Metabo Cordless Drill Review
The Metabo Cordless Power Extreme is a workhorse of a drill. Cordless yet extremely powerful with 100Nm of torque, it is suitable for use on masonry, steel and wood. The ‘Impuls’ feature gives extra precision and control when you need it most.
This Product May Be Currently Unavailable,
Our recommended alternative is The Metabo 602317500 SB 18 L 18v Cordless Hammer Drill!
Metabo or not ‘tabo
The innovative features on the Metabo add a little pizazz to the solid power it holds within. For instance, the torque wheel at the base of the handle stem, the ‘Impuls’ which increases control in tricky situations and the torque amplifying handle. It’s all torque and no talk.
Instead of the standard clutch, Metabo have included an electronic torque selector wheel. This is for dealing in very precise torque settings and to ensure repeatable drill depths – nothing worse than going a little too deep.
There are 11 preset torque modes, with lower settings ideal for the light stuff and the higher ones when you need some heavy metal drilling and driving. Other comparable drills are confined to two, three or four torque and speed settings, so having 11 is a drastic step up, it also necessitates the introduction of the wheel, because 11 buttons is about 10 too many.
When you need to stop messing about a little red button on top cranks everything back up to full power and torque – as all red buttons tend to do in this world.
It is possible, if you thought that was the end to torque talk, to bump things up to three times the existing torque. This is done using a the torque arm – which locks into place between the drill chuck and the hexagonal recess. Adding this and using your strength increases the torque potential to around 300Nm, that’s like having a pretty powerful car in your hands.
So yeah, you can chew through steel, stone and start cars with this kind of power.
All that power has to go somewhere – if you’re using this thing for intense heavy duty work you’ll be glad to know that the gear housing is made from die cast aluminium. This helps heat to dissipate quickly and safely, there is also an automatic shut-off point so you won’t have a run away drill coming after you.
Metabo Cordless Power Extreme Features
- ‘Impuls’ mode makes it easy to remove stuck screws and spot-drill smooth surfaces
- 4-pole motor for super fast action
- Top of the range impact mechanism for maximum accuracy and performance
- Spindle has hexagonal recess for screwdriver bits for working without the chuck
- 43mm collar is highly versatile – fits many bits
- Built-in light for illuminating the working area
- Aluminium gear housing dissipates heat quickly, improving overall durability
- Useful belt hook and bit case
- Capacity display shows remaining charge
- Ultra-long 3 year warranty for the batteries
- Side handle for heavy drilling into stone
Quality and Care
The quality of this thing is ridiculous, it is not a lightweight little thing, but a proper contractor’s friend. Weighing in at 5.24kg you might be thankful for that support arm at time.
The battery life is pretty decent, under full load you’ll be getting around 45 minutes use out of it. But, of course, that isn’t enough. So Metabo ship this product with two batteries – pretty standard really – and a quick charge time of around an hour means you’ll be able to keep going and going.
Metabo are pretty confident in their battery technology, and they want to keep you around, so there is a three year warranty on the batteries themselves. It is not apparent if this extends to the charger, but we think it would, purely because they seem like an amiable bunch who want to keep their customers happy.
Giving into to ‘Impuls’
The ‘Impuls’ feature lets you work quickly and smoothly on difficult surfaces. A switch at the base of the handle pulses the motor on and off, increasing your control over the motor output. When you pull the trigger with ‘Impuls’ active the bit spins in shorter bursts in proportion to the time the trigger is depressed. Pulsing in this way adds a little more torque than pure rotational torque.
The ‘Impuls’ feature is only available on the high end Metabo products such as this one.
This helps to remove screws which are stuck or damaged, it can make drilling into shiny and slick surfaces like steel piping or ceramic tiles a doddle as there is no time for movement or glide of the bit. There’s no need to do a centre punch, just give into the ‘Impuls’.
Metabo Cordless Power Extreme Pros and Cons
Pros
- Incredible torque which can be multiplied with an extender arm up to 300Nm
- Built to last, can be dropped and battered a bit without any damage
- LED for illuminating the work area
- 'Impuls' technology for getting stubborn screws and slippery surfaces done and dusted in no time
Cons
- Heavy at 5.24kg, but you get all that power
- Not a hammer drill, purely rotational torque
Pros
- Incredible torque which can be multiplied with an extender arm up to 300Nm
- Built to last, can be dropped and battered a bit without any damage
- LED for illuminating the work area
- ‘Impuls’ technology for getting stubborn screws and slippery surfaces done and dusted in no time
Cons
- Heavy at 5.24kg, but you get all that power so…
- Not a hammer drill, purely rotational torque
Conclusions on the Metabo Cordless Power Drill
If you’re a professional tradesman looking for something to chew up the hardest materials around without leaving a scratch anywhere else, the Metabo is for you. The price tag might seem high but quality costs. Looking at the Metabo range it is in the higher end, the only thing that might put you off is the lack of a hammer, forward drill motion can be useful, but does the obscene amount of rotational torque and ‘Impuls’ feature provide a foil for this shortcoming?
In our opinion yes, it does.
This Product May Be Currently Unavailable,
Our recommended alternative is The Metabo 602317500 SB 18 L 18v Cordless Hammer Drill!
Metabo Cordless Power Technical Data
- Battery – Li-ion
- Battery Voltage – 18 V
- Battery Capacity – 2 x 5.2 Ah
- Maximum Torque (soft) – 55 Nm
- Pulse Torque – 60 Nm
- Maximu Torque (hard) – 110 Nm
- Adjustable Torque – 1.5 – 2.4 Nm
- Drill-Ø Masonry – 16mm
- Drill-Ø Steel – 13mm
- Drill-Ø Soft Wood – 65mm
- No-load Speed – 0 – 500 / 0 – 1700 rpm
- Maximum Impact Rate – 32300 bpm
- Chuck Capacity – 1.5 – 13mm
- Weight (inc battery pack) – 2.4kg
- Noise Emission – 80 – 91 dB
