Handheld vacuum cleaners Dirt Devil Car-Mate DHC003

Dirt Devil Car-Mate DHC003 comes with a nozzle for getting into small spaces

Dirt Devil says its new handheld vacuum cleaner is perfect for cleaning your car. We’ve taken it for a test drive to bring you our first impressions.

The first thing you notice about the Car-Mate is its weight. At a hefty 2.9kg, it’s considerably heavier than any other handheld vac we’ve tested. It comes with a shoulder strap designed to make it easier to carry, but it’s too heavy for this to be a comfortable option.

The Car-Mate can only be powered from the mains, but the 8m power cord should easily be long enough to stretch from a plug indoors to your car. If you’re using the Car-Mate in the house, the length of the lead means it can get in the way, as there’s no way to retract or easily store it.

Using the Car-Mate

The Car-Mate is simple to use - there’s just one switch to turn it on or off.

The handle is comfortable, and the Car-Mate glides across surfaces easily. Unlike many handheld vacs, it needs to be kept flat on the ground, so you’ll need to do your vacuuming while crouched low to the ground or on all fours.

It seemed to do a very good job of sucking up dust and dirt. However, it was at least as much noise as an average full-sized vacuum cleaner, and gave off an unpleasant smell that was like burning rubber.

Good for awkward spaces

The Car-Mate comes with a nozzle, which is great for getting into awkward areas such as underneath car seats. When you’re not using the nozzle, it clips into place behind the handle, so there’s no danger of losing it.

You won’t need to empty the Car-Mate until you’ve sucked up half a litre of dust. But it’s not the easiest handheld vac to empty, as you need to hold it over the bin with one hand while opening the dust canister with the other.

The Dirt Devil Car-Mate DHC003 costs £49.99 and is available from Argos and Tesco.

Pros: Sucks up dust well, easy to use, nozzle good for getting into small spaces

Cons: Heavy, noisy, smelly