STIHL iMOW 7 EVO

The 6 EVO is the middle STIHL iMOW: the same 11-inch three-blade disc, ultrasonic sensors and built-in mobile module as the 5 EVO, with a bigger battery that runs about 150 minutes per charge instead of 65 and recharges to 80 percent in roughly 75 minutes. The US version (Mfr# IA01 011 1447) is the 4-inch high-cut model, so it adjusts electrically from 2.4 to 4.0 inches rather than the 0.8 to 2.4 inch range STIHL sells in Europe, which suits fescue and other cool-season lawns kept tall. That taller deck is also why the US rating is about 0.6 acre, well under the 3,000 square meter (0.74 acre) figure on the international spec sheet. It is a boundary-wire mower, so someone lays perimeter and guide wire before it mows a blade of grass, and it climbs 45 percent slopes (55 with the optional Kit 10 wheels) at 61 dB sound power and 35 pounds. Ace Hardware and Interstate Supplies both list it at $3,099.99, dealer install extra. STIHL USA has removed the iMOW product pages from its own site, so dealers and Ace are the reference now. For the same $3,100 a Segway Navimow X350 covers more ground with RTK and cameras and no wire at all, so the case here is dealer install, dealer service and a quiet, clean finish rather than technology.

Best for Wired lawns around half an acre kept at 3 to 4 inches, for buyers who want a STIHL dealer to install and service it.

STIHL's iMOW EVO line replaced the old Viking-era iMOWs in Europe in 2023 and reached US dealers in 2024, and the 5 EVO is the smallest of the three (the 5, 6 and 7 EVO cover roughly 0.37, 0.74 and 1.25 acres). It is a boundary-wire mower, so someone has to lay perimeter and guide wire, but once that is done it is one of the more polished wire machines around: an 11-inch disc with three free-swinging blades, electric height adjustment from 0.8 to 2.4 inches, 45 percent slopes (55 with the optional Kit 10 wheels), ultrasonic sensors that slow it before it bumps anything, a rain sensor you can tune, and a mobile network module built in so the MY iMOW app works away from home. It is quiet (61 dB sound power, 48 dB pressure) and light at 33 pounds. T3's reviewer called it outstanding on cut quality but was annoyed by app logouts and by its inability to cut flush to raised edges, a limit of any wire mower. Runtime is short, 65 minutes per charge with a 140-minute full recharge, though STIHL rates it for 1,500 square meters over a week of cycles. At about $2,530 through STIHL dealers and Ace, it costs more than a wire-free Segway Navimow i110 that covers the same area with no wire, so the case for it is dealer install, dealer service and STIHL build quality rather than technology. Best for someone who already has a STIHL dealer they trust and does not want to fuss with RTK antennas.

Best for Wired lawns up to about 0.37 acre for buyers who want a dealer-installed, dealer-serviced machine from a brand they already own tools from.

The RK4000 is the big-lawn Robomow: a 16.5 in twin-disc deck, a 9.6Ah 18.5V pack good for 110 to 120 minutes per 90 to 110 minute charge, and a 1-acre rating, sold in the US only through Home Depot at $1,999. Robomow's international site calls this body the RK4000 Pro. That makes it one of the very few wired mowers under $2,000 rated for a full acre, and the twin discs cover ground twice as fast as the 8.3 in RK2000. The rest of the RK recipe carries over: floating deck, offset blades that trim over the wire, 45% (24 degree) slopes inside the area, a 0.6 to 3.9 in height range and a 4.3 in touchscreen. Home Depot owners who got a working unit praise the quiet running, clear setup documentation and better slope handling than similar mowers, and say it copes with tree debris. The complaints are the ones that follow the brand: it mows well where it goes but leaves patches it never reaches, units that stop seeing the boundary wire with a support ticket unanswered for a month, an app that cannot cancel a job or remember your PIN and needs its data cleared to reconnect, and remote control that does not actually work from outside Bluetooth range. A full-acre wire install is a weekend job. A Husqvarna Automower 430XH covers the same acre for about $700 more with a real dealer network behind it; a Segway Navimow X4 does it with no wire for about $500 more.

Best for A wired acre where a 16.5 in deck under $2,000 matters more than dealer support or a modern app.

The 435X AWD is the wired predecessor of the 435 iQ AWD, and for $2,000 less it gives you the same all-wheel-drive, articulated chassis and 70 percent slope rating. Instead of satellites it follows a buried boundary wire plus guide wires, with GPS-assisted mapping to even out coverage across 0.9 acres and app-drawn stay-out zones. Owners on Husqvarna's site are mostly in year three to five and report the kind of reliability that keeps them buying the brand, along with the usual notes: install is a multi-day project or a dealer job, there are always a couple of steep spots that need smoothing, and the alarm and support experience vary by region. A Danish long-term reviewer put it well - if your lawn is flat, this model gains you nothing over a cheaper Automower, but on steep, uneven ground it is close to unstoppable. Rivals like the Mammotion Luba 2 AWD skip the wire entirely and cost less, so this only makes sense if you specifically want wire reliability under tree cover, a known chassis, and a Husqvarna dealer behind it. Note the two-year warranty versus four on the iQ models, and that the heavier body leaves visible tracks on soft ground.

Best for Steep or uneven lawns under heavy tree cover where a boundary wire is more dependable than satellites.

The 430XH is the high-cut version of Husqvarna's long-running 430X: the same 9.45-inch deck, 0.8-acre rating and 145-minute runtime, but a 2-to-3.6-inch cutting range for tall fescue, bluegrass and other lawns that look terrible under two inches. It runs on a buried boundary wire with up to three guide wires and GPS-assisted mapping so it spends more time in areas it has been missing, and ultrasonic sensors slow it before it bumps into things. Owners are split in a way you should read before buying: the happy ones describe two-plus seasons of flawless mowing on hills and muddy spots and a lawn the neighbors comment on, while the unhappy ones describe a wheel falling off on the first mow, a mower that chewed its own boundary wire, and support that took days to answer. Nearly everyone agrees the wire install is 10 to 20 hours and worth renting a trencher for. Husqvarna's product page marks it discontinued, but its own shop still sells it at $2,500 with a two-year warranty. If you want tall-grass cutting without wire, the 420 iQ is the modern answer; if you have heavy shade where satellites struggle, this remains a sensible pick.

Best for A shaded half to three-quarter acre lawn of tall cool-season grass where a wire is more reliable than satellites.

The 430X is Husqvarna's workhorse wired mower for medium lawns, rated for 0.8 acres and 45 percent slopes with a 9.45-inch deck and a low 0.8-to-2.4-inch cut range suited to Bermuda, zoysia and other lawns kept short. It follows a buried boundary wire with guide wires and GPS-assisted mapping, has ultrasonic sensors to slow for obstacles, and runs 145 minutes on a 50-minute charge, so it can cover a lot of ground in a day. Owners describe the cut quality as the reason to buy - a fine, even finish all summer - and the boundary wire as the reason to hesitate, with several reporting the mower cutting its own wire and having to splice it, plus flimsy connectors at the charging station. Wire install is the big lift; most say a rented trencher beats stakes. Husqvarna marks it discontinued, but the Husqvarna shop lists it at $2,500 and Amazon has been clearing units near $1,500, which is a lot of mower for the money if you can live with a wire. Against wire-free rivals like the Segway Navimow X3 or Mammotion Luba 2 you give up virtual maps and camera avoidance; against the 420 iQ you give up EPOS but keep the same dealer support for less. Good for shaded lots where satellites are unreliable.

Best for A shaded half to three-quarter acre lawn kept short, bought at clearance pricing by someone comfortable laying wire.