Dyson R2 Nurovi review: The robot vacuum that's won me over in some ways, but not others

It's safe to say I was pretty excited when Dyson's new robot vacuum cleaner lineup launched last month. This was not only because three models arrived at once, but also because they all came with different features, requirements and price points – meaning there's something for everyone.

As a result, I decided the R2 Nurovi would be a good place to start as the middle model. This was mostly because I have a mix of hard floors and carpet, but also because slightly higher suction power is needed in my house due to our five-month-old puppy.

That meant the conditions were pretty much perfect, leaving me with one more thing to do... put it to the test.

Price and availability

The Dyson R2 Nurovi is priced at £749.99 ($699) and can be purchased from Dyson's website, as well as Argos, John Lewis and Currys.

As mentioned, it's the middle model in the lineup, sitting between the hard-floor R1 Nurovi and the upcoming R3 Nurovi Spot+Scrub, which uses an AI stain scanner to identify and tackle invisible stains.

Unboxing and set up

The R2 Nurovi is easy to set up and connects to your phone via the usual MyDyson app, which I've become very familiar with. This involves plugging in the dock and using the app to find nearby products to connect to, with the R2 Nurovi appearing almost immediately.

You can see me setting it up by filling the tanks and attaching the anti-tangle side sweeper below too:

The app then takes you through a few steps, including connecting it to your Wi-Fi and the robot itself. This took me a few attempts, as the app got stuck on the pairing request page, but everything was connected properly within about 10 minutes. If you experience the same issue, just relaunch the app until it works.

After that, the robot mapped my chosen area, which didn't take long at all, allowing me to edit and split rooms when needed. I then connected it to my Amazon Alexa (steps here if needed) so I could use voice control when required, and then it was all good to go.

Design and features

The R2 Nurovi has an understated Light Grey and Vinca Blue design, with Dyson retaining the distinctive canister-style look of its robot vacuum docks. The robot itself measures 35cm wide and 35cm long, stands at just under 10cm tall and weighs 3.6kg, whilst the docking station weighs 9.2kg and measures 52cm high, 47cm long and 42cm wide. I personally love the way it looks, and it's nice change from the usual black square docks provided by other brands.

The R2 vacuums and washes hard floors at the same time, rather than requiring separate cleaning runs. Dyson has designed it around a new Twin-Capture system, which uses two stages to deal with different types of dirt. A brush bar mechanically sweeps larger debris into the machine, whilst the vacuum motor focuses on fine dust and smaller particles.

There's also a 21,000Pa suction motor and an anti-tangle brush bar designed to pick up and de-tangle hair, including pet hair.

One of the more unusual design features is the Reuleaux triangle wash pads, which allow the points of the triangles to reach further into corners and along edges. This improves floor-washing coverage right up to walls, where circular pads can leave gaps.

The R2 also has extending anti-tangle side sweepers, which are designed to deal with dirt collecting around the edges of rooms. The sweepers extend 27mm from the robot to get closer to walls and into corners, whilst their redesigned structure guides dust and debris into the airflow.

The robot also uses an ultrasonic sensor to detect whether the floor is hard or carpeted, allowing the R2 to adjust its suction, whilst a sensor also monitors dust levels. The piezo system counts and sizes dust particles and can automatically boost suction when it detects that more cleaning power is needed.

Navigation has also been upgraded from previous models, with the R2 using high-speed LiDAR to scan and map your home, allowing it to navigate rooms, avoid obstacles and clean systematically. It can also climb over raised areas of up to 40mm.

In terms of battery life, Dyson quotes a maximum runtime of 90 minutes, with a 6.5-hour charge time.

Its docking station automatically washes the Reuleaux triangle pads with 75°C heated water after cleaning, before drying them with 45°C hot air. Dyson says this helps prevent mould and odour build-up, whilst dirty water is extracted hygienically during the cleaning process.

