Kress Mission RTKn KR172

The KR161 is the bottom rung of Kress's Mission RTKn ladder: a quarter-acre mower at $1,499.99 (list $2,099.99) sold and installed through Kress dealers rather than online. It shares its body with the KR172 and KR173, so you get the same 7.9 inch three-blade disc, 1.6 to 3.5 inch electric height range, 40 percent slope rating, 59 dB and 26.5 pounds, but with a 4 Ah 20 V pack and a 0.25 acre rating. Positioning is Kress's network RTK, which pulls corrections from a dealer-hosted antenna over the built-in 4G, so nothing is mounted at your house and the boundary is drawn in the app. It mows in parallel stripes and dead-reckons through shade. What it lacks is any obstacle avoidance beyond the bumper and lift sensor; the OAS camera module starts at the KR173. Two caveats: RTKn only works where a dealer antenna covers your address, and a published one-star owner review describes a drive failure after six weeks and weak signal under cloud and heavy foliage, with support routed through the dealer. Against a Segway Navimow i110N at $929, which adds a camera for the same quarter acre, you are paying for dealer setup and stripes. Fits a small, open suburban lot near a Kress dealer.

Best for Small, open quarter-acre lots within range of a Kress dealer's RTKn antenna, for buyers who want stripes and a dealer install at the lowest Kress price.

The KR173 is the middle Mission RTKn and the cheapest Kress with OAS obstacle avoidance, at $1,999.99 (list $2,999.99) through dealers. Kress rates it for 0.7 acre on a 48-hour cycle and 1.2 acre at 72 hours, on the same 7.9 inch deck, 4 Ah 20 V pack, 40 percent slope limit and 59 dB as the KR172; it weighs 27.6 pounds. Like its siblings it uses network RTK over built-in 4G, so there is no antenna on your property, mows in parallel stripes and dead-reckons through tree cover. The OAS module on the nose lets it steer around toys and furniture instead of bumping them, which is the main reason to spend $300 over a KR172. Kress publishes no runtime, charge time or warranty term for the US market, and coverage of a dealer RTKn antenna has to be confirmed before you buy. The main US web dealer was showing it out of stock with a free mapping trolley promotion in September 2026, so ask about lead time. Against a Segway Navimow H3000N at $1,299, which covers a similar 0.74 acre with RTK and a base station you mount yourself, the Kress premium buys stripes, a dealer install and no mast. A fit for a half to three-quarter acre lawn with scattered obstacles and a Kress dealer nearby.

Best for Half to three-quarter acre suburban lawns with toys, furniture or beds in the way, within reach of a Kress dealer's RTKn antenna.

The KR174 tops Kress's residential RTKn range at $2,699.99 (list $3,499.99): rated for 1.2 acre on a 48-hour cycle and 1.7 acre at 72 hours, with a wider 8.7 inch six-blade dual-layer deck, a 6 Ah 20 V pack, 61 dB and 28.5 pounds. It keeps the 1.6 to 3.5 inch electric height range and 40 percent slope rating of the smaller models, plus OAS obstacle avoidance, 4G, GPS tracking and a PIN lock. Positioning is Kress network RTK, so there is no antenna to mount and the mower falls back on dead reckoning under trees, then mows in straight parallel stripes. Kress lists neither runtime nor charge time nor a warranty term on the US page, and the mower sells only through dealers, who must confirm RTKn antenna coverage for your address; the main US web dealer was showing it out of stock in September 2026. The obvious rival is the Segway Navimow X350 at $2,799, which covers 1.5 acre with RTK plus cameras and a base station you install yourself, or the Husqvarna 420 iQ at $3,299 with its own dealer network. The Kress case rests on the dealer install, no mast and stripes, not on specs.

Best for Acre-plus lawns with a few obstacles whose owners want a dealer-installed, antenna-free RTK mower that stripes.

The H1500N-VF is Segway's first-generation premium mower, now on clearance as the H2 series replaces it, and the pricing is chaotic: Segway's store lists it sold out at $2,199, Amazon has bounced between $999 and $1,599, and Home Depot still carries it. What you get is a heavier 38 lb machine with quiet in-wheel hub motors (54 dB, the quietest Navimow), a battery that runs about four hours, built-in 4G with a year of service, and a real rain sensor. Navigation is EFLS 1.0 - RTK only - so it needs a clear sky over the antenna; the plug-in VisionFence camera pod on the back handles obstacles but does not help positioning, and Amazon owners report the map drifting by a few feet on tough sites and the mower crossing mapped boundaries. The dealbreaker for many US lawns is cutting height: 1.2 to 2.4 inches is a golf-course range, far too low for fescue or St. Augustine that wants 3 inches or more. The 45% slope rating beats the i series though, and owners praise how it handles ditches and uneven ground once mapped. Buy it only if your lawn is short-cut grass on a mostly open lot and you find one near $1,000; otherwise the newer X330 or H220 gets you 2 to 4 inch cutting and vision-fused positioning for not much more.

Best for Open, mostly treeless lots up to a third of an acre with short-cut grass, bought at clearance pricing.

The 410 iQ is the entry point to Husqvarna's wire-free lineup, and it is the one to look at if your lawn is a straightforward half acre with open sky. It navigates with EPOS RTK satellite positioning from an RS1 reference station you mount on the house, so there is no perimeter wire to bury, and it can still fall back to a physical wire in a shaded side yard where the signal drops. Radar handles obstacle slowdown, but owners are clear that it will still shove a stray branch around, so you tidy the yard first. The cut is the classic Husqvarna razor-blade mulch that leaves a fine finish, and it runs at 62 dB, quiet enough for early mornings. The catch is money and coverage: at $2,600 it costs more than a Segway Navimow i110N or Mammotion Luba Mini that map with cameras and cut wider, and the 420 iQ regularly sells for only a few hundred more with double the rated area. Reviews on Husqvarna's site skew toward long-time Automower owners who love the dealer network, mixed with a vocal group frustrated by units that lost GPS between the front and back yard or waited weeks on parts. Buy it if you value a local dealer and a four-year warranty over spec-sheet bragging rights.

Best for A flat to moderate half-acre lawn with open sky where you want a dealer-backed wire-free mower.

The H3000N-VF is the big-lawn version of Segway's original H series, rated for 0.74 acre with the same 8.3 in cut, 54 dB hub motors and 38.6 lb chassis as the H1500N but a larger battery (about four hours of mowing, five hours to recharge) and three years of 4G service bundled instead of one. It is being cleared out as the H2 and X3 lines take over, so it has sold on Amazon for $1,199 to $1,299 - sometimes less than the smaller H1500N - and Home Depot still lists it while Segway's own store shows it sold out at $2,599. Amazon owners say setup is easy and the finish looks great, and one reports about a third of an acre per charge. The gripes are familiar H1 issues: wheels that lack grip on damp slopes despite the 45% rating, boundary edits that are fiddly, some random-looking path choices, and RTK-only EFLS 1.0 positioning that struggles under tree canopy because the VisionFence camera only avoids obstacles. The 1.2 to 2.4 inch cutting height range is the real limiter for cool-season grasses. Against the Mammotion Luba 2 AWD 3000 at a similar clearance price you give up all-wheel drive and a 4 inch max cut but gain quieter running and a 4-year warranty. Best for a flat, open three-quarter acre of short-cut warm-season grass.

Best for Flat, open lawns up to three-quarters of an acre kept at golf-course height, for buyers who find it near $1,200.