Steve Litchfield

We're so used to 'sealed' devices in our lives these days. From phones to vacuum cleaners to washing machines, they either work or they don't, and repairs are often prohibitive. So your six year old washing machine breaks down and it's time for a new one. Your two year old iPhone fills up and it's time to give it to your offspring and buy yourself a new one. And so on. But, in the context of thinking how to approach my 13 year old Renault Scenic - "Do I keep getting it repaired or replace it?" - I contend that these days a car is almost a 'platform'. What I mean by this is that, twenty years ago (so 1999, thinking about a 1986 model) cars tended to be on their last legs after 13 years, i.e. the structure itself was rusting and clearly about to fall apart. With my 2006 Scenic, the body, chassis, electrics, even the engine are all fine. It rolls along happily giving me 48mpg on long drives with its 1.4 Petrol unit. Which is amazing, really...

Yes, it's true. Steve Litchfield is now reviewing vacuum cleaners! Well, not generally. But this is something special - a tech/gadget company has branched out to create a flexible rechargeable handheld vacuum. And, spoiler alert, it works extremely well, with just a few caveats along the way. First up, the price - currently £68 plus a fiver shipping to the EU . I do like to play the price guessing game when kit comes in for review, i.e. I guess the price before looking it up and then see how far 'off' I was. In the case of the Blitzwolf BW-AR182 I guessed £90 and the actual price shows the value for money. Arriving partially disassembled to get it all in the box, the AR182 is a doddle to snap together. Essentially you either use it with or without the aluminium tube extension, depending on whether you're working at floor level or not. Either way, you get to choose between a powered rotating-brush cleaner head, a simple brushed upholstery tool or a crevice tool...