Kärcher RCV 5 Robot Vacuum Cleaner review: armed with lasers, LiDar and a mop

I’ve tested enough robot vacuums to know that even the best can sometimes be clever in theory but often clumsy in practice. Kärcher, though, isn’t a brand that usually gets cleaning wrong. They may be best known for their range of pressure washers that blast grime off patios, but they also have a top-tier range of indoor cleaning appliances too, and the Kärcher RCV 5 is no exception. This solid, no-nonsense robot vacuum brings Kärcher's trademark cleaning power indoors.

The Kärcher RCV 5 combines laser-guided navigation, strong suction, and a built-in mop to keep floors clean with minimal effort. I tested this robot vacuum at home and believe me, it faced quite the challenge to match up to some of the best cordless vacuum cleaners. The RCV 5, however, held its own, especially against dirt, dust and hair (both human and pet). It mapped rooms quickly, avoided cables and abandoned shoes and even transitioned well between hard floors and carpeted areas, a sign that robot vacuums have come a long way in the last few years.

It’s not entirely without flaws, but the RCV 5 is one that you can set up and forget about, knowing that it’ll do the job properly. But is that enough to impress me, and is this one of the best robot vacuums currently on offer? Read on to find out.

Kärcher RCV 5 review: price and availability

The Kärcher RCV 5 has an RRP of £549.99 / $399.99 and can be purchased on the Kärcher website as well as other major retailers including Amazon and Very. It's often discounted, and at the time of writing can be picked up for around £449.99 from the above outlets. Whilst it’s not the cheapest robot vacuum and mop combo out there, you are paying for Kärcher's proven build quality and performance.

A standard two-year guarantee is included, and if you buy direct from Kärcher, you’ll also get free shipping and returns. Replacement accessories are widely available too, a set of three mop wipes costs £14.99, whilst a full accessory kit (including mop wipes, vacuum arms and two filters) is priced at £23.99.

Kärcher RCV 5 review: design and features

The Kärcher RCV 5 looks like most other robot vacuums. It’s circular in shape, with subtle yellow detailing, and whilst you may not think the colour really matters, believe me, it does. I live in a Victorina terrace where even if I go on a dusting frenzy, the moment I leave the room, a thin layer of dust will settle on everything I own. The white exterior of the Kärcher doesn’t show the dust, and for that reason, I love it.

But seriously, it’s a well-built machine, it’s sturdy but doesn’t feel or look bulky. It measures 35cm across and is just under 10cm in height, so it’s the perfect size for getting under sofas and gliding across rooms without taking over. The base station is 13.5 x 9.9cm and takes up a lot less room than some other vacuum docks I’ve come across.

It goes without saying that it comes with an app which is used to control everything from suction power to timings. That means that there’s not much in terms of buttons on this machine, at the top, you’ll find a start/stop button and a home button that will send the machine back to its base.

The built-in bin is quite small at only 330ml and can be accessed by lifting the front panel up. It simply clips in and out by pressing the two buttons either side. Then to the rear is where you’ll find the 240ml water tank.

To the front of the machine is the dual-laser camera system. This is the side that needs to be lined up with the base station when you first use it. To set the vacuum up, it has to be on the base, and it can get a little confusing, especially if you’ve used robot vacuums before and are used to seeing pins that show you where it should align.

Flip the vacuum over, and you’ll find the side cleaning brush, which is how it manages to do a great job of that dust sitting against the skirting board, the main brush, and the wiper cloth that just attaches via Velcro to the water tank. There’s also the wheels, which help it move along the floors.

There are no features like a dirty water tank (the water gets pushed onto the floor and the wipe cloth just removes any excess residue) or self-emptying bins with this robot vacuum. Given its price point and size, you’d not expect anyway.

When it comes to features, there are plenty. Of course, the vacuum and mop combination is the big selling point. Don’t think that means you can’t use it on carpeted areas, because you can just choose the vacuum function in the settings. But if you forget, it doesn’t matter because it has a built-in carpet detection mode. That means if wet mop is activated, the robot will avoid the carpeted areas automatically. Carpet mode comes with an auto boost function which increases the suction power when on a carpeted surface for better results, and in my household, with the amount of human hair and pet fur that gets left around, this is invaluable.

Another huge feature is the navigation system that the RCV 5 uses. It uses LiDAR navigation which scans the room to create accurate maps and then a dual-laser camera to help avoid objects. The great thing is that this can even work when cleaning in the dark and the camera uses ai to navigate and can recognise small and flat objects (i.e. a rogue sock) and will completely avoid them so you won’t get any notifications telling you to go tend to the vacuum because it’s choking on a sock it ran over.

It does have a voice output which thankfully, you can mute. It gives you any important information and shares the current cleaning status. This info also goes on the app so if you do mute it, you’ll still be able to find out what’s going on.

This robot vac has the capability to store multiple maps. This is ideal if you’re carrying it from floor to floor, and at just 5.4kg, it’s light enough to do that. You can also define areas where you don’t want the robot to go, or set up areas that need a more intense clean whether that be using the vacuum or mop mode.

There is a scheduling function, which is pretty standard on robot vacuums these days but this one has the option to set up multiple timings and for different areas. And of course, built-in fall sensors to stop it falling down stairs. But it is mighty impressive that this robot vacuum does have a climbing height of 20mm so great for getting in between rooms or if you have a rug in the middle of the floor.

