Yahoo News 8 best robot lawnmowers that take the graft out of cutting the grass
Don’t worry if you’ve let the grass grow beneath your feet recently, because a robot lawnmower you will do all the work for you.
However, before you can retire your manual machine for good you’re going to need to do a little work, as all robot lawnmowers require a little assistance in the form of a laid boundary wire that will define the area to be mowed.
As the correct wire and docking station placement will determine the autonomy of the machine going forward (and the amount of hassle required) – this should be one of your biggest considerations before buying; the self-install needs to be as straightforward as possible with clear, concise instructions.
This self-determination also applies to simple programming of the machine itself – the last thing you want to be doing all summer is to keep tapping away at the machine’s keypad.
A good auto mower also needs to be manoeuvrable and have the ability to get out of sticky situations, or come equipped with quality sensors to avoid them in the first place – you don’t want to have to reposition the wire because the mower keeps getting stuck on borders or other obstacles.
We tested a range of models on a variety of garden shapes and sizes and all lawnmowers were challenged to get up shallow inclines and around a number of obstacles – ranging from hard paths to fish ponds.
Not only did the following take the toil out of keeping our turf fresh, but they also left every lawn looking well manicured and with an even carpet finish. So put down the lawnmower, pull up a deck chair and check out the best robotic lawn rangers for your patch.
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WORX landroid S300: £698, B&Q
There are five models in the landroid range that are all programmed to lawn size, so you know that straight out of the box the mower is going to be able to adapt well to yours. There’s further customisation available too with the S300 (which is ideally suited to a 300sq-m cutting area) in the form of add-on modules that help keep the price of the unit down – they’re only necessary if you have a specific requirement, like making certain areas temporary no-go areas, or allowing voice commands.
The landroid performed superbly on test and after an effortless self-installation it navigated our lawn efficiently so that it didn’t have to spend half the day finding the base station to recharge. Traction on inclines was good thanks to some well-designed rear wheels; the grass cuttings were distributed back into the lawn so that we weren’t left with lots of grass hills to contend with. With a mower this good you’re going to want to make sure no one else gets their hands on it, so it’s worth considering the anti-theft "find my landroid" system which is available as one of the modular options.
Stihl iMow RMI 422: £999, Stihl
Lawns look their best when freshly mowed and this machine – designed to cover up to 800 square metres – does a fantastic job of achieving that. Out of the box and with some straightforward programming it goes about its task of constantly cutting the lawn as the grass grows, so that you can guarantee that your patch will stay in tip-top shape. This entry-level model is equipped with responsive sensors, which means that even if your garden is littered with paths, bird tables and the like the machine will navigate around them without reducing the quality of the cut.
Overall, this model produced one of the best lawn finishes on test, cutting the very tops of the grass on a regular basis and then depositing the shreddings back into the lawn to promote healthier growth. The autonomy of the machine also impressive, adapting its cutting schedule on its own so that there was minimal fine-tuning needed after initial set up.
McCulloch rob S600: £868.45, Amazon
Designed for small to medium gardens (no more than 600 square metres), the mower made life easy with some excellent quick start instructions for the guide wire installation and connection to the base station. Time, date, security settings and a cutting plan were all completed in a few minutes so that we were off and running in just over an hour. The rob cuts randomly and the machine’s navigation around the garden was excellent. It never looked like it was going to get snagged or snared on obstacles and it never failed to find its way back to the base station for charging.
Flymo 1200 R: £500, Amazon
This is another mower that goes about its job with tireless efficiency, leaving a nice uniform cut behind it without any patching or scalping. The wire installation was speeded up with a handy cut out and keep ruler on the box which meant you could quickly measure how far the wire needed to be laid from different edges, like hard borders and gravel paths for the Flymo to be effective. The interface and menu on the machine were also easy to navigate around and the mower’s blades cut cleanly and reliably.
Gardena sileno city 250: £599, My Robot Center
This user-friendly model is ideal for smaller gardens with plenty of immovable obstacles, or gardens that include passageways of grass because its sensor set up will see it through the trickiest twists and turns without missing a blade of grass on the way. An intuitive programming assistant takes the headache out of the set up process and we had no problems laying the guide wire while the mower was on its initial charge. The lawn was cut without leaving any evidence of the mower’s tracks and thanks to the fine layer of cuttings that it left behind the lawn looked healthy and well cared for. Maintenance was also straightforward as the mower can be cleaned through with a garden hose.
Husqvarna automower 105: £875, Husqvarna
This bot did a bang up job on one of our trickiest lawn layouts. Ideally suited to lawns up to 600 square metres, the wire installation and robot set-up was uncomplicated, and you also have the advantage of being able to start the mower at two different locations along the guide wire so that it can begin cutting away from the base station. So, if you have a number of interconnected lawn areas, then the option to factor in two remote start points could be useful.
The cutting pattern left a nice finish and well mulched grass cuttings and, as it was the quietest mower on test, we were even able to set the mower to mow overnight without upsetting the neighbours. Finally, a pin and alarm ensures good security and the alarm will still sound even if the battery doesn’t have enough charge to power the mower.
Honda miimo HRM 310: £1,399, Honda
The extra mowing capacity of this 1500sq-m robot is reflected in the price tag, but the machine was impressive, performing smooth turns as it approached the wire – rather than stopping and backing up. We also liked the way that when it runs over clumps of grass, it deals with them by spiralling over the patch until they’re cut. There’s also a very handy lawn planner on the Honda website that finds your lawn on Google maps and then simulates how your miimo will work over a week of cutting. It’s also a fully waterproofed machine so you won’t have to retire it if the British summer fails to deliver.
John Deere tango E5 series II: £2,130, Mowwithus
Another machine for those with larger lawns and even larger budgets, but if you have a cricket pitch out the back then this 2200sq-m machine is more than capable of keeping it in good condition. A logical set up walks you through the programming of the machine. It’s also intuitive enough to keep itself out of trouble and concentrate on producing a uniform cut, which didn’t degrade when it was going uphill thanks to some heavy-duty traction from the big back wheels. When it’s done all the interior cutting that it needs to do the machine even performs a clean up lap around the whole boundary wire to keep the edges as tidy as possible.
The verdict: Robot lawnmowers
Robomowers are undeniably expensive, but the WORX landroid S300 delivered excellent performance and high tech spec at an affordable price. It’s packed full of technology add-ons that can be tailored, so that you’re not paying for things you don’t need. The truly autonomous Stihl iMow RMI 422 is also worth considering if you’re long on garden, but short on time.
