Let me get straight to the purpose: I don’t miss mowing the garden. Not even just a little bit. For the previous month, I’ve handed the job over to a robotic – the Sunseeker Elite X5, to be exact – and it’s been quietly reworking my backyard into one thing that appears professionally maintained.
After 4 weeks, I’m satisfied. I’m by no means going again to pushing a mower once more.
Setup was surprisingly easy
I assumed it could be a little bit of a faff (I’ve reviewed a number of the finest robotic lawnmowers previously, and it’s not been easy), some form of elaborate weekend mission involving buried wires and a complicated app. Nevertheless it turned out to be refreshingly easy. I had it up and working in simply a few hours. The charging dock went into the nook of my backyard, plugged into one out of doors socket, whereas a separate plug powered the Wi-Fi antenna.
To map the garden, I simply used my telephone like a distant management, guiding the mower across the boundaries with two digital joysticks. No perimeter wires, no digging, and no drama. As soon as the structure was saved, the mower was able to go.
It cuts in completely straight strains
Maybe the most effective factor in regards to the X5 is that it doesn’t simply drift aimlessly throughout the garden. It cuts with goal. Due to the AONavi positioning system, which mixes satellite-level GPS (RTK-GNSS) and visible mapping (VSLAM), mowing in clear, ruler-straight strains each time. It doesn’t go away strains in your garden, as a result of it doesn’t have a curler, nevertheless it does go away the garden wanting very neat.
I set the schedule within the app to begin reducing at 10AM each morning. That’s it. I haven’t actually touched it since. It’s additionally impressively quiet – you would simply have a dialog close by whereas it’s working, and it received’t annoy your neighbours. It will get the job achieved very effectively.
The result’s a garden that appears prefer it’s been professionally groomed. Guests have observed, too – I’ve been getting loads of reward for my golf course-like garden.
Impediment avoidance is a game-changer
One of many options I didn’t assume I’d want, however now wouldn’t wish to be with out, is the onboard digicam system. The X5 makes use of binocular cameras and Imaginative and prescient AI to scan the garden in actual time, detecting and dodging obstacles because it goes.
That features the small, shock objects my son likes to depart mendacity round – footballs, books, automobiles, toy dinosaurs. The X5 spots them and calmly steers round. It means I don’t want to fret about tidying the backyard earlier than it units off. It could apparently determine over 150 forms of widespread objects, and thus far, I’ve but to see it get stumped.
My garden appears to be like higher – and we’re utilizing it extra
Earlier than the robotic, I’d mow possibly as soon as a fortnight. By then, the grass could be scruffy, the weeds creeping again, and it all the time felt like a little bit of a slog. Now, the X5 trims the grass day by day, taking off only a tiny bit every time. That fixed consideration means there’s no want to gather clippings – the bits are so small they settle invisibly and really assist feed the soil.
The garden appears to be like more healthy and is completely free from these scruffy patches and tufts I used to get. We’ve been on the market extra typically too – kicking a ball about, having dinner within the backyard, truly having fun with the area as an alternative of spending time managing it.
Smooth, quiet and understated
I’ve examined robotic mowers earlier than, together with a Flymo that regarded like an enormous plastic pumpkin. The Sunseeker X5 is the alternative. It’s all clear strains, low profile, completed in black and gray – good with out being shouty.
It’s compact sufficient to tuck out of sight when it’s not working, and its all-wheel drive makes an actual distinction in case your garden isn’t utterly flat. It’s rated for as much as 60-percent gradients.
A few issues to remember
After all, it’s not good. The largest factor is that it doesn’t fairly get to the very edges of the garden, so that you’ll nonetheless want a fast once-over with a strimmer each week or so.
One morning, I received a notification saying the mower was caught – it had dipped a wheel right into a flowerbed and couldn’t discover its method out. The problem wasn’t a lot that it received caught (all of us have off days), however that it saved making an attempt to free itself, spinning its wheels and gouging out an honest chunk of garden within the course of. It might’ve been far much less damaging if it had simply shut down when it realised it was trapped. I ended up remapping the boundary to present it a bit extra space across the edges, and to be truthful, it hasn’t repeated the error since. Nonetheless, a better fail-safe wouldn’t go amiss.
It additionally doesn’t include built-in anti-theft safety – you’ll must pay additional for the optionally available 4G module if you’d like alarms or distant monitoring.
However contemplating the options it does pack in – GPS navigation, AI-powered impediment avoidance, multi-zone management, and genuinely wonderful reducing – it nonetheless looks like strong worth at £1,699 (round $2,100 within the US).
One month on: the decision
After a month with the Sunseeker Elite X5, my weekends are quieter, my garden appears to be like higher, and I’m spending extra time having fun with the backyard than working in it. It’s onerous to overstate the luxurious of glancing out the window every day and seeing a recent, tidy garden with out having lifted a finger.
It received’t trim the very edges or cease somebody strolling off with it (until you spring for the extras), however these are minor niggles in an in any other case vastly satisfying little bit of equipment. For those who’ve received a medium-sized backyard (as much as 2,000m²) and hate mowing as a lot as I do, this may simply be your new favorite equipment.
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