The dock also takes care of the dry debris and has eight Dyson cyclones that separate dust and debris when the robot returns, with the dock able to store up to 90 days of dry waste. The R2's bin has a 2.6-litre capacity, whilst the dock also automatically refills, self-cleans and recharges the robot – but more on this shortly.

Performance

I've been impressed by the Dyson R2 Nurovi's cleaning performance, particularly on hard floors. The app is easy to navigate, and I liked being able to split rooms and add furniture to the map. Having those visual reference points makes it much easier to see where the robot is cleaning, rather than trying to decipher a basic floor plan.

The R2 vacuumed and mopped my living room and dining room in around 20 minutes, which is on the speedy side. Having it tackle both jobs at once is also brilliant, particularly in a busy home with pets or children, where floors rarely stay clutter-free for long.

My home has hard floors and rugs, and the R2 handled that combination without any issues during my testing. That said, I've seen reports of other users experiencing problems with the robot getting stuck, so I'd be more cautious if your home has deep-pile carpets or lots of different floor surfaces. It wasn't something I encountered myself, but it's worth bearing in mind.

Unfortunately, the biggest issue I've had with the R2 is its Twin-Capture system. This collects dust and debris inside the robot before transferring it into the larger dust container in the dock. After a few cleaning runs, I noticed that the transfer wasn't working properly, with debris building up in the robot's onboard container instead of being emptied automatically.

I tried triggering a manual empty through the app, but that didn't seem to dislodge the blockage. The onboard container has two compartments, and on closer inspection, the upper section attached to the filter appeared to be clogged with dust. I manually removed the accumulated debris from both sections, hoping this would help the dock suction everything out more effectively.

Even after I'd cleared the blockage, the transfer didn't seem particularly powerful once I started paying closer attention. I knew the system was working to some extent, and there were no seals I'd forgotten to remove, but the process of getting debris from the robot into the dock was clearly being affected.

This is a pretty significant drawback for a robot vacuum that's designed to take care of cleaning with minimal intervention. Having to empty the onboard container manually takes away much of that convenience, and it put a real dampener on what had otherwise been a positive experience. I've since been more careful about how much debris I let the robot pick up in one go, and I make sure to check and empty it after each run.

I was also keen to see how well the triangular mop pads handled corners, but after watching the robot clean, I was a little disappointed. I understand the thinking behind the shape, and I was hoping it would make a more noticeable difference, but the pads didn't reach into corners as effectively as I'd expected.

The extending side sweepers were much more successful, doing a good job of picking up leftover hair and dust along skirting boards. The dock is also very loud when emptying the robot, although that's hardly unusual for this type of vacuum – it's just something to keep in mind.

Verdict

The Dyson R2 Nurovi has a lot going for it. It cleans hard floors brilliantly, tackles vacuuming and mopping in one go, and is quick enough to make a noticeable difference to your daily routine. I also love the app and the robot's design, whilst the extending side sweepers do a good job of picking up dirt along edges. Unfortunately, the dust-transfer issue I encountered is difficult to overlook. Having to manually clear the onboard container after cleaning defeats much of the point of buying a robot vacuum at this price, and the triangular mop pads didn't quite live up to my expectations either. There’s plenty to like about the R2 Nurovi, but at £750, I’d expect it to take care of the cleaning without leaving me to finish the job.

Alternatives to consider

As mentioned, Dyson has launched three models in the same lineup with different needs in mind, so you can move up to the R3 Nurovi Spot+Scrub if you want more advanced suction and scrubbing, or down to the R1 if you find yourself using your robot on hard floors only. However, its worth noting the R3 Nurovi Spot+Scrub is currently only available in the US, and will come to the UK early next year.

However, if I had to recommend another brand, it would be the Eufy Omni S2. The Eufy has higher suction levels, but the mopping style and corner-reach designs are very similar, and the dust storage capacities are almost identical. However, the Eufy is considerably more expensive, so the Nurovi R2 is the better option if you're shopping on a budget.