I tested the Hoover HL2 Turbo Style — a lightweight upright vacuum cleaner that punches above its weight, mostly | Tech Radar

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I tested the Hoover HL2 Turbo Style — a lightweight upright vacuum cleaner that punches above its weight, mostly

A cheap and cheerful corded upright with decent suction and a few budget-friendly quirks

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The Hoover HL2 Turbo Style is a solid, no-nonsense corded upright that does its main job of vacuuming very well. It's lightweight, easy to steer, and picks up dirt from my rug that my Dyson cordless wasn’t able to. But there's no escaping the budget build quality, and the bin has a tendency to open mid-carry due to an overly sensitive release button. However, if you can live with a cord and don't need bells and whistles, it's a decent buy for the money.

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The Hoover HL2 Turbo Style is a budget corded upright that's clearly been designed for people who don't want to think too hard about their vacuum cleaner. It’s one of the best upright vacuum cleaners for those that just want something that picks stuff up, doesn't cost much, and won't break their back carrying it upstairs. At under 5kg it's one of the lighter corded uprights you can buy, and the 850W motor delivers consistent suction that doesn't fade the way a cordless stick does when the battery starts dropping off.

Hoover's Anti-Twist brushbar technology works well in practice, keeping hair from wrapping around the roller in a way that genuinely saves you the grim job of cutting it free every few weeks, and the dual-speed setting means you can dial the brushbar back for hard floors without it scattering debris everywhere. The LED headlights are also a nice touch for spotting dust under furniture, and the push-and-lift handheld mode makes it easy enough to get at stairs and upholstery without detaching half the machine.

Where the budget shows is in the build quality and the finer details. The plastic has that slightly hollow feel that makes you handle it a bit more carefully than you probably should have to. There's no app, no sensors, no clever features – which is fine if you don't want any of that, but it does mean you're paying purely for cleaning performance and not much else.

For the price, the HL2 Turbo Style does the fundamentals well and the suction holds up across carpets and hard floors without any complaints. It's not that exciting to look at but it does what it promises as a sensible, no-frills upright. If that's all you're after, look no further.

Available now in the UK priced at £169.99 RRP, currently on sale at £129

The HL2 Turbo Style is only available in the UK, where it sits at a very accessible price point. The standard Home model is available in pastel pink or teal colourways and has an RRP of £169.99 (about

For context, that's significantly cheaper than a cordless Dyson, which will set you back at least £300 /

The HL2 is a compact, slim upright that doesn't look like much out of the box, and that's OK. It's not trying to be anything it’s not – it's a mid-range vacuum cleaner that gets the job done with very little faff. At under 5kg, it's noticeably light for a corded machine, and the swivelling floorhead makes it easy to steer around furniture without needing to do that awkward three-point-turn you get with bulkier uprights.

The eight-meter working radius is generous, too. I was able to do most of a room without having to unplug and move to a different socket, which takes the annoying part out of a corded setup. The cable itself is long enough that I stopped thinking about it after a while (apart from needing to move it out of the way to change direction).

Build quality is where you start to see why this machine has the price point it does. The main body is fine, sturdy and sensibly laid out, but the attachments feel a bit cheap. The crevice tool and dusting brush have that thin, hollow plastic feel and while nothing broke during testing, I’m not sure if it would survive being bashed around over time.

The bin is a good size at 2.5 liters, and the one-click emptying is supposed to make disposal straightforward but in reality I found the release button to be a little too trigger happy. On one occasion, when I was carrying the bin across to the kitchen, the button rested gently on my hand and the hatch popped open spilling the entire contents across the floor. It's a design quirk that will likely catch you out at least once.

As for the colours, I tested the teal version, which is inoffensive enough. The pastel pink is clearly aimed at a specific buyer, and fair play. But I do think a simple black, dark grey or more neutral option would go better with any home, and it feels like Hoover missed a trick not offering one.

