Verdict

Looking for a cordless vacuum cleaner? The Bosch BCH7PETGB could well be for you. This battery-powered upright is easy to push around, with setting 2 the best for most scenarios, and the powerful turbo mode super-impressive; suction in low-power mode is poor. The trade-off with this upright model is that you lose some convenience with the additional tools, but that could be a price worth paying for many.

Pros

• Excellent all-round floor cleaning
• Very good edge cleaning
• Great for pet homes
• Nicely lightweight
• Super powerful turbo mode
• Good range of tools
• Very manoeuvrable floorhead
• Excellent filter system
• Looks great

Cons

• Using hose and tools is a faff
• No charging dock

What is the Bosch BCH7PETGB?

Super lightweight, a great range of accessories and choice of three different suction levels make the Bosch BCH7PETGB a strong contender in the cordless vacuum world. It boasts up to 75 minutes’ run-time, is easy to steer, and the powerful AnimalPro floor head make it suitable for carpets and hard floors without changing modes or the brush. Filtration, too, is top-notch thanks to Bosch’s rotation clean system that knocks out dust from the filter.

Excellent carpet cleaning and state-of-the-art pet hair pick-up make the Bosch BCH7PETGB a dream to use. The most powerful level 3 setting (we’ll call it “turbo”) is a beast for deep cleaning, but run-time in this mode is a fraction of its headline 75 minutes.

The Bosch BCH7PETGB is more “cordless upright” than stick cleaner, although the hose and tools do add versatility; we’d expect a dock rather than flying lead charging at this price. Nevertheless, the BCH7PETGB is a great, fuss-free performer on multiple floor surfaces and has become our grab-and-go cleaner of choice.

Bosch BCH7PETGB – What you need to know

• General vacuuming – Lightweight design and ultra-flexible floor head ensure easy steering. Vacuuming performance is excellent, although tool use is a bit of a faff
• Carpet test – Extremely powerful suction with excellent ProAnimal brush delivering brilliant carpet cleaning, right up to the skirting edge
• Hard floor test – A slow pass over spilt oats gave us a great result as only a couple remained
• Pet hair pick-up – The Bosch sucked up animal hair from floors like a champ and the detail tools were effective for pet beds, even without a small turbo brush tool

Related: Best cordless vacuum cleaner

Bosch BCH7PETGB design – Three cleaning modes, plenty of accessories and an ultra-manoeuvrable floor head

Rocking its Ferrari red paintwork, the Bosch BCH7PETGB is a great-looking cordless upright vacuum cleaner with plenty of headline features. Powerful motor, up to 75 minutes’ run-time and AnimalPro floor head suggests serious floor cleaning. Plus, the hose, detail tools and carry strap shout versatility beyond being just an upright.

Three different suction levels on the thumb slider provide plenty of different cleaning options for a range of jobs around the home, and the main floor head is suitable for all floor coverings.

There are three different power settings on offer

The initial charge set us back around six hours, which is an average time across similar cordless stick vacuums we’ve tested. The BCH7PETGB is charged by plugging in the charger’s fly-lead into the body. This feels a bit cheap considering the asking price; most competitors offer some sort of dock. There’s a bright battery level indicator to show charge level, both when charging up and running down in use.

There’s no dock, so you have to charge the vacuum cleaner by plugging the power cable in directly

Bosch BCH7PETGB performance – An extra-powerful turbo setting means brilliant vacuuming, but stay away from the first level

There isn’t a separate mode for different floorings; instead, you get three suction levels that you choose by sliding the control on the handle. On the first level, the brush bar doesn’t spin and suction is super-light to ensure the cleaner will run for its headline-grabbing 75 minutes. However, is sucks so lightly in this mode that the floor head is ineffectual and the cleaner is only of use for light dusting.

Sheer power in turbo mode is excellent, but it drained the battery pretty quickly, holding out for around 14 minutes. As we’ve noted before, though, you’ll be surprised by just how much flooring you can cover in that time. Overall, the mid setting offers the best balance of performance and decent run-time.

The main floor head is Bosch’s ProAnimal design, featuring a large brush bar with stiff nylon bristles. It’s powered by its own motor and spins with admirable force. The brush is easy to pop out for cleaning. The head is nicely light and the flexible pivot neck gives it excellent manoeuvrability.

The motorised brush head is well designed

Thrown into the mix is a good roster of clip-on accessories, including hose and shoulder strap for carrying the vacuum around the house or upstairs. Setting up the Bosch in this mode isn’t as simple as pulling off the tube of a typical hand-stick cleaner body – but it isn’t overly onerous either. There’s a crevice nozzle for reaching more difficult spots, a wide tool that we found a great option for cleaning the stairs, and an upholstery tool that proved perfect for cleaning our sofa arms.

The crevice tool lets you clean a variety of surfaces

Filtration is comprehensive and fully washable, with Bosch claiming exhaust air is even cleaner than room air sucked in. SmartSensor technology monitors suction pressure and flags up a warning light when the filter needs a buff. That’s aided by a rotating knob on the cartridge filter that physically flicks dust out of the filter membrane.

Great all-round floor cleaning, light in the hand, and easy to manoeuvre. Plus some handy detail tools make this Bosch a cordless winner even for homes with pets. Its “upright” styling allows it to stand unaided, making it a grabbable quick cleaning device – and the air filtration is one of the best we’ve experienced on a cordless cleaner.

Okay, so the 75 minutes’ run-time is only available on an ineffectually asthmatic suction level, and fly-lead charging feels a little cheap, but those niggles aside, the BCH7PETGB is an outstanding all-round cordless cleaner.

Should you buy the Bosch BCH7PETGB?

It looks great, feels super lightweight when using over any flooring, and delivers excellent close-to-the-edge cleaning. The Bosch BCH7PETGB is a more convenient cordless upright than a hand-stick cleaner and, on all floor surfaces, the 14-minute turbo mode offers outstanding cleaning performance right up to the edge.

It looses out to hand-sticks when it comes to detail cleaning, simply because fitting the hose and tools and then carrying it over your shoulder is a bit of a faff. The 75-minute run-time claim can all but be ignored, since the vacuuming power is negligible in this mode – but the mid (25-30mins) and turbo (14mins) modes are great.

At this price, we’d definitely expect a small turbo tool and a proper wall dock rather than a simple fly-lead. However, in terms of upright cleaner convenience and performance, the Bosch remains a winner.