Laresar Evol 3 review: Is this budget-friendly robot vacuum the right one for your home?
If you’ve spent any time down the robot vacuum cleaners rabbit hole (trust me, I have), you’ll know that dozens of seemingly affordable robot vacuums are vying for your attention and frankly, it’s a bit overwhelming. I’ve spent hours researching, from high-end models with every bell and whistle to budget-friendly models, then recently polled my lovely Instagram followers on their tips and advice regarding robot vacuums, which was really enlightening and super helpful. I even went up to London and tested one of the Amazon bestsellers – (the Lefant 210, which is regularly available for under £100 – so I guess is what you’d describe as entry level) at one of their photographic studios so I could get my hands on it. It worked fine, BUT the suction was only 2000 Pa and I knew for a house with pets (& kids!) this just wasn’t going to be enough to do a thorough job so was back to the drawing board!
Wasting money on an ‘ok, but not great’ model was one of my biggest fears when starting this process but, equally, I didn’t want to get sucked in (sorry that pun was unintentional!) to any seemingly amazing deals spending a bit more, only to find the price had been inflated before the ‘sale’ and I’d still ended up with a dud, but just paid more for it!!
Long story short, the Laresar EVOL 3 (this one) appeared to tick all the boxes and was on a limited-time Amazon deal, bringing it under £125 – so I bought one – eek! With a lower price than many of the flagship models (like the iRobot Roomba j or Eufy L), and packing in a suite of advanced features, it seemed to have great value written all over it. But, was it too good to be true?
I take giving out recommendations really seriously as would be mortified if someone bought something and was disappointed or felt like they didn’t have all the facts, so with that in mind I drew up a list of what I thought were the most important questions (based on my own search and the feedback from my Insta poll). I’m going to answer all these questions quickly at the top as there’s nothing more annoying than being made to read reams of info to get to the bit you actually want! After the quick-fire questions, I’ll go into much more of a detailed review if you’re interested.
The headlines…
1. How well does it clean different floor types (carpet, hardwood, tile)?
It cleans both really well and is able to handle both in the same room.
2. Can it handle pet hair effectively?
Yes, I was super impressed at how much cat hair it collected, when I’d only hoovered a couple of days before (probably says a lot about my dedication to hoovering, ha!)
3. How good is it at cleaning corners and edges?
It’s amazing at edges and even has a specific edge function where it traces around the perimeter of a room until you tell it to stop. Corners – I found there was a tiny spot it just couldn’t reach with the side brushes in each corner because the unit is round so can only get so close to a wall. So loses a mark on corners.
4. Does it mop as well as vacuum?
Yes, and you can alter the amount of water that is dispensed during the mopping session depending on how dirty the floor is. You can’t add cleaning fluid though (although perhaps people do?!)
5. Does it map my home or just bounce around randomly?
It can do either, there is an excellent mapping function where it records individual rooms as well as the whole house layout and even remembers where its docking station is so it can return to charge. It has a sensor to stop it whacking into everything.
6. Can it avoid obstacles and not get stuck?
Yes, it has a great sensor for larger objects, so it will turn before it bashes into things. I tested it with a loose blanket-like rug that wasn’t stuck down at all and it rucked the edge up slightly as it went over it, but it managed to vacuum the rug and get off the other side fine. I then tested it with a firmer cork-type floor mat and it managed to get on and off that fine too. If you have a rug with tassles, I think the tassles would be sucked in – much the same as for a ‘normal’ vacuum.
It runs over the very low-lying objects that are below the sensor but doesn’t get stuck. It will try and hoover up small items, so you need to clear the floor of toys and clothes before starting it off.
7. Can it remember multiple floors or rooms?
Yes, you set up the details of each room in the home management function and it maps and remembers the layout.
8. Can I control it with an app or voice assistant like Alexa/Google?
Yes, it works with Alexa and Google Assistant (note – we don’t use either so I cant attest to how effective/compatible it is!)
9. Can I schedule cleanings for different times/days?
Yes, you can set a specific cleaning schedule for each room and day and it will automatically run until you intervene with a manual request or change the schedule. Schedules are set through the app and it’s easy to use (& I’m not tech-y).
10. Can I set no-go zones or virtual barriers?
Yes. They include a strip of magnetic tape that you can lay as a physical boundary at the top of the stairs or in no-go areas and you can also program virtual barriers in the map section of the app.
11. How long does the battery last on a single charge?
I don’t feel like I got the 150 minutes advertised, but I was running it on max strength suction as wanted the best clean possible and was mainly focussing on carpets. It has enough battery life to do a thorough job on a room or two before needing to return to the dock and recharge a bit. I don’t feel the battery life was a problem just a little shorter than I hoped from reading their claims.
and finally…
12. Can it work in a cluttered home or with lots of furniture?
Yes for lots of furniture, no if you’ve left loads of clutter on the floor like toys or clothes as it will likely either hoover bits of them up and get clogged or it will avoid the items and not therefore do a good job of cleaning. I advise completely clearing the floor (except for furniture) like you would with a normal hoover.
