Vorwerk Kobold VR 300: Analysis, Features and Functions

Vorwerk Kobold VR 300

If I name the Thermomix brand it surely sounds like something to you but, and if I mention Kobold. This company may not sound like much to you, or at least not as much as the previous one, but both belong to the same Vorwerk family but they do different things: one makes kitchen robots while the other makes vacuum cleaners. And precisely today I want to talk to you about one of these gadgets. I have been testing the Kobold VR300 robot vacuum cleaner and today I am telling you about my experience with it .

Robot vacuum cleaner: specific vs multipurpose

Since the use of smart robots at home became fashionable, I have been fortunate to try different types of these devices. From those whose operation was based on walking forward until colliding with something and rectifying, others something more intelligent where certain sensors were already included or even robots with an exclusive task such as vacuuming or scrubbing and others more versatile that did both tasks.

And this is exactly the case with the VR300, since it is a robot focused solely on the task of sweeping and vacuuming. Is this type of equipment better or should I opt for something more versatile? That is exactly what I ask myself every time a robot with these characteristics passes through my hands and what I want to answer you in this analysis. But let’s not anticipate events and first see everything that the Kobold VR300 offers.

Design also matters in cleaning

One of the important aspects of this type of equipment is its design and the accessories that accompany it. Depending on its shape and height, you can access the different points of your house to clean them more or less easily. The VR300 is “D” shaped , making it easier to access corners compared to other models with a full circular shape. In addition, the height also plays in its favor with its 9 centimeters from the ground.

As for the components, in its box they come with:

  • Main brush : this is in charge of collecting most of the dirt with its 1,800 revolutions per minute at full operation.
  • Side brush : although it also collects everything that is on its way and facilitates the work of the main one, this brush is essential for cleaning corners and places that are difficult to access.
  • Dirt tank : where all the dust, hair and, ultimately, all the dirt that the robot captures in its path is stored. This has a capacity of 0.53 liters.
  • Tank filter
  • Charging base

All this is accompanied by its more than 15 sensors that allow you to navigate precisely and intelligently. Ultrasonic and infrared sensors with which you can avoid obstacles such as doors, furniture or even stairs without any problems and continue with your cleaning task.

Few drawbacks, if not any, I can put in this aspect to the VR300 during my tests. My house is a standard house with a standard decoration, with points of easier access and other more complex ones. This robot has gone through all of them without problem, cleaning under the table and corners leaving everything quite clean. In my case, I do not have stairs, but I have been able to verify that it detects a large part of the obstacles without problems and avoids them easily. Of course, like the rest of this type of equipment, those of smaller size such as cables or the legs of a portable clothesline for example continue to resist.

Creation of maps and cleaning modes

Another fundamental aspect of these teams today is the possibility of operating them from our own smartphone. On this occasion, Vorwerk has a fairly simple and intuitive app in which we can create maps, switch between the different cleaning modes, create limits and other interesting things.

The first thing we must do is synchronize our robot with the app, something very simple if we follow the steps that it will indicate. Once inside, we must create the first map of our home. But it will not be the only one that this vacuum cleaner will be able to memorize, since, if we have a house with several floors from the application, we can make it memorize all of them by clicking on “add map”.

Now, we will have at our disposal all the possibilities that this app offers us. In it we can:

  • Divide our house by rooms or groups of rooms: Thanks to this functionality, we can tell the VR300 to clean a room or group of rooms in a timely manner, without having to complete the entire map of our house. In my case, I have created a group of 2 rooms including the living room and the kitchen with the name “Daily” so that they are the ones that the robot goes through each day. We can do all this from the “Cleaning area” menu.
  • Limit access virtually : in this same menu where we can create the different rooms is where we will have the possibility of adding virtual limits through which the robot cannot pass. In this way, if you have a place in your house with always loose cables or small objects, this limit will make cleaning the robot not a daily odyssey.

  • Schedule cleanings : This is not something innovative within the market for these home gadgets. We can create schedules for the vacuum cleaner to be activated and clean our house. But, the best thing about this model is that we can select different cleaning zones depending on the programs we create. An example of all of this might be to create a schedule for Monday through Friday to clean that “Daily” group, and then on the weekend, set another schedule for it to do a full house cleaning.
  • Switch between different saved maps .

  • Perform a specific cleaning : if you need the Kobold vacuum cleaner to only pass through a specific place or you require a more thorough cleaning , you can use this functionality. From the corresponding menu you can choose between the different options that it gives us (such as ECO mode for a quieter work, cleaning with double power or a specific area of 4 x 4 meters) and activate it by pressing “Start”. Of course, this should be combined with the manual cleaning option or use the carrying handle to take it to the area where you need it to work on time.

  • Check the battery status and alerts : from this application we can see the battery level that our robot has. In addition, we will receive a notification if you need your tank to be emptied , if it has become stuck, or whenever you finish your work and return to base.

Back home to charge batteries

And now that I mentioned the charging base, let’s talk about a vital point of robot vacuum cleaners: their autonomy . The Kobold VR300 has an autonomy that, according to Vorwerk, is capable of holding at full capacity for 60 minutes . And, if we select the ECO mode , it would go up to 90 minutes cleaning a surface of up to 120 m².

Does this meet on a day-to-day basis? Well, the truth is that in an almost millimeter way. My house has about 37 m² of useful surface, removing the space that the furniture occupies, space that this vacuum cleaner takes about 50 – 60 minutes to clean without having to go through the charging base and at full power (not counting double cleaning in the spot mode ). Therefore, I can affirm that it delivers what it promises in terms of autonomy.

On the other hand, something that I would like to highlight regarding the charging base is its “connection” system with the robot. Until now, all the models that I had tested had a system of pins or small plates both in the vacuum cleaner and in the base, which sometimes caused this equipment to fail when returning to it.

However, the VR300 has two wide strips on the base and another two on the body itself, which greatly facilitates that “return to the base” of the robot. In addition, I think that the method of approaching it is useful and funny in equal parts , since the vacuum cleaner begins to “jerk” in reverse until it detects that it has been connected to the base. You can see this in more detail in our video review that I left you at the beginning of the article.

A great option at a high price

For all this, and after my tests during the last weeks, I think that the Kobold VR300 robot is an incredibly good option if what you are looking for is the highest quality in cleaning your home . In addition, it is able to avoid obstacles thanks to its sensor system to work correctly on surfaces such as wood, slabs or even on short and long pile carpets (there is a limit that you can consult in the user manual).

But of course, we already know what happens when we find something specific and that it performs its work at the highest level, that the price increases. This model has a value of 899 euros if you buy it on the manufacturer’s website and 799 euros on Amazon through the following link:

Is this price worth paying? If you are looking for the best cleaning experience and you can afford it, it is a recommended purchase in my sincere opinion. But, if you are looking for a more versatile option than sweeping and scrubbing, penalizing certain details, this may not be the most suitable model for you.