -- and never owned a snow blower. After last year, I'm throwing out my shovel and buying a snow blower. My dilemma is deciding between the Toro 418 and the 621 because: I'm a 65 year old woman, in good shape but not big nor strong (5'4" weighing 115lb). I only have to clear my 13' X 55' flat driveway and a fairly short sidewalk. We have gotten many storms of 6" - 18" and it tends to be wet/heavy. The worst part is the compacted snow left by the plows, which can easily be a foot or more My local store recommends the 418 because it's easy to handle and they say it does just as good a job on the compacted snow as the 621 - in some ways even better because it's light, so easier to push and pull it several times to go at the compact stuff, and they say the 621 will be harder for me to handle. My other local store recommends the 621 because it has more power, so they think it will get through the snow better. Also, Consumer Reports gave the 418 "poor" on compacted snow, and gave the 621 a "good" on compacted snow. I'm not a "true believer" in everything CR says but it does make me hesitate to get the 418 So....I'm tempted to buy the 418 because I'd prefer the smaller, lighter machine but don't want to be in the middle of winter, unable to get through the compact junk at the end of the driveway and wishing I had a more powerful machine. I'd really appreciate any advice from those who have used either or both. Thanks! Leni