Bosch EasyImpact 18V-40 Review: a straightforward cordless drill for home jobs that actually pulls its weight

On the price side, the Bosch EasyImpact 18V-40 sits in that mid-range DIY zone. You can definitely find cheaper cordless drills from unbranded or supermarket lines, and you can also pay a lot more for pro models. What you’re paying for here is a mix of brand reliability, 18V system compatibility, and the fact you get two batteries and a case. For someone who doesn’t own any tools yet, that’s a pretty decent starter package.

In use, it feels like you’re getting fair value. It doesn’t blow your mind with power, but it also doesn’t feel underpowered or flimsy. It does basic home jobs without drama, and you’re not fighting the tool. Compared to the really cheap drills I’ve tried (the kind that come in random discount sets), the Bosch has better torque control, a steadier chuck, and a more consistent speed. You’re paying a bit more, but you’re getting something that feels like it’ll last longer and annoy you less.

Where the value is a bit less clear is if you’re already into tools and own other 18V systems from different brands. If you already have, say, a Makita or DeWalt setup with bigger batteries, then buying into another system for a drill at this level doesn’t make much sense. In that case, you’d probably be better off just adding a drill from your existing platform. Also, if you know you’ll be doing heavier work (lots of masonry, bigger holes, frequent use), you might outgrow this drill faster and wish you’d spent more upfront.

For the typical home user who just wants something that gets the job done without costing a fortune, I think the value is solid. You’re not paying for bells and whistles you’ll never use, and you’re not stuck with a weak, one-battery kit that dies halfway through a job. It sits in a sensible sweet spot: not the cheapest, not the strongest, but a good balance of price and practicality for normal DIY.

The design is clearly aimed at people who don’t live with a drill in their hand. The first thing I noticed is the weight and balance. At around 1 kg (without counting the battery weight too much), it feels light enough that you can hold it up for a while without your arm burning. When I was installing curtain rails above a window, my arm got tired eventually, but not in that “this tool is a brick” way you get with some heavier drills. The weight is biased nicely toward the grip, so it doesn’t feel nose-heavy.

The handle is slim and the rubberised grip actually helps. My hands are average size and it fit comfortably; my partner, who has smaller hands, tried it and also found it manageable. That’s important if you’re not used to tools, because a chunky, heavy drill can feel intimidating. The trigger is smooth and easy to control, which helped when I was screwing into soft wood and didn’t want to strip the screw heads. The forward/reverse switch is in the usual place and you can hit it with your thumb without thinking about it.

I like the layout of the 20 torque settings plus drill and impact modes. The icons are clear enough: screw symbol for screwdriving, drill bit for normal drilling, and the little hammer for masonry. The click when you turn the ring is firm, so it doesn’t randomly jump between settings. The 2-speed switch on top is also simple: 1 for more torque, 2 for more speed. For most tasks I ended up on speed 2 for drilling wood and speed 1 for screws or tougher materials.

There are a couple of things missing that pros might expect. There’s no belt clip, and there’s no built-in bit storage on the drill itself apart from the one double bit in the case. Also, there’s no work light, which I did miss when drilling inside a wardrobe and behind the TV. Not a deal breaker, but you notice it. Overall, the design is practical and user-friendly, but you can tell Bosch saved a few small extras to keep the price in check.

The battery setup is one of the nicer points of this kit. You get two 18V 1.5 Ah batteries, which on paper doesn’t sound huge, but in practice for home use it’s actually pretty practical. For my TV bracket job (8 holes in brick, plus a bunch of screwdriving), one battery handled the whole thing with charge to spare. I swapped to the second battery out of curiosity more than necessity. For a longer session building a wardrobe and a chest of drawers, I did manage to drain the first pack, but by the time that happened, the second one, which had been charging, was ready to go.

The charger is the AL 18V-20, which is not the fastest thing on earth, but again, for DIY it’s fine. From nearly empty to full took roughly an hour-ish in my case, give or take, which matches what you’d expect from a basic 1.5 Ah pack. If you were doing constant, heavy work, the charge time would be a bottleneck, but for typical stop-start home projects, you usually have breaks built in anyway: measuring, marking, cleaning up, checking instructions, etc.

What I like is that the batteries are part of the Bosch 18V Power for All system. So if you already have other Bosch 18V DIY tools, you can share batteries between them. Or if you decide later to get, say, a cordless jigsaw or a small vacuum from the same line, you’re not starting from zero. That adds value in the long run. The downside is the capacity: 1.5 Ah is on the small side by today’s standards. If you’re planning to do more intense work, you might want to add a 3.0 Ah or 4.0 Ah battery later.

There’s no fancy battery indicator on the drill itself, and the packs only have a basic indicator (or none, depending on batch), so you don’t always know exactly how much juice you’ve got left. In practice, I just ran it until I felt the power drop and then swapped. Not ideal, but workable. Overall, the battery situation is good for casual users: two packs, reasonable charge time, and a system you can expand. For heavy users, the capacity will feel limiting, but then you’re probably not the target buyer anyway.

