What is it?
If you find yourself looking out at your lawn and grumbling how long its got in such a short time, or simply hate the process of getting out the mower and cutting your grass, then a robotic lawn mower could be for you. Its like having your own private groundsperson, with the robot lawn mower regularly and automatically cutting your grass to ensure it remains at the same desired length to keep your lawn looking pristine.
At £799 (currently reduced from £979) for the unit alone, the Husqvarna Automower Aspire R4 is one of the more affordable robot lawn mowers you can buy right now. It's designed for small to medium-sized lawns and will tackle anything up to 400m2, while it can be installed yourself - pricer solutions for larger lawns will often need a technician to come and set it up for you.
While the Husqvarna Automower Aspire R4 can be purchased as a standalone item, which comes with the mower itself, the charging station and power supply unit, it can also be bought as a bundle with an installation kit that also adds 150m of boundary wire and 300 stakes for a further £100 on top of the £799 starting price. This is the one to go for if you're setting up a robot lawn mower as it's these pegs and wire that will define where the mower can and can't go.
What's it like?
Before you can let the Aspire R4 trim you lawn while you relax with a beer or G&T, you have to go through a bit of pain first. And you'll need to set aside a good afternoon or so depending on the shape and size of your garden.
That's because you need to tell the Aspire R4 where you want it to cut (and where it can't go), which requires laying out the wire round the boundary before pegging it in place. Additional obstacles such as trees and flower beds will also need wire to go round them, while the wire needs to be pegged closely to the ground or - even better - buried if you have the time. Otherwise, it runs the risk of being snipped by the mower’s blades (or kids tripping over it).
You also need to consider the positioning of the docking station in relation to you lawn, while you'll also need to plumb in a separate guide wire - as the name suggests, this acts as a guide for the Aspire R4 to find its way back to the docking station easily.
It's a faff to do, but it's something you'll have to put up with with most robot mowers, while the online guides provided by Husqvarna are really helpful should you get stuck with the instructions.
With that all done and in place, you'll need to download the dedicated Automower Connect app (available for both Apple and Android users) to sync your mower before hooking it up to its charging port. A full charge from empty will take 75 minutes.
The Aspire itself is a really nicely designed piece of kit. While some robot mowers can be decked out in some pretty brash colours, the greys and orange used on the Aspire R4 give it a subtle, sophisticated look. It's also pretty compact as well, measuring only 55cm long and 33cm wide, while it weighs 5.9kg. It has four cutting heights, from 45mm right down to 20mm, but you'll need to set this cutting height manually (in four stages) as it's not something you can do in the app unfortunately. You'll also need to make sure boundary wire has been tucked out of the way if you're going to go for the minimum cutting height as you do risk clipping these with the mower if not careful.
With the cutting height set, it's pretty much ready to go once charged. But with limited physical controls on the Aspire R4 itself, the app acts as your interface and control for the mower. You'll want to set the schedule, telling the mower when you want it to crack on and cut your lawn Depending on the rate at which your grass grows (and the time of year), you might want a daily or twice daily cut to ensure the grass is kept nice and trim. The run time is 70 minutes, but set the cutting period for 4-5 hours in the morning and it'll go back out again once it's gone back to its docking station to be charged up. And because the Aspire R4 is really quiet in use, you can even schedule it to cut your lawn at night without fear of it disturbing the neighbours.
You can also tell it at what distance from the dock it can start cutting, while you can activate things like Frost Guard. This is a neat feature that will put a stop to mowing when the temperatures start to drop, while there's also a clever Weather Timer setting that adjusts the cutting time, so in dry conditions it the mower will cut less to help maintain a healthy lawn.
Via the app you can also connect the Aspire R4 to both Alexa and Google Assistant to give voice commands to it (start, stop and park for example), while it can also be integrated into weather apps so when things like heavy rain is predicted, it won't leave its dock and cut. Speaking of rain, the Aspire R4 has a waterproof rating of IPX5 - that means it is considered water-resistant and rainproof, but not fully waterproof. Basically, it'll be fine outside unless it's parked in an area likely to flood.
It does lack obstacle detection however, so things left one the lawn will likely get shredded if the Aspire 4 can navigate over them...if you've got a dog, it's best to be very diligent with tidying up after them.
Should I buy one?
If you get fed up at even the thought of cutting your grass but crave a nice and neat lawn, then a robotic mower could be the answer. Especially in late Spring and early Summer when it feels like the grass needs cutting every three days.
Husqvarna has built up an enviable reputation in the world of robotic lawn mowers, producing some excellent high-end models, but the Aspire R4 is its most affordable robotic lawn mower to date. While it might be the entry-level model in the range, it's not the cheapest out there. That said, it's certainly competitively priced for what you get, while you're left in now doubt that is a classy bit of kit. Build quality is excellent, while the performance and the quality of the cut doesn't disappointed. Factor in the controls offered by the app and the Aspire R4 is a great buy if you're looking for an easy to use robot mower for small to medium sized lawns.
