If you’re in the market for a car vacuum, there are a few things you should think about. One of the first questions could be — do you actually need one? If you own something like the Dyson V8, it can shapeshift into a form factor that can work very well to clean cars with and comes with all the power, bin size and additional tools of a fully-fledged vacuum cleaner for great performance. Of course, this comes at a considerably higher cost than a dedicated car vacuum and can be heavier too. The HomeVac H20 offers two suction modes – Eco and Max –that you select by pushing a button on the main unit, beneath the power button. Between the two buttons sits a battery indicator light, which is useful for offering guidance on the level of power remaining. We were grateful that the HomeVac H20 could be charged from inside the car using the in-car charger; on a few occasions, we had to resort to using it to gather enough juice to finish the job. In terms of charging – and battery life – the figures are impressive. The vacuum only takes an hour to fully charge and has a battery life of around 30 minutes which is sufficient time to thoroughly clean even the largest car. verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ You can also access the light in an emergency without engaging the vacuum by holding down the mode button for three seconds! Three LEDs close to the on/off button show the battery level whilst charging and also the battery life remaining when the unit is in use. These lights also flash in red to show a machine error.

It offers two levels of suction - Eco and Max - with the former giving you up to 20 minutes of vacuuming. We found we regularly had to nudge it up to Max for the best results though, and even then, it didn’t quite manage the same cleaning performance as the very best.Design could be better in some places. For example, the door for emptying the bin sits on the side of the vacuum’s main body so isn’t the easiest for ditching the dirt cleanly.

As well as evaluating its cleaning performance, we also consider the other things that would be important when making a buying decision, including how long the battery lasts compared to the manufacturer’s claims (or how long the wire is for corded vacs), how loud it is in use and the usefulness of any included tools for different jobs. Considering its low price, this Shark handheld offers tremendous value and is perfect for busy families. That's not to mention a great option if you're dealing with pet hair on a daily basis. With a slim and lightweight design, the H30 is a great choice for a car vacuum. Both included attachments are useful, although we found ourselves using the 2-in-1 crevice tool most often, but the multi-use tool does a pretty good job with pet hair. The HomeVac H30 Venture is the entry-level model of Eufy’s H30 three-strong lineup and comes with a 2-in-1 crevice tool and the multi-surface tool for collecting pet hair. There’s a nice touch of a charging station in the box too, for storing it all neatly when not in use. Some thought has gone into the design of the product. The storage bag keeps the vacuum and accessories neatly together in the car boot. Interestingly though the vacuum itself will fit in a car drinks holder. The accessories mean that virtually every part of the car can be accessed via the vacuum. Even the fixed brush head attached to the vacuum can be extended by a couple of centimetres. The dust container is not particularly large but is entirely suited in size to clean a car. The built LED light allows you to see areas of the car which otherwise would be difficult to clean. Anker Eufy Clean HomeVac H20 Review

A car vacuum cleaner which is also useful around the home

You might also want to consider the bin size, to be sure it has a decent capacity for a full car clean — if the bin is too small you might have to stop to empty it halfway through. Speaking of which, consider how the bin opens on the car vac and if it looks like it can be emptied cleanly. There’s nothing worse than losing half of your bin’s contents onto the floor — or worse, on you — as you try to transfer to the bin. These smaller, more compact vacuums for cars may not have quite the suction of the best upright vacuums, which do an excellent job of keeping your home spotless, but they’re more than enough for their intended purpose. Plus, they’re much easier to use on a car as they’re smaller and easier to use, not to mention you won’t need an extension cord. To find the best car vacuum you can buy, we test how well each model can clean up a range of dirt and debris from different areas of a car, using crushed digestive biscuits for our finer dirt test, and oats for the larger one. With a fairly small 8.5 fl oz/250ml dust canister, the messiest cars may need the bin emptying once during a clean. But, for little-and-often cleans, the H30 Venture is a superb car cleaning companion.

Overall, this is a handy car vac for those who need something that’s both budget and lightweight to use and who clean little and often. If you need something more heavy duty you should look elsewhere. While car vacuums have not always been seen as all that powerful, that’s changing a little now that portable handheld vacuums are becoming more popular. Of course, it helps that the companies making some of the best vacuum cleaners out there have some models on offer. One area where the H30 can’t compete is in the smarts department; you won’t find any on-board tech that’ll analyse dust intake and intelligently adjust suction power like with some cordless vacs, instead offering a simplistic button that lets you switch between the two modes manually. Its one power setting means one pass may not be enough for really set-in dirt - and it can struggle with the most stubborn of pet hair too - but overall the single power setting copes well with most tasks. We found you’ll get around 15 minutes of battery life, 50% more than its quoted 10 minutes and more than enough to do a good clean of your whole car. We also consider the weight and ergonomics, to understand if people are going to be able to use it comfortably to clean the whole car and if the bin capacity it has will make that possible.