Bosch Unlimited 7 ProAnimal Cordless Vacuum review: your flexible friend

Bosch Unlimited 7 ProAnimal vacuum review in a sentence: Flexible and adaptable cleaning backed up by a decent amount of suction makes this cordless model appealing.

I’ve just spent some time with the new Dyson V15s Detect Submarine cordless vacuum package, which was good but left me feeling a bit deflated due to its inflated asking price of £799.99 ($949). That’s a lot when compared against the best cordless vacuum cleaners in our buying guide. While the Dyson has the clever mopping head as part of the package, I suspect part of the price relates to the power of the brand name.

Another big brand in the electrical appliance sector is Bosch and the Bosch Unlimited 7 ProAnimal vacuum is its latest addition to the cordless ranks. There’s no mopping option with this model, but if you’ve got household dust and detritus plus hair to deal with, it’s an impressive bit of kit. Being a Bosch, there’s some innovation on offer too and the appliance comes with an array of attachments that can take on all sorts of cleaning chores.

Read on to find out how I’ve been getting on with it recently or, if you’re still wowed by a Dyson, head for the best Dyson cordless vacuum cleaners guide. Don’t forget there’s also a sizeable best robot vacuum range too, if pushing an appliance around the house seems old hat or more trouble it’s worth.

Bosch Unlimited 7 ProAnimal review: Price and availability

The Bosch Unlimited 7 ProAnimal cordless vacuum cleaner is available now at Bosch and select retailers like Amazon. It has a recommended retail price of £399.99. There are actually three different model variants in this particular line, with my review unit being the BCS71PETGB Unlimited 7 ProAnimal finished in red, while the BCS712GB Unlimited 7 in white, and the BCS711GB Unlimited 7 in grey are also available. The grey model costs £349.99 and both the white and grey models are the non-pet edition.

Bosch Unlimited 7 ProAnimal review: design

The Bosch Unlimited 7 ProAnimal is a cordless vacuum cleaner, powered by a battery pack that’s fixed to the bottom of the motor and handle assembly. It weighs in at 4.1kg (the other models mentioned above weigh in at 4.6kg and 3.7kg respectively) and comes complete with an excellent selection of cleaning head accessories. All are designed to let you tackle any kind of vacuuming job, with the pet variant being especially suited to anyone with hairy pets (or people for that matter).

This model comes in a box with all of the accessories and needs some basic assembly to get up and running. It’s nicely designed and manufactured though, with sections that interlock and come unclipped again with ease. It’s sturdy enough to feel like it’ll last for a few years, but also light enough not to be a drag to lug around. 

The cleaning heads and main suction tube section are flexible too, allowing quick and easy access to more awkward to get at areas. Fully assembled, its dimensions are 1315mm by 252mm by 24mm and it comes with a 10-year motor guarantee.

What I do especially like about this Bosch model is the solid selection of cleaning accessories that come included as part of the package. There’s a 2-in-1 furniture brush and upholstery nozzle, a mattress nozzle, a flexible crevice nozzle as well as a keyboard and drawer nozzle. The latter is one of those long flexible things that’s great for getting into awkward locations as well as getting the dust and dirt out of crumb magnets like keyboards.

Bosch Unlimited 7 ProAnimal review: is it any good?

The Bosch Unlimited 7 ProAnimal vacuum is a cordless model, which immediately offers up the freedom to roam without having to worry about cables. Although the battery pack sits at the base of the motor and handle unit, this doesn’t make it too heavy even during prolongued use. You should get some good up time from it too, with Bosch reckoning on around 40 minutes with a full charge and that should be good for taking on around 100sq m of floor.

What’s also handy is the way that the 3.0 Power for All battery pack works with other 18V power tools from the Bosch portfolio, so if you’re a fan of the brand it’ll be a neat accompaniment to your collection. Equally useful is compatibility with Gardena, Gloria, Wagner and Rapid appliance brands too, if you have anything from their collections. 

Once you’ve exhausted the power pack it takes around five hours to replenish; something I found to be spot on time-wise, as was the runtime period suggested by Bosch albeit running on Eco mode.

All model variants of this Bosch cordless vacuum come with a Quick Stand function. This allows you to park the nozzle and tube upright, which sounds decent enough but it’s hardly ground-breaking. The appliance isn’t able to do this with the handheld motor and battery section attached either, unlike some comparable models in the marketplace. However, there’s an Easy Parking Clip, which is just that and allows you to stow the unit on some furniture if you’re stopping for a tea break.

Bosch Unlimited 7 ProAnimal review: Performance

I’ve spent time using the Bosch Unlimited 7 ProAnimal cordless vacuum in a variety of different cleaning scenarios and it’s been very impressive so far. The Eco mode is obviously the leanest setting of the lot and this can feel a little underwhelming unless you’re tackling something like a hard floor where fluff and hair is easily lifted. Most of the time I’d use Auto mode, which adapts to the floor type, so if you tend to move from carpeted to hard floor covering and back again this proves to be a real boon.

Getting into tight corners is easy enough thanks to the flexible head and main tube assembly. The latter can be unclipped and used at an angle, so it’s great for getting under the usual places like a sofa or bed with having to bend down in a bid to catch the crud. Turbo mode is best enlisted for tight corners and the like and while this is definitely top of the suction pile, you’ll notice that it takes its toll on battery life. Nevertheless, during my time with it the Bosch seems more than able to live up to the runtime figure of 40 minutes quoted by the German manufacturer.

Bosch Unlimited 7 ProAnimal review: Verdict

I’ve found the Bosch Unlimited 7 ProAnimal cordless vacuum to be an excellent addition to my household cleaning appliances collection. It features an interesting and colourful design, which actually turns out to be very practical thanks to the flexible nature of the suction tube and associated cleaning heads. 

It’s great for battery life too, although you’ll need to bump up the setting to Auto or Turbo to get the best suction from it on carpets. Eco mode is ideally suited to hard floors, however. I like the universal appeal of the Bosch battery packs too, which is a plus if you already own other Bosch items.

Bosch Unlimited 7 ProAnimal review: Alternatives to consider

Cordless vacuum cleaners are plentiful with lots of examples I've tried that fit the bill, like the H-Upright 300 Pets model or the more recent Hoover HF9 Cordless Vacuum. Elsewhere, the Tower VL100 Optimum Cordless 3-in-1 vacuum cleaner is very good and so is the Dyson V15 Detect Absolute. Another goodie is the Gtech AirRAM Platinum, which is a premium stick solution.

As for the best of the rest, there's the Shark Anti Hair Wrap IZ202UK which comes with Anti Hair Wrap tech. This uses a series of prongs to prevent long hair and threads from wrapping around the cleaning roller. It's well worth a look.