The best robot lawn mowers for slopes

Slopes rule out more robot mowers than any other feature of a garden. A mower that's under-rated for your steepest bank will spin its wheels, scuff the turf, slide on wet grass or refuse to climb, and no app feature makes up for that. This shortlist covers mowers built for steep ground, from medium lawns to acre-plus grounds. We haven't tested these mowers hands-on; the picks are desk-based judgements from manufacturer specifications, manuals, UK warranty terms and prices.

Percentages and degrees

Manufacturers quote slope as a percentage: the rise divided by the horizontal distance, times 100. A 100% slope is 45 degrees, not a vertical wall. So 35% is about 19 degrees, 55% about 29 degrees, 80% about 39 degrees and 84% about 40 degrees.

To measure your own lawn, rest a straight 1 m board on the steepest part pointing uphill, level it with a spirit level and measure the gap under the downhill end in centimetres: that's the slope in percent. Our guide to robot mowers on slopes explains the method and the margins in detail.

How we chose

We looked at every current, UK-available family in our catalogue rated for 55% or more, then judged them on:

• Slope rating and drive. All-wheel and four-wheel drive give a real advantage on steep ground, so they dominate this list. We also noted how each rating was set, where the manufacturer says.
• Navigation that copes with banks. Sloping gardens often have trees and hedges along the steep parts, so we favoured mowers that fuse RTK with LiDAR or cameras.
• Weight and size. Heavy mowers grip well but are harder to carry and can mark soft ground.
• Price and UK support. We preferred families with a published UK RRP or brand-store price, and noted dealer-only ranges and warranty length.

Mammotion LUBA mini 2 AWD

The Mammotion LUBA mini 2 AWD is our first choice for a steep garden of a normal UK size. Mammotion rates it for 80%, the same as its much larger LUBA 3 AWD, thanks to all-wheel drive, in versions rated for 1,000–1,500 m². There's no wire and no base station, a separate edge disc for borders, 36 months of 4G data and a 3 years warranty.

Pick the version by layout. The 1000 uses cameras with network RTK, so it wants open sky and mobile signal; the 1500 uses LiDAR and cameras with no RTK, so it prefers walls, fences and buildings in range. The 200 mm cut is narrow for a 1,500 m² rating. Prices start from £1,249.

Mammotion LUBA 3 AWD (3000)

For bigger sloping lawns, the Mammotion LUBA 3 AWD keeps the 80% rating and doubles the cut to 400 mm. The 3000 and 5000 fuse network RTK with LiDAR and cameras, which matters on banks lined with trees, where satellite signal is weakest.

It's heavy at 19 kg and loud at a quoted 70 dB(A). Skip the 1500 for a big lawn: it has no network RTK and much less area per charge. The 3000 costs £2,099.

Worx Landroid Vision Cloud 4WD

The Worx Landroid Vision Cloud 4WD is the highest-rated mower here that you can buy online direct from the brand. Four-wheel drive with front steering gives it an 84% rating, and it positions itself with Worx's own network RTK service, which Worx says is free for life, plus cameras for obstacles. Cutting height is set in the app from 20 mm to 70 mm.

The range has gaps. Only the 4000 has built-in 4G and the Cut-to-Zero edge module included; the 1000 and 2000 use Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The standard warranty is 2 years. Prices start from £1,649.99.

Segway Navimow X4 (X450)

The Segway Navimow X4 Series pairs an 84% rating with the widest cut we list, 430 mm, and a rated area of 5,000 m² on the X450. It uses network RTK and 360° cameras with time-of-flight sensing, so there's no aerial to mount.

Navimow's footnote says its slope test was done with the mower under manual remote control, so leave more margin for automatic mowing on wet grass. The X4 weighs 29.2 kg and is sold through dealers and retailers, not Navimow's UK store. Prices start from £2,199.

Kress EyePilot 4×4

The Kress EyePilot 4×4 suits buyers who want someone else to set up a mower on a difficult bank. Kress rates it for 84% with four-wheel drive and front steering, and claims a 6 cm obstacle clearance for roots and lips. It navigates with network RTK and cameras, has 4G on every model, and comes in sizes from 800–10,000 m².

It costs considerably more than the Worx, which shares its underlying platform concept, and weighs 18.5 kg–20.2 kg. The warranty is 2 years. Kress lists prices from £1,749, though dealer prices may differ.

Segway Navimow i2 LiDAR Pro

Not every sloping garden needs 80%. If your steepest part is around 35–45%, the Segway Navimow i2 LiDAR Pro gives useful margin with a 55% rating from a driven, steering third wheel. It combines LiDAR, network RTK and a camera, so shaded and open areas are both covered, and it's rated for 1,000–2,000 m².

It isn't built for real banks, and it costs noticeably more than the two-wheel-drive i2 LiDAR. Navimow's rated run time for the i210 LiDAR Pro is also short. Prices start from £1,199.

Buying advice for sloping gardens

• Measure the steepest part, and the edges. Banks are often steeper at the top or bottom than in the middle, and some manufacturers allow less slope at the boundary than inside the lawn.
• Leave a margin. Aim for a rating at least 10 percentage points above your steepest slope, more if it's at the edge, often damp or crossed sideways.
• Watch the weather. Wet grass cuts grip sharply. A rain sensor, or a schedule that skips early mornings in spring and autumn, protects both mower and turf.
• Check what's at the bottom. A slope that ends in a pond, a drop or a road needs a no-go margin or a physical barrier, whatever the rating.
• Exclude what's too steep. If one bank is far steeper than the rest, it's often cheaper to leave it out of the map and strim it than to buy a mower rated for it.
• Size up for slopes. Climbing uses more battery, so choose a rated area comfortably above your lawn. For big sloping grounds, also see our best robot mowers for large gardens.