LG CordZero Q3 Review

Design and Features

• Sleek, minimalist design
• Charging bracket included
• Kompressor tech for longer runs

The LG CordZero Q3 is a simple-to-use, minimalist vacuum. In the white colorway that’s on review, it looks a lot more subtle than many of the best vacuum cleaners, including Dysons, which tend to be more colourful. There’s a darker graphite hue available too, which is also quite tasteful.

The whole thing weighs around 7lbs when all the main components are in use, and it is easy to move around a house.

All the controls are on the top of the curved handle just above the motor, bin and other components, and they are pretty self-explanatory. There is both a ‘plus’ and a ‘minus’ button for changing modes and the strength of the suction, along with a power switch and battery indicator. 

There’s no screen or indication of which mode you’re in (although it is quite obvious from the noise), so I did have to look in the manual to see how each distinct mode was accessed.

You can easily see into the bin, and the use of LG’s Kompressor tech means you can push down on a handle and compress the dirt inside the bin down to fit more in, similar to the option in the Dyson V16 Piston Animal. It’s a simple, yet clever feature that works as described and lets you go a little longer without emptying the bin.

The battery is large and yellow, and can easily be detached from the unit. The battery life on the whole is good, although you can easily keep a spare battery handy to swap in if you have a very large house.

In the box, there are a few accessories. The main one is the Dual Floor Max Lite Nozzle, but there’s a handy crevice tool and a combination tool too. There’s no onboard storage for any of these extra tools (hardly surprising for something of this size) and as there’s no self-empty base station here you’ll need to store them somewhere else. 

That Dual Floor Max Lite Nozzle is the standard nozzle that’ll be used the majority of the time and it can automatically detect whether you’re on carpet or hard floors, and then adjust the suction power for each surface. It works well, and it is clear when the different surfaces are detected.

There’s an LED on this nozzle too, which helps identify dust in darker areas and makes it easier to pick up. It works really well, and helped me easily spot dusty patches under a couch and cupboards that I would have missed otherwise.

Also found in the box is a plastic bracket that can hold the vacuum upright when it’s charging. You plug the power cable into the bracket and then slip the vacuum into it to start juicing up the battery. It doesn’t seem like there’s any way to plug the charger directly into the CordZero Q3 – which is a bit odd.

As far as features go, the Q3 keeps things simple. A 5-step filtration system filters out dust and separates it in the bin, while 15 cyclones, according to LG, “separate dust particles and provide long-lasting suction power”. The cyclone can be removed and washed; it is important to keep it working at full capacity for a long period of time.

Performance

• Good pickup
• Enough power in the various modes
• Plenty of battery for longer jobs

I started by measuring the LG CordZero Q3 raw power at the handle in Air Watts (AW). On the lowest setting, I measured 34AW, which is good for smaller messes

On the highest setting, I measured power at a much better 181AW, which shows there is plenty of power onboard for those tougher jobs if it is required.

Next, I switched to our set of real-world tests. This started with 20g of flour spread over our test carpet. Using one single forward and backward swipe through the mess, I got a clean line through the flour. A couple more swipes through cleaned up the rest of the mess with ease.

I then spread 10g of flour right up to the skirting board. Again, the CordZero Q3 managed to get up close to the wood and do a good job of cleaning up the mess.

Finally, on a hard vinyl kitchen floor, I spread around 20g of rice and then cleaned it all up. This job was completed quickly with just a few swipes across the mess required to remove 100% of rice.

Throughout all the tests, the Q3 was smooth and a pleasure to use and manoeuvre around.

LG has rated the battery life at up to 60 minutes on the lowest settings with none of the tools connected. I didn’t manage to get quite up to this in the tests, with it managing just under 45 minutes on the lowest setting. This is still a good amount of battery life and enough for most instances.

I timed the vacuum cleaner at 9m in Boost mode, and 19m 51s in the ‘Auto’ mode which is enabled by default. These are all good results, and will mean you can do most of your cleaning without worrying about switching the battery.

I measured the LG CordZero Q3 at 74dB on High and 65dB in Auto mode. It’s a quiet vacuum, and these results show that.

Should you buy it?