After six weeks of daily use, I think the Russell Hobbs Centaur 2 in 1 is a solid, no-fuss cordless vacuum that suits busy homes on a budget. It’s not trying to compete with high-end models, and it doesn’t. But for the price, it performs better than I expected.
The standout for me is how practical it is. It stands up by itself, which sounds minor but makes a big difference when you’re interrupted mid-clean or prefer to keep it close to hand. It's not wall-mountable, so its ability to stand upright is a real plus when it comes to storage, it also folds in half, making it even more compact to store.
The integral handheld vacuum is also genuinely useful. I used it on the stairs, the sofa and even in the car, and I liked that I could remove the compact handheld part for charging, rather than having to position the whole unit near a plug socket.
Suction is good rather than amazing, but for £55, I was very impressed. On hard floors, tiles and lino it picked up dust, fluff and general debris easily. On carpet, it managed everyday mess but didn’t always lift embedded pet hair. In a house with two dogs, two cats and two long-haired teenagers, that’s a tough test. It leaves some hair behind, so if you’re used to a premium vacuum, you’ll notice the difference.
It left some crumbs behind on the cereal test, and took two passes to tidy everything up. Below you can see results after one swipe - not to be sniffed at, but premium models get the job done in one pass.