I’ve had the EasyImpact 18V-40 for a while now, and while I haven’t tortured it on a building site, I’ve used it for enough small projects to get a sense of its build quality. The outer shell is mostly plastic with rubber overmould on the grip and a few contact points. It doesn’t feel fragile, but it also doesn’t have that heavy-duty feel you get from pro-grade tools. I accidentally dropped it from about waist height onto a laminate floor once (battery attached), and it survived with just a small scuff on the casing and no effect on performance.

The chuck is a 13 mm single-sleeve design, and so far it’s held bits firmly. I haven’t had any slipping, even when drilling into brick in hammer mode. Tightening and loosening is easy by hand; you don’t need gorilla strength to get it secure. Over time, cheaper chucks can start to feel loose or develop a bit of wobble, but at this stage mine is still straight and grips fine. If something is going to age first on this drill, it’ll probably be the chuck or the torque ring, but so far no signs of that.

The case has held up better than I expected. I’ve thrown it in the car, stacked other stuff on it, and the hinges and latches are still working properly. The plastic isn’t super thick, but for home storage it’s more than adequate. The batteries also still click in firmly with no play. I’ve had cheaper tools where the battery fit gets sloppy quickly; that hasn’t happened here yet.

Overall, I’d rate the durability as good for casual and moderate DIY. If you’re someone who uses a drill a few times a month for various home tasks, this should last you years if you don’t abuse it. If you’re thinking of using it every day on a job site, in dust and rain, getting tossed in a van, I wouldn’t count on it the same way I’d count on a blue Bosch Professional, Makita, or DeWalt. It’s clearly built for the home user, but within that scope it feels reliable.

In terms of raw performance, the Bosch EasyImpact 18V-40 sits in that middle ground: 40 Nm of torque, 2 speeds up to 1630 RPM, and impact mode for masonry. On wood and metal it’s honestly more than enough for normal DIY. I drilled several 6–8 mm holes in softwood and chipboard for shelves, and it went through like butter on speed 2. For screwdriving, I used it on some long wood screws (around 80 mm) into wall plugs and timber, and on speed 1 with a medium torque setting, it handled them without any real struggle.

Where you see the limits is on tougher masonry. I used it in hammer mode to drill 8 mm holes in an old brick wall for a TV bracket. It got the job done, but I had to lean on it a bit and let it work at its own pace. It’s not comparable to a corded SDS drill or a high-end hammer drill. You can feel the impact is there, but not brutal. For a few holes here and there, it’s fine. If you’re planning to redo an entire room with dozens of wall plugs in hard brick or concrete, you’ll probably get frustrated and should look at a stronger tool.

The torque control works well for avoiding overdriving screws. On flat-pack furniture, I used lower torque settings and didn’t strip any screws or blow out the chipboard, which is usually where cheaper drills mess up. The trigger is easy to feather, so you can start slow and then speed up. That helped a lot when I was lining up the first few threads on smaller screws.

Noise and vibration are acceptable. It’s not quiet, especially in hammer mode, but it’s in the same range as other 18V DIY drills I’ve tried. Vibration is noticeable in masonry but not brutal. Over longer sessions you’ll feel it in your wrist, but for the odd job it’s no big deal. Overall, the performance is solid for home use: it doesn’t feel overpowered or underpowered, just honest about what it can do. If you keep your expectations realistic and don’t treat it like a professional site tool, it does the job well.

Out of the box, the Bosch EasyImpact 18V-40 is pretty straightforward. You get the drill body, two 18V 1.5 Ah batteries, the AL 18V-20 charger, a simple double-ended screwdriver bit, and a hard plastic carrying case. No fancy bit set, no wall plugs, nothing extra. It’s basically the essential kit to get started, but you’ll still need to buy a drill and screwdriver bit set if you don’t already own one. That caught me out on day one when I realised I only had a couple of old, blunt masonry bits lying around.

The case is actually useful, not just a throwaway. Everything has its place, and there’s a bit of extra room to throw in a small set of bits and wall plugs. It’s not some super rigid contractor case, but it’s solid enough to keep the drill from getting knocked around in a cupboard or the car. I’ve tossed it in the boot with other tools and it’s held up fine so far, hinges and clips still feel tight.

The drill itself looks like a typical Bosch DIY tool: green housing, black grip, red accents for the important switches. Nothing fancy, but it’s clear what everything does. There’s a 2-speed gearbox on top, a torque ring with 20 settings plus drilling and hammer drilling modes, and a 13 mm single-sleeve chuck. That 13 mm chuck is nice because it means you can use most standard bits, including slightly larger wood bits without adapters.

In terms of first impression, it feels like a proper tool, not a toy, but you can tell it’s positioned as a home-user drill, not a tradesperson’s daily workhorse. It’s light, compact, and the accessories are minimal. If you’re starting from zero, budget in a decent set of bits. If you already have those, this kit is basically plug-and-play: charge a battery, pop it in, and you’re drilling in under an hour.