Kärcher RCV 5 review: performance

I was blown away by how well the Kärcher RCV 5 performed right from its first run. The first hurdle you do have to face is the set-up. Whilst the machine comes out of the box intact, you do need to connect it to the app. This took quite some time, not because it’s difficult to get your head around how the app works. In fact, the app is really easy to use and intuitive, but because of the Wi-Fi connection.

When I first tried to set it up, I took it upstairs, but it turns out you have to be practically on top of the Wi-Fi router for it to get that initial connection. Once I took it downstairs to connect, it did it pretty much instantly, and I’ve had no problems with it staying connected when I moved it back upstairs.

The machine is quick to get going. It maps rooms in super fast time and with pure accuracy. Recognising what it needed to avoid in order to get the best clean, it even went around the dog a few times at such a distance she didn’t run off which is a first when it comes to vacuums.

I tried it out at first on quite a thick pile carpet. I used the auto boost function to make sure that it got the right level of suction power to lift any dust and hair that was lingering. It did a great job, vacuuming the entire upstairs in less than 15 minutes, and this was a patch of carpet I hadn’t vacuumed (on purpose for the good of this review before anyone accuses me of slovenly behaviour) for a few days. It moved from room to room with ease, going over the carpet bars with no effort at all. It even stopped very close to the edge of the stairs, making sure it vacuumed every bit of carpet it could.

It has different suction modes: quiet, standard, medium and turbo. I tested out all of them and found that turbo gave the best results, especially on the carpeted areas. There’s also the option to mop and vac at the same time, the robot vacuums first and then goes over again with the mop. There's a spot cleaning function, where you can select an area on the map and then set it to work, this will go over the area several times to get it super clean. I found this really worked well in the kitchen after pizza night as I usually get semolina all over the floors and it’s a pain to get up, but the Kärcher took away the crunchy floor feeling, leaving it super clean.

Moving to the hard floor downstairs, it was just as impressive. It quickly and efficiently picked up dust and debris and did a good job of avoiding furniture and items like the dog bowls.

The mop function is good, but I wouldn’t say it was a substitute for a deep clean. It just gives a wipe over rather than a deep scrub, but the floors do feel fresher once it’s been around. The water comes out evenly, so there are no overly damp patches or streaks left behind.

It’s not really a noisy vacuum either, it’s noticeable, of course, but not enough that it would interrupt you having a conversation or watching tv. Kärcher state the noise level is 66dB and I’d agree with that, it’s definitely one of the quieter models that I’ve tested.

The only real niggles that I found with the performance of the Kärcher RCV 5, especially on carpeted floors, is that the bin filled up really quickly, so you will have to empty it often, especially if you have a household like mine where it’s constantly tackling pet hair, human hair, and dust. Speaking of hair, you'll have to constantly unravel it from the main brush as there’s no anti-tangle technology.

The battery life is superb with a run time of 120 minutes. Of course, this is on the lower settings, but it managed to do both floors in my two-bedroom terrace in one clean without once losing battery power. It has a charge time of 230 minutes, but unless your home is so big it runs out of battery mid-job, you probably won’t notice that as it automatically returns back to base after it’s completed its cleaning tasks and begins charging up.

When using this vacuum, you will need to download the app. You can set it off on a basic vacuum using the start/stop button at the top, but the app unlocks more settings that you’ll want to use, especially if you’re planning on using the mop function. The app is pretty straightforward and easy to use. Everything in the app is laid out neatly, so you won’t have any issues finding what you need.

One cool function is that you can control your Kärcher RCV 5 remotely, so if you want to make sure your home is vacuumed for when you get home, you can just set it to go. This probably isn’t a function I’d use simply because I have pets, and I’ve seen enough TikTok disaster videos of accidents happening and then the robot vacuum making an appearance that it would make me too nervous. But it's a pretty fun feature to include.

One thing I did use a lot was the scheduling feature. I set the vacuum to run at 5 p.m. every evening so that the bedroom areas would be cleaned. It did this religiously every night, even when the clocks changed.

Kärcher RCV 5 review: verdict

The Kärcher RCV 5 strikes a really good balance between practicality and performance. Everything it says it’ll do, it does right. The navigation is precise, it has strong suction that works on all flooring types, and the mop is dependable. It’s not going to deep clean your home, and you’re still going to have to get a vacuum and mop out and manually do it to achieve that full-on clean, but for keeping on top of everyday messes, it’s perfect.

There are a couple of small niggles, like the bin. It’s a shame that it couldn’t have been a little bigger but then there would be the issue of the size of the machine, so that can’t be helped. The app set-up felt needlessly long-winded, but that could’ve been more down to my connection than the actual app.

This is a robot vacuum that’s built to last. It may be made from plastic, but it feels solid and durable. It’s a really good choice for a household with pets as it won’t bang into things, it doesn’t get stuck, and it makes a noticeable difference.

It is a little pricey, especially when at full RRP, but it’s a dependable all-rounder, so you do get what you pay for. Overall, the RCV 5 is what you’d expect from Kärcher. It’s solidly built, has powerful performance, and it’s really easy to use. It’s a great choice for anyone who wants fuss-free cleaning.