Honda Miimo HRM520 · Stihl iMow 6 EVO

Dealer discontinuation removes warranty and authorized service for new purchases, while genuine consumables including blades and boundary wire are still listed in Honda’s parts catalogue. The uncertainty is how long the parts listing holds, not whether original parts can be had now.

High initial cost ($3,500+ MSRP) positioned the HRM520 as premium but did not translate to retained resale value or manufacturer commitment.

Three EVO generations in, STIHL still buries the boundary wire; anyone hoping the EVO name meant a move to wire-free navigation will not find it here.

The extra size and a slope rating up to 55 percent with the kit cost more than the 5 EVO, and dealer-set pricing makes the actual number hard to pin down before a quote.

German testers found a clean mulching cut, but also a documented failure mode: the machine can be stranded on the smallest edges of steep ground.

Buyers seeking ongoing manufacturer warranty or parts support

Discontinuation means no authorized warranty claims, no original-equipment blade sources, no seasonal recall support. Repair costs on secondary market are unpredictable.

Properties with slopes above 24 degrees (45 percent gradient)

Honda rates the HRM520 to 24 degrees, which is a 45 percent gradient. Ground steeper than that is outside the rating, where traction is lost and cut quality falls off. Rolling ground inside the rating is within what the machine is built to handle.

Owners unwilling to lay and maintain a perimeter wire

The lawn has to be bounded by a wire before the mower runs, and changing the boundary later means moving it. Honda recommends a dealer installer and will bury the wire for large gardens, but states that owners can peg the wire themselves, and publishes both a setup tutorial series and the procedure in the owner's manual. The work is the burden here; dealer installation was never a condition of purchase.

Anyone trying to avoid wire installation

Three EVO generations in, the boundary is still a buried wire with the install labor and repair risk that implies; no wire-free option exists in this line.

Lawns under a quarter acre

A rated ceiling of about 0.74 acres is well beyond what a small lawn needs; the 4 or 5 EVO covers that area at a lower price point.

Steep edges and corners at the lawn boundary

German testers document the machine getting stranded specifically at small edges, where its weight becomes an obstacle it cannot clear on its own without a manual reset.

Buyers wanting a transparent, published price

Pricing is dealer-set rather than list, which makes the real cost hard to compare against other autonomous mowers before requesting a dealer quote in person.