Cordless Drills Tested

A cordless drill makes many car DIY jobs easier. We test 10 to select our favourite

Auto Express Car Reviews

July 2010

Don’t make life hard for yourself when there are power tools to help – slip a cordless drill into your tool box to take the strain out of spinning off fasteners, wire brushing and many other car jobs.

It’s not quite a toolbox essential just yet, but a cordless drill can be a huge help, speeding up repairs and reducing the amount of effort required. Choosing the right one is probably the hardest part, as there are many factors to take into account: voltage, charge time, hammer action, speed and torque settings are only a few.

Batteries are also a consideration, as Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd) has been challenged by the lighter, user-friendly but more expensive Lithium Ion (Li-ion) power packs. So which is the drill to make your
life easier? We charged up 10 to find out.

The Test

To test torque, trigger control and battery life, each drill was used to drive screws into timber as slowly as possible. We then drilled a series of holes in steel plate, before fitting a wire brush to clean rusted steel to check high-speed performance. Finally, we looked at price and checked the features included, such as the number of speeds and torque settings, chuck size, hammer action and fast charging.

Verdict

It’s a tough decision at the top; of the Ni-Cd drills, the Draper CDH182V2 is cheap and has many features, but the Makita 8391DWPE is lighter, performs better and is our preferred purchase for the long run. Between the Li-ion runners, it’s a straight fight between the Black & Decker HP188F4LK with its higher voltage and £12 price advantage and the Bosch PSB 14.4 LI-2, which performed well.

Ni-Cd
1. Makita 8391DWPE
2. Draper CDH182V2

Li-ion
1. Black & Decker HP188F4LK
2. Bosch PSB 14.4 LI-2

Stockists
B&Q (Makita) 0845 609 6688 www.diy.com
Just Off Base (Sealey) 0800 756 9497 www.justoffbase.co.uk
Lawson HIS (Draper) 023 8072 4775 lawson-his.co.uk
Machine Mart (Clarke) 0844 880 1250 machinemart.co.uk
Tooled Up (Bosch) 0844 335 3902 www.tooled-up.com

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1 Comment

8391DWPETK

The 8391DWPETK is a very good combi drill. With a good hammer action this will drive screws, drill into wood metal and concrete and do an all round decent job.

The drill is available at Toolstop with 101 accessories which will pretty much be as many tools and attachments as anyone doing DIY will ever need..

http://www.toolstop.co.uk/makita-8391dwpetk-18v-combi-drill-2-batteries-with-101-piece-accessory-set-p12013

By NB516090 on 16 August, 2010, 12:32pm

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