As you may know, I’ve purchased a few Mova products over the last year and it’s quickly become one of my favourite brands. I was thrilled with our Mova P10 Pro Ultra robot vacuum, and when Mova offered us the opportunity to trial the Mova V50 Ultra Complete we were ecstatic. While this particular vacuum was sent to us for free for our review, please know that the thoughts and opinions expressed are my honest experiences- both the good and bad.
We’ve had our Mova V50 for nearly two months now. In that time we’ve trialled it in some pretty tough conditions, along with our regular day to day use.
When the box arrived at our door it was heavy! The vacuum is extremely well packaged to prevent damage in shipping and the unit arrived in excellent condition and eager to get to work. Prior to getting it cleaning though, I wanted to familiarize myself with the different components of the vacuum. Similar to our other Mova unit, the V50 includes a washboard that allows it to clean and dry mop pads. If you’re getting a robot vacuum with mopping features, a self cleaning and drying washboard is an absolute must in my opinion! This keeps your unit hygienic and avoids odours when you undoubtedly forget to do your own maintenance after each run.
The dustbin and detergent tanks are easy to access by quickly removing the front cover off the dock. There’s spots for two different types of detergent- a general floor cleaner and a pet odour solution. The V50 comes with a bottle of each to get you started. The detergent dispensing system automatically mixes the correct ratio of detergent into the fresh water tank. This solution is then pumped into the robot’s internal water tank and used to clean your floors, meaning your floors are actively being cleaned with the cleaner as it works.
Further, the detergent is used during the hot water self cleaning cycle after the unit has mopped your floors. This breaks down trapped grease, dirt and odours so your mopping pads are clean and sanitized for the next run. Because the vacuum has hot water mopping it does make quite a difference breaking down tougher stains that our P10 may have missed. However, there is nothing on the actual vacuum itself that keeps that water hot as it heads to its destination, so if it’s mopping a large floor plan the benefits of hot water mopping may not extend across the whole house.
Standout Features
One of the features that really sets this robot vacuum apart from others, including our P10 Pro Ultra, is that this vacuum has a StepMaster navigation system. While it can’t tackle full steps, it does an incredible job clearing thresholds. In fact, it is advertised as clearing thresholds up to 2.36 inches. In the video below you can see it navigating a fairly large threshold into our bathroom with ease.
The StepMaster system allows it to cross through standards door thresholds and it can even cross more complicated two layer thresholds (such as doortracks) without getting hung up. Our house is 100+ years old and it’s truly a mishmash of different renovations over its lifespan. This means we have many small step ups and blunders for robot vacuums to navigate. Our house is no challenge for the V50.
Another neat feature of the Mova V50 is its ability to retract its top sensor. This allows it to get under low clearance areas, which many robots vacuums are simply too bulky to get to. With the sensor down it can get under furniture as low as about 3.5″, meaning that if we could get under it with our upright vacuum the Mova can get there on its own! There are also different adjustments in app for how “aggressive” you want the vacuum to be as it considers going under furniture. This is a nice feature for added flexibility, according to your needs. You can tell Mova not to lower LDS (top sensor) or to engage “security coverage” which means the robot will only enter low clearance areas slightly higher than the body for cleaning. There’s also “extreme coverage” (in beta) where the robot will enter a low area that is flush with the body for cleaning. We didn’t want to scratch up our vacuum, so we’ve left it on “security coverage” and it’s doing a great job under our couches, even if it takes longer than it would with LDS activated…and I am relieved not to be needing to pull out the upright vacuum to tackle this awkward job!
I will say that the navigation when the sensor is down is not nearly as seamless and it does occasionally need to come out from under furniture and reorient itself, but I think a large part of the reason we are seeing this is that our couches have soft bottoms that the cats (looking at you, Roman) have scratched up. This has caused the couch liner to dangle lower than the actual height of the couch, probably confusing the vacuum as its other sensors catch those fabric pieces in its path. I think most people would see a much more logical movement in their vacuums with undamaged furniture for it to traverse!
General Features
As mentioned earlier, one of the things I find mandatory for a mopping robot is an auto washboard. The Mova V50 Ultra Complete does a wonderful job cleaning the mop pads after use and fully drying them (and the dust bug), which is particularly helpful in areas of high humidity to prevent mold and smells. I do occasionally give the washboard a wipe down, as it just takes a minute or two if you don’t leave it to gunk up.
There’s so much adjustability within the Mova app for this vacuum, it’s truly impressive- everything has been carefully thought out and designed for a wide variety of households and lifestyles. You can adjust everything from scheduling the cleaning schedule, wetness of the mop, how frequently detergent is used, whether carpets are cleaned normally, ignored or mopped (such as rubber mats). The vacuum also lifts its mop pads over carpets, but if you prefer a vacuum that leaves the mop pads at the base when traversing or working carpet, the V50 offers this option too and can auto attach and detach mop pads as necessary.