Hoover HL2 Turbo Style: features and performance

After trying it across multiple floor types, I found the HL2's 850W motor does a genuinely good job. When running it over a high-pile wool rug that I'd already gone over with my Dyson cordless, the Hoover pulled up a surprising amount of extra lint, dust and general debris that the Dyson had clearly missed. There's something to be said for the raw, consistent power of a corded motor, and the HL2 reminded me why uprights still exist.

There are two brush bar speeds, controlled by a rocker switch on the floorhead: one for hard floors and one for carpet. The carpet mode is pretty aggressive, digging into the pile with enough energy that you can see it lifting as the vac passes over it. Meanwhile, hard floor mode dials things back so you're not flinging dust around. It's a simple setup that works well, but it’s worth flagging how a lot of modern, premium models have sensors which can detect a change in floor type and switch between these modes automatically. This is definitely missed here.

Hoover's Anti-Twist technology does a good job, too, as I didn't end up with any hair wrapped around the brush bar during my testing period. The LED headlights on the floorhead are a nice touch as well, lighting up darker areas under the sofa and bed where dust loves to hide.

The push-and-lift conversion to a handheld is perfectly functional, too. You press the button, lift the main unit off the base, and you've got a handheld vac for stairs and above-floor work. It's fine for quick jobs, but the unit is a bit unwieldy for extended handheld use, and the stretch hose, while reaching two metres, doesn't give you quite as much flexibility as a proper dedicated handheld.

For day-to-day use, the HL2 is pleasingly smooth to push around. There's very little effort needed to glide it up and down, and the swivel head handles corners and furniture legs without too much fuss. Suction is consistent throughout, which is the benefit of being plugged in, and I didn't run into any blockages, overheating or performance dips during testing.

If there's a complaint about performance, it's that the HL2 doesn't really do anything beyond the basics. There's no auto-adjust for floor types, no dirt sensors, no display showing you anything useful. That's expected at this price, but it does mean you're relying entirely on your own eyes and judgement, which, after using smarter vacuums, can feel a little old-school.

The corded motor gives you consistent, strong cleaning power for as long as you need it.

The dual-speed brushbar handles both well, and the Anti-Twist tech keeps maintenance low

You're after a budget-friendly upright that stores easily

This vacuum is under 5kg and compact enough to tuck away without taking up half a cupboard.

The cord is long, but it's still a cord, and once you've gone cordless it's hard to go back.

The attachments feel a bit flimsy and the bin release is far too easy to trigger accidentally.

There's no auto-adjust, no useful display and no meaningful app integration here.

Shark Navigator Lift-Away If you want a more robust corded upright with better build quality and a proper lift-away canister for stairs, the Shark is a top notch alternative that doesn’t cost all that much more.

Dyson Ball Animal 3 An extremely powerful option from Dyson that might cost a bit more, but is especially effective on carpets and has a massive bagless bin that doesn’t need emptying daily.

Hoover HU300 Hoover's own step-up model adds multi-cyclonic technology and a HEPA H13 filter for better filtration, and is generally a bit more refined than the HL2.

I used the Hoover HL2 Turbo Style as my main vacuum cleaner for several weeks across carpet, rugs and hard floors in a multi-level home. I tested it alongside my regular Dyson cordless to compare pickup, used the handheld mode on stairs and upholstery, and assessed the build quality, bin emptying, storage and day-to-day usability throughout.

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Lee Bell is a freelance journalist & writer specializing in consumer technology, health, and lifestyle. Lee is a qualified personal trainer, testing fitness watches, training shoes and everything in between.

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Key Takeaways

• News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets

• Start exploring exclusive deals, expert advice and more

• Unlock and manage exclusive Techradar member rewards

• I tested the Hoover HL2 Turbo Style — a lightweight upright vacuum cleaner that punches above its weight, mostly

• A cheap and cheerful corded upright with decent suction and a few budget-friendly quirks