Auto Express – August 20, 2019

94 SpecialIssue http://www.autoexpress.co.uk

PRODUCTS Wet-and-dryvacuumcleaners

books,

games &apps

Minitest

Which wet-and-dry

vacuumcleansup?

k

THERoverP6isatrueclassicand

datesfromthebrand’sheyday.

But,aswithanyclassic,buying

onecanbeaminefield,sothis

guidetakesyouthroughthe

potentialpitfallsandproblem

areas.It’sanidealcompanion

foranyoneconsidering

makingapurchase.

‘VANlife’maybethedreamforsome,

butthisjournalrevealsthetrials

andtribulationsoflivingin

a31-footRV.It’senoughto

makeyoudesperatetotrythe

motorhomelifestylewhile

simultaneouslyneverwanting

toexperienceit.Wellpaced,

wellwrittenandinplaceslaugh-

out-loudfunny, thisshortread

puncheswellaboveitsweight.

ANinterestingpremise

thatcouldbereallygood

withsomedevelopment.

Youexploreanisland

inavarietyofvehicles,

althoughsomeare

hiddenbehindapaywall.

Nevertheless,thebasicgameisfairlystrong,with

goodphysics,decentgraphicsandalargeareato

explore–butitcouldbeagreatopen-worldgame.

Appoftheweek

EssentialBuyer’s

Guide:Rover2000

RV ThereYet?

OffTheRoad–OTR

OpenWorldDriving

Lapseit

MartynMarrocco

(VelocePublishing,www.veloce.co.uk)

Price:£13.99Rating:★★★★★

TravisCasey

(Independent,www.amazon.co.uk)

Price:£6.99Rating:★★★★★

Availablefor:Android

Price:FreeRating:★★★★★

Availablefor:Android,iOS

Price:FreeRating:★★★★★

WANTtoshoottime-lapsevideo

ofcardetailing?Thisappwill

letyoudoit,butithasn’tbeen

updatedsince2014,sobug

supportislikelytobeseverely

limited.Anotherissueisthe

priceypaywall.

BEINGabletogettwoBuddyIIvacsforthe

priceofoneWD4couldalonesealthistest

win,buttheNilfiskisalsoagreatbitofkit.

Infact,it’sourgo-towet-and-dryvac.

TheBuddyII’s16-litrecapacityisdown

onitsrivalhere,andswitchingbetween

wetanddryrequiresabagtoberemoved

orreplaced,butitiseasiertolivewith.

That’slargelythankstothe4.5mhose,

whichwilleasilyreachacrossacar’scabin.

TheBuddywillalsoblowawaydustand

leaves,plusthere’sa1,100Wsocketfor

powertools;it’spermanentlyliverather

thanswitchingwiththevacortool,but

it’sundoubtedlyusefultohave.

Accessoriesandstorageareamatch

fortheWD4’s,buteaseofuseandalow

priceonAmazonmakethisaneasywin.

KARCHER’SWD4arrivesprettymuchready

togo,withjustthecastorsneedingtobe

fitted.Powerefficiencymaybeoneofthe

newmachine’sadvantages,butitisalso

easytousebecauseithasaremovable,

washable,flatfilter–withmessybagsonly

neededforfinedust.Thisallowsseamless

switchingbetweenwetanddrymodes.

Itfeelswellmadeandhasauseful

20-litrecapacity.Itworkswell,too,withthe

1,000WmotormatchingtheNilfisk’s1,250W

inourtests.Toostorageisalsodecent.

However,theWD4lackstheblow

functionandpowersocketofitsrivalhere

andothervacsatthisprice.Thehoseis

alsoshort,at2.2m.Ifyoucanlivewithout

thesefeatures,theWD4isagoodoption,

particularlyoncethepricestartstofall.

NEWPRODUCT

KärcherWD4

Price:£129.99Rating:★★★★★

Contact:www.kaercher.com

PREVIOUSTESTWINNER

NilfiskBuddyII18T

Price:£59.66Rating:★★★★★

Contact:www.nilfisk.com

THEenvironmentisattheheartofmuch

ofwhatwedothesedaysandit’sfirmlyin

mindwiththelaunch ofthelatestwet-and-

dry, energy-efficientvacuumfromKärcher.

TheWD4replacestheWD3P, which

secured3.5starsinissue1,558.Thewinner

ofthetestwasNilfisk’sBuddyII18T,which

iswhatwe’repitchingtheWD4against

here.First,wecheckedwhatextrasyouget

“A highprice

hastheKärcher

atadisadvantage

beforeweeven

turniton”

KimAdams

foryourmoneybeforetestingperformance

usingamixofbreadcrumbsandsugarson

acarmat,andthentacklingapairofgritty

footwells.Finallywetookpriceintoaccount.

TheNilfiskhangsontoitscrownwith

matchingperformance,butasuperior

specificationandprice.TheWD4performs

impressivelywell,andisanoptionifyou

don’tneedapoweroutletorblowmode.