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Metabo drill buying guide

Updated: 2026-10-23

You are looking at a green Metabo on amazon.co.uk and the shop title may already say combi, even when the letters on the tool say something else. Keep one order: mechanism first, then 12 V or 18 V, then whether a battery is actually in the box. Skip a step and you can pay for a drill driver when you needed brick, or for a charger the pack you own will not fit. The rows are on the [Metabo drill comparison](/hub/drilling-and-accessories/metabo-drill). Updated on 22 October 2026 from amazon.co.uk listings and Metabo's UK pages, not from a lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are looking at a green Metabo on amazon.co.uk and the shop title may already say combi, even when the letters on the tool say something else.

Our top picks

Metabo Metabo Y/602317870

Best overall

Metabo Metabo Y/602317870
9.4/10about £154.15
View offer
Metabo Metabo KH 18 LTX BL 24

Alternative

Metabo Metabo KH 18 LTX BL 24
7.6/10about £209.99
View offer
Metabo Metabo PowerMaxx BS Basic

Best value

Metabo Metabo PowerMaxx BS Basic
8.6/10about £114.67
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Read the letters before the voltage
  2. 2.12 V push-in or 18 V slide-on
  3. 3.Kit price or body-only price
  4. 4.Keep torque and hole size apart

Read the letters before the voltage

The letters tell you what the motor is allowed to do. A BS is a drill driver: a chuck, a clutch for screws, and a drill setting, and no hammer. An SB is a chuck combi, with the same screw and drill work plus a masonry setting. A KH is a different machine. The KH 18 LTX BL 24, order 601713840, is an SDS-plus combination hammer, and the listing bullets also name chiselling. An impact wrench is outside this comparison. UK shop titles blur that split. Retail pages for a PowerMaxx BS 12 have been titled as a combi drill. The BS code is still a drill driver. If you buy on the title, you will expect the tool to work in brick, and it will not.

12 V push-in or 18 V slide-on

PowerMaxx is the 12 V class, and those packs push in. The 18 V class uses a slide-on pack. Metabo UK states that 12 V, 14.4 V, and 36 V batteries are not compatible with 18 V tools. Inside 18 V, LiPOWER, LiHD, and LiHDX fit 18 V Metabo tools. CAS, the Cordless Alliance System, is the 18 V system shared with other brands. It is not a label for the PowerMaxx push-in packs. If you own 18 V slide-on packs, a PowerMaxx kit starts a second charger and a pack that will not run the 18 V drill. Two tools can both say LiPOWER and still refuse each other's battery, because one pack pushes in and the other slides on.
Metabo Metabo Y/602317870

Testsieger

Metabo Metabo Y/602317870
9.4/10about £154.15
View offer

Kit price or body-only price

Body only means the price is for the tool. You still buy a battery and a charger before it runs. A metaBOX is a case size, not a pack. On the metal drill in this set, an 18 Ah line in a battery field is not a battery in the box. The title says body only. Kits that name two packs and a charger are a different price, though the charger name in a bullet and the name in the components field do not always agree. A 3 year manufacturer phrase on a card is not registering the machine within four weeks for Metabo's longer XXL machine term. Packs and chargers carry their own three-year line. The card has not registered the tool for you.

Keep torque and hole size apart

Two torque numbers on one card are soft and hard screwdriving torque. They are not hole diameters. Do not quote the BS 18 kit's 50 mm wood or 48 mm metal, the metal drill's 13 mm wood, or PowerMaxx order 600080710's 6 mm wood as capacity. Metabo's UK index for 600080710 is 17 / 34 Nm and 18 mm in soft wood. A neighbouring BS 18 order, 602207550, is listed at 24 / 48 Nm, 20 mm in soft wood, and 10 mm in steel. If a capacity cell repeats the torque number, ignore it as a hole size. Prices and which of the seven cards to skip are on the best Metabo drill page.

Common questions

Is a Metabo BS a combi drill?
No. A BS is a drill driver: clutch and drill, no hammer. Some UK shop titles still call a PowerMaxx BS 12 a combi drill. The letters on the tool are the mechanism, and the title is not. If the job is a wall plug in brick, a BS will not hammer.
Can I use a PowerMaxx 12 V pack on an 18 V Metabo?
No. PowerMaxx packs are 12 V and push in. Metabo UK says 12 V batteries are not compatible with 18 V tools. The 18 V packs slide on, and LiPOWER, LiHD, and LiHDX in that class fit 18 V Metabo tools. CAS is the 18 V system. A PowerMaxx pack is not a CAS pack you can slide onto an 18 V drill, even when both tools are green and both mention LiPOWER.
What does body only mean for the price I pay?
Body only means the shelf price does not include a battery or a charger. You add both before the tool runs. A metaBOX named in the box list is the case. An 18 Ah figure on the metal drill's battery field is not a pack in the carton when the title says body only.
Why do two torque numbers appear next to a hole size?
The pair of torque figures is soft and hard screwdriving torque, in newton-metres. A hole size is a diameter in a named material, and only when that cell is actually capacity. Metabo's UK index for PowerMaxx 600080710 prints 17 / 34 Nm and 18 mm in soft wood. Do not read 34 Nm as a 34 mm hole, and do not treat an Amazon wood cell that copies a tiny millimetre figure as that index diameter.
Does 3 year manufacturer already include Metabo's registration?
No. A three-year manufacturer line on the card is not proof that you have registered the tool. Metabo's longer XXL machine term depends on registering within four weeks, and that is a separate step from the sentence on the listing. Packs and chargers have their own three-year wording, with no cycle limit in that line. Keep the machine term and the pack term apart.

Related pages

Metabo drill 12 V or 18 V

Metabo drill for masonry

Metabo drill

Best Metabo drill from seven amazon.co.uk listings

How to use a Metabo drill: charge and set the mode

Sources

Sources from the research digest, last checked on 22 October 2026.

  1. Metabo UK cordless drill drivers (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. Metabo UK cordless range 2025/26 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. Metabo UK XXL warranty (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. Metabo UK battery solutions (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. Metabo KH 18 LTX BL 24 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. HSE hand-arm vibration duties (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. HSE CN3: dust from drilling and chasing concrete (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 22 October 2026)