The Mova V50 Ultra Complete is advertised as having 24,000 Pa of suction, and it does an excellent job getting fine particles off of our floors, even out of grout lines. Plus its dual brush design seems to agitate carpet well to get more stuck on debris, making it effective on pet hair that likes to cling. Tangling is minimal. In fact, I have had zero issues with tangling at all in standard use. The only tangling I experienced was during the equivalent of a torture test I ran with the vacuum, where I put highly concentrates amounts of long, stemmy hay all over for the vacuum to pick up. My upright vacuum would not have performed well in the test I laid out, and the V50 did (unsurprisingly) tangle a bit there and require manual pulling of the hay out from the rollers. Otherwise, the roller brush system works very well.
Where the vacuum really shines though is its incredibly impressive obstacle navigation. We have two very young kids, who aren’t yet the best at cleaning up after themselves. While we try to do a daily clean up, it’s inevitable that there will be occasions that toys, socks and other ‘hazards’ may be missed from time to time. This is no biggie at all for Mova! While our old robot vacuums would always get stuck on these hazards, both of our Movas have exceptional obstacle avoidance. The V50 has slightly more advanced obstacle avoidance with a wider database of recognized items. The only obstacles we’ve seen it struggle with are very low profile/flat items, which is mostly to be expected. This includes paper that is laying flat on the ground (it does look/respond just like normal flooring, after all) and some really small cat toys we have sometimes seems to get missed by the sensors and pushed around. The vacuum is also good at identifying possible pet waste, so you don’t have to worry if Fido has an accident.
Check out our brief video below to see how well the Mova V50 navigates obstacles, including vacuuming under our barstools with ease at the end!
If you’ve had robot vacuums from their early days, you probably remember that they weren’t a reliable clean. They tended to miss areas, get stuck and just became stop gaps to extend how long you could go between cleaning…kind of. That is not the case with the best of our modern robot vacuums. With precise obstacle avoidance, increased AI intelligence and the extendable sweeping arms and mops, it ensures that Mova truly cleans and has the ability to get right into corners. It can even reach under our kitchen kick plates!
The vacuum, similar to our other unit, comes equipped with an LED light that automatically turns on in low light situations, allowing the vacuum to continue working just as flawlessly and avoiding obstacles during the night. In fact, we often run ours during the evenings and/or overnight hours. The vacuum is so quiet that we barely need to turn the TV up and can hold conversations at a normal level. If we’re in bed, the vacuum running is not something that would wake us. In fact, probably the most “disruptive” or noisy part is when the mop pads are being cleaned/suctioned during mopping sessions. It’s so quiet neither the cats nor Zorro are bothered.
The trade off with all of the bells and whistles and constant calculations that the vacuum makes as it completes its run is that it can deplete its battery life fairly quickly. I tend to notice the most battery draw during mapping processes. In our particular home the battery life is not concerning, as it can vacuum and mop our entire lower level (about 1000 square feet) on one charge…with all of the high power settings engaged. If you have larger floor plans it’s possible that the vacuum may need to recharge before it fully completes the task, or you may wish to reduce the efficiency of the clean. Considering the vacuum auto docks and empties it’s bin and can resume the task on its own after its fully recharged, I don’t see that this is a huge drawback for most, but it is something to be aware of. One feature that the V50 has is it’s ability to cap charging capacity to 80%. If set this way, it can help prolong battery health and keep your vacuum functioning well for longer.
General Pros and Cons
Pros:
-Climbing ability for threshold clearance
-Retractable navigation to get into tight spaces
-Great suction power
-Ability to leave mop pads at base station
-Good carpet cleaning
-Minimal wrapping/tangling of brush
Cons:
-Battery life could be improved
-Smaller clean and dirty water tanks than P10 Pro Ultra
The Verdict
The Mova V50 Ultra Complete is a highly capable and advanced robot vacuum that I absolutely recommend. So which robot vacuum is the best? Is Mova V50 Ultra Complete worth the extra money over, say, the P10 Pro Ultra? While many people will be extremely satisfied with the P10 Pro Ultra, there are some situations where the V50 is the clear best choice. The P10 Pro Ultra is excellent on hard floors, but the V50 has much improved carpet performance. If you have rugs that can be damaged by occasional mop dragging, then the removable mop pads on the V50 mean that this is the better unit for your situation.
Of course, if you have larger thresholds/lots of transitions or more complicated floors plans, going with the V50 will also give you more flexibility and ensure the vacuum can complete its task without having to be carried to different zones. The mopping power is also a bit better on the V50, which may give it an edge over “pet heavy” households.
We love our Mova V50. We also love our P10 Pro Ultra. The P10 is an excellent vacuum and I will continue to recommend it to people looking for an economical, yet highly effective vacuum. It is a truly unbeatable value in today’s world of robovacs. But if you need the standout features of the V50 (threshold clearance, detachable mops or have lots of carpets), then the answer is clear that Mova V50 has more capabilities- it is a premium flagship model, after all.
Want to purchase the Mova V50 Ultra Complete or learn more?
Is there anything else you want to know about the Mova V50 Ultra Complete Robot Vacuum? Let us know and we’ll do our best to get you your answers. Alternatively, if you want to compare our review of the Mova P10 Pro Ultra, take a look here!
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