You don’t need to have a major construction project on the go in order to justify having a decent drill at your disposal. From wonky shelves to picture frames, it’s one of those indispensable power tools that can save you bags of time and effort and help you get through your household snagging list.
Powered by 12V, 18V and 20V motors the drill you should be looking for depends entirely on how ambitious you intend to be with it. A 12V will be more than adequate for putting together your latest flat pack purchase or general DIY jobs around the home. But for more heavy-duty applications it’s better to rely on the increased power and speed offered by the higher voltages, which are also better suited to drilling into harder materials.
However, we’ve recently come to the conclusion that thanks to the increased quality of the brushless motors and lithium battery tools, many 12V drills pack a powerful punch to increase the range of their applications for both internal and external jobs. So we made sure to look closely at the 12V offerings from every manufacturer.
No matter what the voltage, the drill will be equipped with a range of torque settings, which translates to the turning force that the tool can deliver. Essentially, the more torque you have, the easier it will be for you to drill into harder materials, like masonry.
So, we were looking for our chosen drills to exhibit as much versatility as possible and for the power at its disposal to combine with all its features to put you in control of whatever task is at hand.
How we tested
To test one of the most important metrics (control) we countersunk some screws and then used each tool to see how well they could drive that screw to make the heads flush with the surface. We also drilled and drove into wood, metal, masonry and even concrete, (when the tool was designed to do so) to cover the full range of applications that the drill could be used for and see how each one rated for ergonomics, performance, battery life and features like LED work lights. Here are the drills that deserve a spot in your toolbox.
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The best cordless drills for 2023 are:
- Best overall – Worx WX354 active hammer drill: £189.95, Ffx.co.uk
- Best ergonomics – DeWalt DCD703L2T XR drill driver: £219, Toolstop.co.uk
- Best day-to-day drill – Bosch universal impact 18V combi drill: £86.95, Amazon.co.uk
- Best overall design – Gtech combi drill: £129.96, Gtech.co.uk
- Best value for money – Makita DHP484RTJ combi drill: £302.98, Toolstation.com
- Best for external wood working – DeWalt DCD791D2 compact drill driver: £299, Amazon.co.uk
- Best subcompact drill – DeWalt DCD708C2 atomic compact: £290, Amazon.co.uk
- Best budget drill – Wickes 18V cordless combi drill: £58, Wickes.co.uk
- Best entry-level drill – Bosch GSB 12V-35 combi drill: £211.95, Ffx.co.uk