How does the Automower Aspire R6V compare with the old Aspire R4?

The Husqvarna Automower Aspire R6V is a bigger, wire-free mower, while the Husqvarna Automower Aspire R4 was a small, light machine that needed a boundary wire. The R4 is now discontinued. Husqvarna doesn't name a direct successor, but the R6V is the current Aspire model and the natural upgrade.

Side by side on Husqvarna's spec tables:

• Navigation: the R4 follows a perimeter wire and mows at random. The R6V uses satellite RTK with corrections from Husqvarna's cloud over Wi-Fi, plus an AI camera, and mows in systematic lines.
• Lawn size: 400 m² for the R4 against 600 m² for the R6V.
• Slopes: 25% against 40% inside the lawn, and 10% against 15% along the boundary.
• Cutting: 160 mm against 220 mm, with a slightly higher maximum height on the R6V. Both are adjusted by hand.
• Weight and weather: the R4 weighs 5.9 kg, the R6V 9.9 kg. The R6V is rated IPX6, the R4 IPX5.

Both use the Automower Connect app with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and neither has GPS theft tracking listed. The R6V's big catch is that it relies on Wi-Fi reaching the whole lawn for positioning, which a wired R4 never needed. If your router can't cover the garden, factor in a dealer-fitted Connect Kit or RS1 reference station. Current R6V prices start from £999.