Eufy E20 review: A robot vacuum and a handheld vacuum in one neat package

When I first saw the teaser pictures of the Eufy E20 robot vacuum cleaner, I wondered what on earth the company’s designers had been ingesting.

It appeared, at first glance, like they'd built a robot vacuum that carries around a handheld vacuum as it cleans. As if one of the most important tools you can have in any household was taking some sort of "piggyback" on one of the most decadent tools you can have.

And then when I saw the official pictures, it appeared my initial suspicions were correct. But I've tested one now, and I can honestly say it's much, much, cleverer than than you’d think.

Basically, the handheld vacuum is the robot vacuum. And vice versa. The handheld vacuum, or at least the main part of it, is the beating heart of the robot vacuum.

When you remove the handheld vacuum, then, the robot part is effectively useless. Its suction comes from the handheld "attachment" that clips into the round base - and that suction is quite incredible.

Obviously, handheld vacuums traditionally have much more powerful suction than robot vacuums, and this one has 30,000Pa. To put that into perspective, my current favourite robot vacuum, the Eufy Omni S1 Pro, has 8,000Pa. And one of the most powerful robot vacuums out there, the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro, has 18,000.

Only it's not that simple. For reasons that probably involve battery life, the power of the handheld device is "throttled" when it gets put back into the robot base. It's said to drop back down to around 8,000Pa.

Does that matter? Not really. The reality is there's far more to the merits of a robot vacuum than its suction power alone. Eufy knows this, and that's why it also has a cutting-edge LiDar system, a self-emptying base station, and a superb de-tangling roller brush.

So in a sense, the reduced suction power doesn't make a measurable difference to the performance. It still picks up as well as pretty much any vacuum I've tried because, let's face it, a robot vacuum's suction inlet is never as close to the floor as a handheld anyway. And, of course, they need to have plenty of battery power to run wheels, sensors, and so on.

There are, however, a few downsides to this clever doubling up of functions. Because the robot vacuum has to accommodate a handheld in its bowels, it's rather big.

It's less likely to fit under certain items of furniture, then, but I realise that won't bother everyone.

A more tangible downside is that there's no room for a mopping function. This means if you only have hard floors, it might be less beneficial to you in terms of an investment than, say, Eufy's Omni S1 Pro.

But then there's a big advantage that comes into play. This robot vacuum is about half the price of the flagship Omni S1 Pro at £549. That's really not a lot of money for a well-specced robot vacuum. Even without a mopping function.

And we haven't even got to the best bit yet.

That little handheld vacuum, once you pop it out from its robot chariot, can quickly turn into a stick vacuum. Clamp on a long pipe, attach a new beater head, and you've got a cordless, 30,000Pa stick vacuum that would give a Dyson a run for its money.

So it's a three-in-one device, then. Three vacuums for pretty much half the price of one.

And what really impresses me is the way Eufy has seamlessly integrated all these functions. Right down to the way the robot will empty the handheld for you once you've filled it up, into its large bag built into the base station.

It's a joy to watch this happening. It just wakes up, realises you've been working hard while it's been snoozing, turns itself around, presents its posterior to the emptying bay, and relieves itself into the bag. And then, of course, the whole unit is charging, ready for any part of it to go back to work at any time.

Truth be told, there are better robot vacuums out there. And if I'm being honest there are better handheld and stick vacuums out there, but not by any significant margin. And the important factor is that to buy all three items separately would cost significantly more than £549.

Setting aside the fact you have to find somewhere to store most of the attachments, this is such a neat, compact, and useful package, and it performs far better than it should.

We've reached a phase of robot vacuum evolution where manufacturers need to do something radical for theirs to stand out. It's a time of maverick innovation and experimentation, and all credit to Eufy for doing something genuinely different.

Often these daring new designs turn out to be a complete flop, but the E20 is absolutely not a flop.

It's a seriously clever bit of design that's been polished to almost perfection, and although it's not without its flaws and it won't suit every home, it really does move the game on.

It deserves to sell really well, and I think it will.