Vax ONEPWR Blade 4 Dual Pet & Car Cordless Vacuum Cleaner review

One-minute review

Vax is a one of the stalwarts of the floor-cleaning market, having launched its first carpet cleaner in the UK in 1977. With more than four decades of experience under its belt, the brand now offers an array of models for various purposes, so whether you want to vacuum or wash your floors, there’s a design to suit your needs. 

The ONEPWR Blade 4 Dual Pet & Car cordless vacuum cleaner is Vax’s latest launch, and a contender for our pick of the best vacuum cleaners you can buy right now. The cordless vacuum, which also converts into a handheld cleaner, offers two levels of suction. It’s powered by a rechargeable battery, which Vax says will last for up to 45 minutes, and it's swappable too. This model comes with a second battery, too, to reduce the interruptions to your cleaning sessions. 

Shipping with one cleaning head, this Blade 4 Dual Pet & Car floorhead features two LEDs to make vacuuming in dark corners far easier, along with an antimicrobial brush bar that stops bacteria and fungi growing on the bristles. Also in the box are four additional attachments, including a mini motorized pet tool, plus a handy caddy that allows you to clip the crevice tool onto the vacuum’s wand.

The Vax ONEPWR Blade 4 Dual Pet & Car features three-stage filtration technology, which Vax claims ensures up to 99.8% of particles as small as 0.3 microns in size are collected and deposited in the 0.6-liter dust canister. 

At £369.99, the Vax ONEPWR Blade 4 Dual Pet & Car is more affordable compared to other cordless vacuums on the market. Ideal for those on a budget who don’t wish to compromise on powerful suction, it will also suit those who want a range of tools in the box for cleaning upholstery, stairs, and other items.

Vax ONEPWR Blade 4 Dual Pet and Car Cordless Vacuum Cleaner price and availability

•  RRP: £329.99

The Vax ONEPWR Blade 4 Dual Pet & Car cordless vacuum costs £369.99, which makes it more affordable than models from Dyson or Shark. It’s also available with only a single battery for £299.99.

Vax offers a version without the antimicrobial brush and the mini motorized pet tool, too, for a very affordable £219.99. When purchased directly through Vax, all models come with a free toolkit for when the vacuum is used in handheld mode, which includes an extension tube and an upholstery tool. 

Design

• 0.6-litre dust bin
• Comes with one floor head and four tools, including a motorised pet brush
• Converts into a handheld cleaner

The Vax ONEPWR Blade 4 Dual Pet & Car cordless vacuum has a distinctive look, in part because of the 0.6-litre dust canister that’s positioned horizontally, rather than vertically, here – although this does mean it will need to be removed for emptying. 

Aside from the orientation of the dust canister, the design is fairly standard for a cordless vacuum cleaner, with the motor and filter found above the dust canister, and the wand and cleaning head below. Measuring 114 x 24 x 18.5cm (h x w x d) and weighing in at 3.1kg, it’s on par with many other cordless vacuums on the market right now, such as the Dyson V15 Detect. 

The power button, suction control and four LEDs that indicate remaining battery level reside on the front of the handle, while the swappable battery sits behind the motor and offers up to 45 minutes of run-time on the lowest power setting.

As mentioned, the floor cleaning head features two LEDs on the front and an antimicrobial brush bar that can either be set to rotate or remain static, ensuring hard floors aren’t damaged whilst vacuuming. The Blade 4 Dual Pet & Car can also be converted into a handheld cleaner by detaching the wand and floor cleaning head. Similar to the majority of cordless vacuum cleaners, this Vax isn’t freestanding – but a wall mount is included in the box to ensure it remains stable. 

The cordless vacuum ships with four tools, including a mini motorized pet tool and a handy caddy that allows the crevice tool to be clipped into the wand, keeping it close at hand when you’re using the vacuum. 

Performance

• Powerful suction
• Cumbersome to use in handheld mode
• Brush bar can be stopped from spinning

The Vax ONEPWR Blade 4 Dual Pet & Car excelled at collecting dust and dander from both hard floors and carpet. On the lowest power level, it vacuumed up fine dust as well as larger debris including cereal in just one sweep. On the most powerful setting it was able to thoroughly clean a deep-pile carpet, sucking up embedded fine dust. 

In fact, the suction is so powerful that we found on some carpet it was difficult to manoeuvre the vacuum; however, it glided easily over hard floors. The LEDs on the floor head itself made it easier to see the area we were vacuuming, and we were impressed at being able to stop the brush bar from spinning, to ensure hard floors weren’t damaged during cleaning. 

However, we found the vacuum cumbersome to use in handheld mode, due to its footprint and the fact that it weighs more than 2kg. Cleaning up high often induced arm ache, so we wouldn’t recommend using it in this way for very long periods. 

We also found the Vax ONEPWR Blade 4 Dual Pet & Car fiddly to empty, since the dust canister needs to be removed from the vacuum for discarding the dust and debris collected. However, once removed, you simply hit the button on the bottom of the canister to activate the mechanism that ejects its contents into the bin in one swift move. 

During testing, our decibel meter measured noise at 81db on carpet and 86db on hard floor on the vacuum’s most powerful setting. While this means the ONEPWR Blade 4 Dual Pet & Car isn’t the loudest vacuum we’ve tested, the noise it makes is similar to that of a truck travelling down the road at 40mph, which could be irritating if used for long periods of time. 

Battery life

• Ranges from 18 to 45 minutes, depending on the power setting 
• Battery takes up to three hours to fully recharge
• Additional battery included

In testing, the Vax ONEPWR Blade 4 Dual Pet & Car cordless vacuum delivered 45 minutes of run-time on the lowest power settings. However, on maximum power this reduced to just shy of 18 minutes before the battery required recharging. 

Thankfully, this model ships with two batteries, so you can swap out one unit mid-clean when it’s run dry. This means you can vacuum for up to 90 minutes at a time, without stopping to recharge the battery. The battery took around three hours to fully recharge. 

Should I buy the Vax ONEPWR Blade 4 Dual Pet and Car Cordless Vacuum Cleaner?

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First reviewed: October 2021

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