Segway Navimow i210 AWD review: a sloped quarter acre, best with open sky

Which yard is the i210 AWD for?

This mower is for a smaller lawn on a slope, with mostly open sky above it. Segway Navimow rates it for a lawn of up to 0.25 acre1,012 m². That figure assumes one open, simple lawn. So we plan on about 20% less lawn than Navimow’s rating. Our page on how we rank mowers gives the reasons. For this mower, that comes to about 0.2 acre810 m².

Navimow says it handles a rise of 45 ft45 m for every 100 ft100 m forward. Our list of the best robot mowers for hills puts it beside two Mammotion LUBA mowers. Mammotion rates both of those for much steeper ground.

Skip it if big trees shade most of the lawn. It works out where it is from satellites, and thick branches block their signal. Without that signal it can lose track of its spot. Then strips of grass go uncut.

Will it get up your hill?

45ft45m

Rise Navimow rates it to climb, per 100 ft forwardRise Navimow rates it to climb, per 100 m forward

38ft38m

What we would plan on for wet grass, per 100 ft forwardWhat we would plan on for wet grass, per 100 m forward

1.57in4cm

Highest step Navimow rates it to climb, on flat ground

A rise of 45 ft45 m for every 100 ft100 m forward is an angle of about 24 degrees. Most of the time it drives two wheels. A third wheel at the back joins in when it needs more grip, Navimow says. It also says this saves battery on flat ground. Navimow gives the same 45 ft45 m per 100 ft100 m limit at the edge of the lawn, where a mower turns on the slope.

Navimow measured that slope on dry grass about 2 in5 cm long, with nothing in the way. Your grass will often be damp, and wet grass gives wheels less grip. We knock about 15% off the rating to allow for that. That leaves a rise of about 38 ft38 m per 100 ft100 m, or about 21 degrees.

To turn a slope into a percent, divide how far it rises by how far it runs, then multiply by 100. A Penn State geography course shows this calculation, and how to convert a percent slope into degrees.

Will it keep its place on your lawn?

To stay on the grass, the i210 AWD tracks its spot using satellites. The US government’s GPS site says a phone’s GPS is usually right to within 16 ft4.9 m, under open sky. The same site says a correction signal can bring a position to within an inch or two. That correction is called RTK.

Navimow can send the correction over the internet. A cell modem built into the mower picks it up. Where that service reaches your address, you do not need to mount an antenna. Navimow’s page has a check where you enter your zip code. If the service does not reach you, you put up the antenna that comes in the box. Navimow’s manual has you fix it on a pole with a spike that pushes into the ground. Trees and roofs must not block the sky right above it. A wall or roof mount needs a kit that Navimow sells separately.

It also carries a camera. Navimow says the camera helps the mower keep its place under tall trees and along narrow paths. Even so, Navimow’s support page says walls, fences and trees block GPS signals. It says the charging station needs an open spot with a clear view of the sky. The station needs that open spot even if the correction signal reaches the mower over the internet. Our spec table lists this mower as needing open sky.

If trees cover your lawn, read how to check the sky over your yard before you spend.

How does it handle bumps, roots and things on the grass?

It rolls on 9.8 in25 cm off-road wheels. Navimow says it can cross roots and uneven stone paths. It rates the mower to climb a step up to 1.57 in4 cm high, on flat ground. That helps where the lawn steps up onto a path.

The camera also looks for things in its way. Navimow says it knows more than 150 kinds, from a hose reel to a cat. When it sees one, it steers around it.

What to check	What Navimow says
Size of the mower	21.4 in54 cm long, 15.1 in38 cm wide, 11.2 in28 cm tall
Paths and gates	A path between two lawns should be wider than 3.3 ft1 m
Bad weather	It stays in its dock in rain, wind, frost, snow or high heat
More than one lawn	It can map several lawns. To mow them on a schedule, a path wider than 3.3 ft1 m must join them. Otherwise you carry it to the other lawn for each cut
Theft	The app alerts you if someone lifts it, and shows where it is on a map. This needs the mower’s cell data

Measure your side gate before you buy. Navimow’s manual says a path from one lawn to another should be wider than 3.3 ft1 m.

Should you pay more than the i206 AWD?

Navimow makes a smaller model, the i206 AWD. It costs less and climbs the same hill. Of the all-wheel-drive mowers we cover, the i206 is the only one that costs less than the i210. Navimow rates it for 0.15 acre610 m².

The i210 carries a battery twice the size. Navimow says it takes 120 minutes to charge. It also says either mower can cut about 0.37 acre1,500 m² in a day.

So choose between the two models by the size of your lawn. Take our 20% margin off each rating. That leaves about 0.12 acre490 m² for the i206 and about 0.2 acre810 m² for the i210. If your lawn is between those two, buy the i210.

Is it worth it?

For an open, sloped lawn up to about 0.2 acre810 m², yes. It costs less than both LUBA mowers in our hills list. And it is rated for a bigger lawn than the i206 AWD.

Its noise figure is 59 decibels. Navimow took that reading in a lab, with the blades not cutting. So the number leaves out the sound of cutting grass.

Check three things before you order. Use the level app on the steepest part of your hill. Enter your zip code in Navimow’s coverage check, so you know if you are mounting an antenna. Then stand on the lawn at midday and look up. If branches hide much of the sky, choose a mower that does not steer by satellite.