Husqvarna Automower 435X AWD robot lawn mower review

Our Verdict

Husqvarna's Automower 435X AWD robot lawn mower is made for steeply sloped lawns, but about homeowners will exist able to go away with much less expensive models.

For

Absurd design
Handles steep hills
Quiet

Against

Very expensive
Connecting to smart home assistants could be clearer

Tom'southward Guide Verdict

Husqvarna's Automower 435X AWD robot lawn mower is made for steeply sloped lawns, simply almost homeowners will be able to get abroad with much less expensive models.

Pros

+
Cool design
+
Handles steep hills
+
Quiet

Cons

-
Very expensive
-
Connecting to smart home assistants could exist clearer

Could the Husqvarna Automower 435X AWD robot lawn mower save me from one of one of my to the lowest degree favorite chores? While my front g isn't very large, information technology'south a pain in the butt to mow. Non only is information technology hilly — information technology slopes down a good 25 degrees — simply in order to actually cut the grass, I have to pick up my lawnmower and carry information technology upwardly a few steps.

So the idea of a robot lawn mower that could save me the trouble was very appealing. As I found out during this Husqvarna Automower 435X AWD review, the mower works well, merely it comes at a steep price.

Husqvarna 435X AWD review: Price and availability

Husqvarna Automower 435X AWD: Specs

Size: 36.6 10 21.vii ten 11.four inches
Weight: 38 pounds
Battery capacity: 5 Ah
Working area: 0.nine acres
Mow fourth dimension: 100 mins
Max incline: l%

The Automower 435X AWD was offset released in 2019, and costs $iv,799. It'south the visitor's top-end consumer model, and has all-bike bulldoze, GPS-assisted navigation, and an anti-theft geofencing, and then information technology won't work outside a proscribed area. Information technology also supports the use of additional guidewires to more efficiently mow your lawn.

For the size of my front lawn - a few hundred foursquare feet at virtually — the 435X AWD is overkill; the only reason the company suggested I try it over less expensive models was because of my m's gradient of well-nigh 25 degrees. If your 1000 isn't as steep, y'all can probably get away with a much more than cheap unit.

Here's a rundown of all of Husqvarna's consumer robot lawn mowers, and the blazon and size yard they can handle.

Model	Price	Working Area	Mow time	Max incline
115H	$ane,199	0.four acres	60 mins	15%
315X	$1,799	0.4 acres	70 mins	15%
430X	$2,499	0.8 acres	145 mins	15%
450X	$four,099	1.25 acres	270 mins	15%
435X AWD	$iv,799	0.9 acres	100 mins	l%

Husqvarna 435X AWD review: Design

Husqvarna Automower 435X AWD on a grass lawn — (Image credit: Futurity)

"That thing looks like the Batmobile," said my wife the first time she saw the 435X. Its athwart design, low-slung torso, large forepart wheels, slit-similar LED headlights and rotating rear section makes it seem like something Bruce Wayne would drive if he owned a lawncare service.

The 435's plastic trunk is a metallic greyness, with orange accents on the wheels. The wheels on the front section of the mower are larger than those in the rear; the rear section pivots to allow the mower to plow while it'south navigating your g. Arrayed around its edges are a number of collision sensors

On the top of the 435 is a small brandish that, in combination with a pocket-sized dial, lets you lot control the mower to a certain extent; it's intuitive and like shooting fish in a barrel to utilise, but you lot'll need the accompanying smartphone app for near other things. Too on meridian is a large, orange Terminate lever that you tin can press to pause the mower.

Flipping the 435X over reveals its cutting blades. Like almost robot lawnmowers, information technology has what are substantially three razor blades that spin around; according to Husqvarna, the blades should be replaced every 3-4 months, depending on how oftentimes the mower goes out, also as the size of your yard.

Different a traditional lawnmower — where you might become out every week or so to cut your grass — the 435X and other robot lawnmowers are designed to brand their rounds every few days, just slicing off bits of grass at a time. This way, the cut bits of grass are small enough to decompose on your 1000 itself, creating a sort of virtuous bike.

Husqvarna 435X AWD review: Installation

Husqvarna Automower 435X AWD top view on a grass lawn — (Image credit: Tom'due south Guide)

Robot lawnmowers work in much the same mode as the kickoff generation of robot vacuums, randomly traversing your lawn until everything is mowed. However, because at that place's no walls to stop them, you demand to install a boundary wire around the perimeter of your thousand to continue the mower from straying.

