Roborock Q Revo MaxV review

Best Prices Today: Roborock Q Revo MaxV

The differences between an expensive and a cheaper robot vacuum cleaner are many. The so-called flagship models from more established manufacturers can quickly identify obstacles and smoothly avoid them. They can empty themselves of both dust and dirty water, and the mopping function is now really impressive – both in terms of performance and the ability to clean in hard-to-reach areas such as corners and edges.

If you choose an entry-level model, you’ll get a machine that can handle the same tasks with some effort. The suction power is considerably weaker, and you can expect it to occasionally gobble up a sock or two, often resulting in downtime. If it has a mop function at all, it’s a simpler version – usually just a mop pad that trails along behind, exerting only the gentlest pressure.

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Good models at a reasonable price

In between these extremes, we find models that offer many of the features and technology of the top models, albeit in simpler versions, but at a lower price point. Dreame has its L series in various configurations (including the L40 Ultra, which we’ve reviewed), and Roborock offers its Q Revo, also in several variants, with the MaxV a new, more advanced model.

We recently tested its sibling, the Roborock Q Revo Slim – a really nice machine that performs well overall, but was particularly impressive when it came to the mopping function. It has two rotating pads instead of the vibrating “scrubbing pad” that was standard just a year or so ago, even on top-of-the-range models.

Dreame was an early adopter of this, which I consider to be a much more efficient solution, and it’s only positive that Roborock is now implementing the same technology in more and more models.

More advanced than its sibling

Still, when reviewing the Q Revo Slim, we did find that its obstacle detection and avoidance was hit and miss, despite 3D scanning with structured light that’s supposed to be adapted for that purpose.

MaxV, on the other hand, has a more advanced system that combines structured light with an RGB camera to more quickly and efficiently detect objects – according to Roborock, objects as small as 5cm wide and 3cm high. That sounds promising.

The base station, measuring 34 x 48.7 x 52.1 cm, holds a vacuum cleaner bag, a clean water tank and one for dirty water. However, there’s no container for detergent, which the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra has, for example. The base station also automatically cleans the robot’s mops at different intervals (depending on the settings you choose) and dries them after each cleaning session.

The installation and mapping of your home is done in no time, and you can easily divide the rooms and add different zones if you want. What’s more, the app is really user-friendly and offers a wealth of customisation options, depending on the layout of your home and how intensive you want the cleaning to be.

Customised cleaning

For example, you can choose whether to avoid carpets altogether or include them in the cleaning – it will automatically lift its mops when the robot detects carpet. The temperature of the scrubbing water can be adjusted, from room temperature to hot (up to 60 degrees), and the robot can return to a specific location for another pass with the mop if it judges the surface to be particularly dirty.

A cool, add-on feature is that you can remotely activate the robot’s camera to check its status. Via the built-in microphone and speaker, you can even have two-way communication with people at home when you’re out, or check on your pets.

The suction power is a whopping 7,000 Pa. Combined with the spiral-patterned rubber brush, it does an excellent job of taking care of dust bunnies, breadcrumbs and other debris. The mop system, with its two rotating pulleys, also performs really well.

The MaxV is also equipped with Roborock’s FlexiArm technology, where the right-hand mop is angled out at edges, around furniture and in corners. This is a solution we’ve seen on several Dreame machines in the past, and it’s certainly a big improvement when it comes to accessing hard-to-reach areas. Had the MaxV also inherited the side brush from the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra, which has similar technology, it would have been a complete success.

Obstacle detection – still the Achilles’ heel

And then there was the issue with object identification and avoidance. Sure, it works better than on earlier models, but we are still far from perfection. A sock thrown on the floor was identified in a flash, and the robot rounded it nicely like a ballet dancer. My bunch of keys, however? Completely ignored and run over without mercy. During the same cleaning session, it also managed to drag along an audio cable that for some unfathomable reason had ended up under the TV bench.

So yes, it’s definitely an improvement, but it’s still some way off the level of the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra or Dreame L40 Ultra.

Best Prices Today: Roborock Q Revo MaxV