I bought this about 6 months ago as a part of a kit. Since then, DeWalt have one-upped this with the DCD995, which is brushless.
My kit included this drill, charger, 4Ah battery, and the fantastic small box from the ToughSystem, my favorite toolbox that I own. It's not an official kit, it's a kit that was custom built by an eBay seller and I paid £205. It came with a foam insert for a different drill, which I removed, and I now use the box as my main go-to toolbox. I tried to put something in the box for everything I might need to do. An impossible task, but I think I did quite well with it. I won't go into what's in it
This drill is fantastic. It is 18V and part of DeWalt's latest XR platform, with a 3-speed all metal gearbox and metal chuck for durability, and apparently the metal gearbox increases runtime. The chuck is knurled for easy gripping, and ratchets for easy tightening. It has 22 torque settings (more torque settings doesn't mean higher max torque! It just means you can more precisely adjust the torque.). It has a max torque of 80Nm, a max RPM of 2000 and a chuck capacity ranging from 1.5-13mm. This drill also features an electronic brake, meaning the chuck stops spinning as soon as you release the trigger, making it suitable for driving screws and generally easier to work with. It is 238mm long, 250mm high, and 67mm wide, and produces a max of 34000 beats per minute (hammer action).
The drill has a single light which is activated with a slight pull of the trigger, and can be turned on without rotating the chuck. Compared to the three lights on my DCF895 Impact Driver, I have to say I much prefer three lights, but I can't see any way of adding lights above the chuck on a combi.
To change batteries, simply press the black button on the front of the battery, and it slides right on/off. They also have a button to check the battery level on the back of the battery.
The grip is fantastic, and something I really like about this drill. It is very comfortable, and I find that it fits my hand really well and is nice to use. The trigger is variable speed of course, and it has a heavy duty belt clip. I've never worried about the clip failing. There is also a magnet on the opposite side of the belt clip, which is the black strip you see in the following image. Both the clip and magnet are removable.
The drill has settings for screwdriving, drilling, and hammer action, and the 80Nm of torque it produces is on the higher end of the combis. However, it met its match screwdriving when it failed to undo a PZ4 4 inch screw that had seized up in a wall outside my house. I was surprised at the time, but that was what prompted me to purchase my DCF895 impact driver, which produces far more torque than this combi (for another review, perhaps!).
This drill also has the switch for forwards/reverse/lock right next to the trigger, as you might expect. When holding with the right hand, a click with the index finger puts it into forwards, and a click with the thumb puts it in reverse. It also weighs 2.42kg with a 4Ah battery loaded. I don't think this is heavy, but that's really a personal decision to make.
I've used this drill to put 8mm holes in the brick walls in my house without much trouble, it does a good job of it. I don't own an SDS drill, but so far, this combi is getting my jobs done. I'm sure it can do 13mm holes in masonry, and the official DeWalt specs put it at a max of 16mm in masonry.
I think this is a great drill to own. If I were buying one now, I would probably go for the new brushless one, but this will manage the same jobs.
