Dyson Car+Boat Handheld Vacuum Cleaner review: portable perfection

T3's Dyson Car+Boat handheld vacuum review in a sentence: Compact, easy to use and plenty of power makes it perfect for small or awkward spaces.

One of my most irritating occasional chores is vacuuming the interior of our car. Sometimes I use a cordless vacuum with short and stumpy attachments fitted, while at others, I wheel out my standard issue vacuum cleaner and try and do it with that. Neither option has ever been great, to be honest. Until now that is and the arrival of this, the Dyson Car+Boat handheld vacuum, which is specifically designed for cleaning cars and, yes, boats too. The secret is in the title, right?

Much like the other best handheld vacuum cleaner solutions out there, the secret of this appliance is its condensed dimensions. The Dyson Car+Boat handheld vacuum is undeniably dinky, but it’s also been built with powerful performance in mind. That’s a good thing as I’ve had so many experiences with so-called ‘carvacs’ only to find they have got barely enough puff to suck up a collection of crisp crumbs or a foil sweet wrapper.

Granted, there are cheaper options out there, but this being a Dyson should mean I’ll be able to vacuum my car (and my boat) with a lot less faff than the way I’ve been doing it before now. And, just because it’s got a fairly specific name, there’s nothing to stop me using it on difficult to get at locations, like the stairs, hard to reach shelving and inside kitchen cupboards where endless food dust and detritus lurks. Here’s how I’ve been getting on with the Dyson Car+Boat handheld vacuum so far…

Dyson Car+Boat review: Price and availability

The Dyson Car+Boat handheld vacuum cleaner is available now from the likes of Amazon or direct from the Dyson website and costs £249.99 in the UK. The same Dyson Car+Boat handheld vacuum cleaner costs $279.99 in the US and can also be bought direct from the Dyson website, or from other online outlets including Amazon.

Dyson Car+Boat review: Is it any good?

I’ve tried to many car vacuums and been consistently disappointed. So, the Dyson Car+Boat handheld vacuum couldn’t really have been any less good than those. After all, Dyson kit is well known for its performance capabilities and, thankfully, this model is no different. In fact, there’s a built-in motor that can speed up to 110,000rpm, which is, well, fast enough for most requirements and maximum suction can reach 115AW.

As is the case with any battery-powered appliance, I got started by giving the unit a full charge, which can take up to five hours from zero. With a full charge on board it can run up to between 40 and 50 minutes, although this is obviously subject to how you use it with the maximum suction setting likely to see the life ebb away faster. Nevertheless, 40 minutes or so is fine for most scenarios using a handheld appliance, I think.

What I also found impressive with the Dyson Car+Boat handheld vacuum is the design and weight of the unit. Even with the battery on-board it weighs just 1.9kg and the design means it feels nicely balanced, so is easy to handle even when you’re working it into awkward spaces.

The bin is, naturally, compact and bijou at just .54 of a litre, but is perfectly fine for the job in hand. Dimensions-wise, it’s 206mm high, 331mm long and 131mm wide and arrives in what looks like a giant shoe box. Perfect for storage in a boat cabin or, perhaps, in a caravan or camper.

Dyson Car+Boat review: Performance

Firing up the Dyson Car+Boat handheld vacuum for the first time proved to be a revelation. It’s got some real punch, which combined with the choice of cleaning head attachments makes it brilliant for multiple jobs. Another real bonus is the way the brush head can slide over the plastic crevice tool, which means it is really quick and easy to adapt the appliance depending on the surface material or space that’s being tackled.

Full marks should also go to the mini motorhead, which is like a smaller version of a regular vacuum cleaner head attachment, but comes with an adjust angle foot. This means it can be worked around the contours of a car interior, especially where the floorplan and carpet contours lie, making it much more effective than many others I’ve tried. It’s also small enough to get in and under seats and other obstacles too, which further increases its practical appeal.

There’s a neat little slider on the top of the main unit for switching up into maximum mode, and that sounds and performs very impressively indeed. Dyson states that filtration is 99.99% to 0.3 microns and, combined with what I witnessed being picked up during my time using it so far, I’d say this is one of the best handhelds I can recall using. The chunky design is also great for when the unit needs cleaning and, while that bin isn’t the biggest, it is quick and easy to empty.

Dyson Car+Boat review: Verdict

I really like the Dyson Car+Boat handheld vacuum and, even though the name seemingly limits its appeal, this compact cleaning model is ideally suited to a wide variety of vacuuming tasks. I’d say it would be particularly good for tackling a pet bed. They can be a real faff to get fur and fluff off, but the combination of cleaning attachments should be able to cope with any type of pooch or cat bed.

Added to that, the practical edge of the two cleaning attachments makes it perfect for tackling all manner of surfaces. I found the brush head great for getting in and around dashboard and door card areas, where dust and crumbs always lurk. There’s more than enough suction on offer and this model is nicely balanced too, which makes it easy to use even if you’re poking around in the back of the car or delving into the darkened corners of your floating gin palace.

Dyson Car+Boat review: Alternatives to consider

We’ve got a best car vacuum guide that will point you in the direction of plenty of other options, with perhaps the best of the bunch currently being the Shark Premium Handheld Vacuum WV270UK. There’s actually an older version of the Dyson Car and Boat too, which if you can still find one might do a similar job but cost less money. Worth investigating if the pennies are tight currently.

Alternatively, check out the best cordless vacuum cleaners because many of these can be condensed down into smaller units for cleaning the same kind of areas.