Ultenic U20 cordless vacuum review: convenient and easy to use, but lacking in oomph

RRP: £240 | Check price at Ultenic

How we tested

Our tester, Josephine, used the Ultenic U20 as her main cordless vacuum for one month in a busy family home with two young children. Her home has a mix of stone, wooden and carpeted floors, giving the vacuum the chance to tackle a range of surfaces. She used it for everyday cleaning, including family mealtime mess, stairs, under furniture, cobwebs, long hair and general household dirt, paying particular attention to suction, battery life, ease of use, manoeuvrability and storage.

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My verdict

Our verdict

The Ultenic U20 is a capable cordless vacuum that makes everyday cleaning easier. It's lightweight, simple to assemble and the flexible wand helps when cleaning under dining tables, sofas and other awkward furniture. Our tester, Josephine, found herself reaching for it far more often than her traditional corded vacuum because it was so convenient.

Cleaning power is where it struggles. In Josephine's busy home with two young children, she regularly switched to Turbo mode to tackle tougher jobs, especially on carpet. In real-world use, that setting lasted around 15 minutes, so cleaning the whole house in one go wasn't always practical.

It performed much better on hard floors. Stone and wooden flooring were cleaned with little fuss, while the anti-tangle brush coped impressively with long hair without needing regular cutting or untangling.

If your home has mostly hard flooring and you're after a lightweight cordless vacuum for everyday cleaning, the Ultenic U20 is well worth a look when it's discounted below its list price. Families with lots of carpet, or anyone expecting premium-level suction, may be left wanting more power.

What's in the box?

The Ultenic U20 comes with everything you need to get started:

• Main vacuum unit

• Floorhead with TangleTame™ roller

• Flexible bendable wand

• Crevice tool

• Flat dusting brush

• Removable battery

• Wall mount

• Charger

• Two H12 HEPA filters (one spare)

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What's the Ultenic U20 like to set up?

Assembly was straightforward. Josephine had everything clipped together within a few minutes and was cleaning almost straight away.

It took a little longer to get used to the release buttons. At first, she occasionally pressed the wrong one when emptying the bin, disconnecting the wand or removing the battery. Once she'd learnt which button did what, taking the vacuum apart and emptying the dust container became quick and easy.

The removable battery can stay attached while charging or be removed if you'd rather charge it separately. A wall mount is included, although Josephine charged hers on the kitchen counter during testing before planning to store it in a cupboard.

What's the Ultenic U20 like to use day to day?

Josephine said it was a vacuum she'd happily grab for quick jobs rather than one she'd put off using. She reached for it throughout the day to clear crumbs under the dining table, remove cobwebs from the ceiling or give the house a quick once-over before visitors arrived.

She especially liked the bendable wand, which let her clean underneath the dining table without crouching. It also made it much easier to reach under furniture than a rigid stick vacuum.

Although it weighs around 3.3kg, the U20 never felt heavy. Josephine found it comfortable to carry upstairs and easy to switch into handheld mode for cleaning the stairs.

Ultenic markets the U20 as freestanding, but Josephine couldn't rely on it. It sometimes balanced for a few moments before toppling over on both carpet and hard flooring, so she usually leaned it against furniture instead.

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How well does the Ultenic U20 perform on carpets?

Carpet performance was mixed. For lighter cleaning, the U20 did a respectable job. In a family home with two young children, though, Josephine found herself switching to Turbo mode whenever she wanted to tackle larger messes or give carpets a deeper clean.

The trade-off was battery life. Although Ultenic quotes up to 60 minutes in Eco mode, Josephine saw around 15 minutes in Turbo mode during everyday use. That makes Turbo more useful for spot cleaning than vacuuming the whole house.

The anti-tangle floorhead was a real highlight. With both Josephine and her six-year-old having long hair, she expected to spend time cutting hair away from the roller. Instead, it stayed remarkably clear throughout the month of testing.

How well does the Ultenic U20 perform on hard floors?

Hard floors are where the U20 performs best. Josephine's home has plenty of stone and wooden flooring, and she found the vacuum picked up everyday dirt without needing maximum power. Daily crumbs, dust and general household debris were dealt with quickly, making it a practical option for regular cleaning.

She also liked the crevice tool for reaching ceiling cobwebs and awkward corners, joking that it had become her dedicated "spider attachment". Being able to grab the vacuum without wrestling with a cord meant she dealt with small cleaning jobs as soon as she spotted them.

Is the Ultenic U20 good value for money?

At its full recommended retail price of around £240, we'd struggle to recommend the Ultenic U20 over cordless models from Shark or Henry.

It becomes much better value when discounted, which Ultenic does regularly. At around £130 to £190, it offers plenty for the money.

The flexible wand, anti-tangle floorhead, removable battery and long Eco-mode runtime all add to the appeal, and it's a vacuum that's easy to use every day.

Just bear in mind that ease of use is its biggest selling point rather than suction power. If your home has mostly hard flooring or you want a lightweight cordless vacuum for everyday mess, it's a sensible buy at the lower price. If you've got lots of carpet and regularly deal with pet hair or lots of crumbs, you'll probably spend more time in Turbo mode than you'd like.

About the author

Poppy O'Neill is a Content Editor at Mumsnet and a mother of two. She researches and reviews the products Mumsnetters swear by, with a particular focus on home essentials like steam irons, vacuum cleaners and heated throws.

From a highly recommended retractable washing line to the best quiet fans money can buy, and Mumsnet's favourite dehumidifier to the steam generator iron that'll cut your ironing time in half, she loves to deep-dive into research and find the very best products on the market.