The best corded vacuums for car cleaning

In a recent corded versus cordless car vac experiment, we found that corded vacuums were superior in terms of price, robustness, power, and performance. It was a one-sided affair, like the Lancia Delta Group A rally car in WRC during the late eighties and early nineties.

In pursuing this line of champions, we’ve focused solely on corded vacuums and recommended our top five for car cleaning. This isn’t to say that these are vacuum cleaners that are only any good for car cleaning. Most of our favourites are wet and dry units that can be used in the garage, garden shed, and patio too.

How to properly vacuum your car

The best corded vacuum cleaners for car cleaning

What we really liked about the WD 2 Plus is the single-piece cartridge filter. You don’t have to change it for wet or dry vacuuming. It's worth getting over the standard WD 2 because the Plus has a blower function, that one-piece cartridge filter, a rotary knob rather than switch, a carry handle, and accessory storage. The regular WD 2 does not have these features.

Despite being quite small, the WD 2 Plus still has 12 litres of capacity, so it stores away without taking up much room, yet can tackle all domestic tasks.

But these are niggles and overall the Draper is an excellent vacuum, capable of dealing with car cleaning and other demanding domestic tasks.

Charles offers 15 litres of dry capacity but only nine of wet. It will be enough for most tasks but it’s something to bear in mind. In terms of power, you won’t be wanting. Charles has 1060W.

The push into triple figures for the asking price is noticeable and naturally begs the question of what you get for it. In addition to great performance and reliability, you also get a comprehensive accessory kit with a brace of floor tools for any flooring, crevice tool for tricky car interiors, and aluminium tubes rather than the plastic ones supplied with the Karcher and Draper models.

While its included accessories aren’t as comprehensive as those you get with Charles, you do get the basics. However, the suction hose is only 1.5 metres. This is somewhat offset by the 2.5-metre power cord but a longer suction hose would make car cleaning easier.

Like the Karcher and Draper, the Einhell has a blower function so you can remove debris from weird places that way.

The C3 is of course for dry vacuuming only and while it’s certainly powerful enough, it’s not as tough as the vacuums above. Thus, you’ll want to remove any larger pebbles and debris before diving in with the C3.

We like how quiet and effortless the C3 is compared to the rough and ready nature of the others. It includes a crevice tool, dust brush, and upholstery brush too, so you really can give your car a deep clean if you want to.

Read next:

The best wet and dry vacuum cleaners for your garage

Vax SpotWash Spot Cleaner review: Better than a vacuum cleaner?

The best way to clean and organise your garage

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