The boundary wire is simply secured affluent to your lawn by a series of plastic stakes, and so connects to the mower's recharging station. You then plug in the charging station, and a low-voltage current goes through the wire, telling the robot where to stop. I installed a like system with some other robot lawnmower in my rear 1000 — which is not fifty-fifty an eighth of an acre — in about 45 minutes.

For some of Husqvarna'south less expensive robot lawnmowers, the visitor will let you install the purlieus wire yourself, but for the 435X, the visitor requires y'all to utilize a professional installer. The person installing the boundary wire in my yard typically charges about $850 to $i,000 for installation, depending on the complication of the yard, and if he has to route any wires underneath sidewalks or pathways. The wire is installed virtually an inch or two surreptitious — they have a special machine for that — so there's no risk of tripping over it.

Husqvarna 435X AWD review: Performance

The Husqvarna Automower 435X worked very well for about a calendar week, silently making its rounds and trimming my lawn. My neighbors were all impressed, stopping by to watch it work — without fail, someone would always interruption their walk to detect it driving around my lawn. Some even took videos. My true cat was the only thing nonplused by the contraption, growling when it came too nearly. Only he got used to information technology.

Husqvarna Automower 435X AWD — (Epitome credit: Future)

Even so, subsequently a couple of weeks, the mower started behaving erratically, sending collision errors when in reality, it hadn't striking anything, and requiring me to go out and reset information technology. When it tried to dock with its base station, it was worse than Meadow Soprano trying to park outside Holsten's. And, the command punch on the acme of the mower besides got stuck, so I couldn't make any changes on the mower itself.

After sending out a technician who determined that a motor in the mower had gone bad, the visitor sent me an entirely new model, which worked flawlessly in the two months since information technology was installed. Information technology even made it through tropical storm Irma, which dumped around x inches of rain in my area.

I other benefit is that the 435X is dead silent. Even though I and many of my neighbors have electric lawnmowers and trimmers, they notwithstanding make considerably more dissonance than the robot lawnmower, which does its job without making a sound.

Conduct in listen that, considering the 435X moves in a random pattern, your lawn won't look similar the infield at Wrigley, with neat, parallel mowing lines; it'southward a small price to pay for the convenience of not having to practice this task yourself.

Husqvarna 435X AWD review: App

Husqvarna'south automower app lets you create a schedule for when the mower cuts your lawn; you tin likewise manually tell it to offset mowing or become back to its docking station. While the mower doesn't have Wi-Fi, it does take Bluetooth and 4G LTE (from either AT&T or T-Mobile), and so you can bank check on the 435X's status remotely. Here, you tin also set the geofencing radius for the mower, so that if it strays outside the surface area, information technology will stop working and send you an alarm, along with its location. Information technology'due south a handy anti-theft feature, peculiarly for something this expensive. Withal, y'all have to exist within Bluetooth range to alter whatsoever settings, such equally the schedule and cutting elevation.

A map view overlays the mower's virtually recent outing over a satellite view of your backyard; it'south fairly accurate and fun to look at, merely not terribly revealing.

You tin can besides connect the mower with Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTTT, though it's non obvious how to do so. Under the Smart Home tab, there are suggestions for things you lot can ready - such as "Park your mower if weather forecast predicts heavy rain." In fact, fifty-fifty afterward I had linked the 435X to Alexa (by going into the Alexa app and activating the Automower skill), at that place was no indication in the Automower app that it had been paired. However, it is pretty neat that you can ask Alexa to get the 435X to start mowing.

Husqvarna 435X AWD review: Verdict

The Husqvarna Automower 435X AWD has worked then well that I've completely forgotten about having to mow my lawn, or fifty-fifty the deed of mowing. I'll occasionally go out and use a weed whacker to trim some edges, but it'due south saved me dozens of hours of work on the weekend — time I'd rather spend with my family unit. On the downside, my wife says I now need to practise additional chores.

Only the cost for this convenience is high; a professional service costs, on average, almost $45 per week to mow your lawn (according to Bobvila.com). Bold that you need your grass mowed every week for about six months out of the year, that would mean that it would be at to the lowest degree 5 years before the 435X would pay for itself, factoring in the cost of the mower and installation.

If my yard wasn't and then steep, I'd definitely try a less expensive robot lawnmower — there are a few models from Husqvarna and its chief competitor, Worx, that are less than $ane,500 — to save me from slogging my mower up and down the chiliad e'er once more.

Michael A. Prospero is the deputy editor at Tom's Guide overseeing the home, smart home, drones, and fitness/wearables categories, every bit well as all buying guides and other evergreen content. When he'southward not testing out the latest running watch, skiing or training for a marathon, he's probably using the latest sous vide machine or some other cooking gadget.