Now let’s look at the Leresar Evol 3 in more detail…
First Impressions of this affordable robot vacuum
The EVOL 3 from Laresar is part of the new wave of robotic vacuums that blend strong suction with a mop function. This combo unit doesn’t just vacuum—it also mops, thanks to a built-in water tank, mop pads, and clever obstacle detection that helps it avoid soaking your rug while cleaning your hardwood floors. But does it actually work? One of the main complaints in my insta poll was the mops arent usually up to much on robot vacs unless you pay a fortune (in case you are new around here, I am just never going to do that! ; ))
A few key features include:
- 4,500 Pa of suction power (yes, 4,500 Pa!)
- Smart mapping for specific rooms
- Voice control compatibility (great if you use Alexa – although we don’t!)
- 2-in-1: vacuum, mop
- Comes with a HEPA filter—essential for pet owners and young kids
Cleaning Performance: Top Marks for Suction and Pet Hair
Let’s talk suction—because this vac has powerful suction that rivals many high-end robot vacuum models. The brush roll and side brush work in tandem to clean along edges and skirting boards effectively, which is usually where my furry friends love to leave a trail of fluff. The EVOL 3 handled a lot of pet hair without getting tangled, which earns it serious points, although my hair (I have very long hair) did get caught around the roller brush the first time it hoovered our bedroom. It was easy to remove as the roller slots out and didn’t stop the vacuum working, but I noticed it upon emptying the dust box. This also happens on our expensive dyson vacuum so its nothing new, but thought if mention it as I know some models claim to never get hair wrapped around them.
On hard floors, it cleaned up crumbs, dust, and cat hair with ease. On carpets, it automatically takes the suction up a level, but you can also manually increase it to max (via the remote control or the app) if preferred – I do this and it makes such a difference.
Navigation & Obstacle Avoidance
Thanks to smart navigation and obstacle avoidance, the EVOL 3 doesn’t just pinball around the room like earlier-gen robotic vacuum cleaners. It maps your home after its first cycle, and you can even select specific rooms to clean in the app or set it to schedule cleaning runs. With a touch of a button on the remote control, you can activate ‘spot cleaning’ mode where it spirals round a specific point for deeper cleaning.
It doesn’t avoid cables, so they include a pack of zip ties in the box for you to tie them up with! I didn’t do this, but I guess it might be helpful for some. One time it ran over a coat hanger that i’d accidentally left on the floor which caused it to stop,p and I had to intervene but generally it can be left to its own devices until the dust box needs emptying or you want to swap to mop mode.
I found the best way to deal with this was to whizz round and pick all toys and clutter up off the floor before setting it off so it had a clear floor space – just like you would before you manually hoover a room.
Mopping – did it work?
Now, mopping is often where budget models cut corners. But with a clean water reservoir and well-sized mop pads, the EVOL 3 genuinely refreshes your floors. It doesn’t scrub, but as long as they arent in too bad a state beforehand, for everyday shine? It’s a great option.
One slightly frustrating thing is that it says not to add cleaning fluid to the water compartment, I’m guessing because they don’t want bubbles or suds maybe? Not sure, but I feel the floor would be cleaner if it wasn’t just water. On the plus side, no puddles, no dirty water leaks, and very little residual moisture—ideal if you’ve got young kids racing around.
Is it as effective as using a proper mop and bucket? Definitely not, but is it a great daily clean to keep on top of things in between a weekly deep clean? I would say yes.
You can also change the amount of water it dispenses while mopping from low, middle and high control and this is configurable from the app and the remote control.
Note: If you’ve mopped the hard floors, then you need to remove the wet mop pad as far as I can tell before returning to hoovering, as I did a test where I put it down on carpet with the wet mop pad still attached and it started in mop mode rather than hoover mode. I’ll look into this a bit more and report back, as I’m still new to this malarkey!
Battery Life & Docking Station
Battery life is solid: it claims up to 150 minutes on a single charge, enough to clean most average UK homes in one go, but I found it wasn’t as long as this when running on the highest suction setting. When it’s low, it returns to the docking station (or base station) to charge or empty itself into the charging dock.
The docking station is not a self-emptying one, which I know people love but that feature was simply out of my price range and I’ve not found emptying the dust box to be a pain, I just do it after every clean and am shocked each time at how full it is!
Noise Level & Ease of Use
The noise level is surprisingly low, even on max settings. I spent a while checking the noise levels on a few models before buying, and lots were 50-60 decibels whereas this one is only 40, and this is a bearable level for us. I can’t hear the vac when it’s shut in the bedrooms so you only hear it when it’s doing the room you are in and the noise is not too high to be able to concentrate on work or watch TV. That said, many people choose to set their robot vacs to run overnight so they wake up to a clean house.
Set-up is a breeze via the app, and the controls are intuitive. Want it to be cleaned at 10 am every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday? Sorted. Want it to clean only the kitchen today? Easy, you just define the rooms and set the schedule accordingly.
I love the spot clean feature (the steering wheel-like icon on the remote above) where the vac will spiral round one particular area to give it an extra focussed clean and the edge (wall follow) feature is brilliant where it will actively seek out the edges of a room (where the pet hair will often accumulate) and focus on cleaning until you tell it to stop going around the perimeter.
The Laresar EVOL 3 has earned a solid spot on my list of favourite home appliances. I hate cleaning and don’t prioritise it since being self-employed, as every hour not working feels like I’m losing money! This is such a good solution as I can now set it off and forget about it.
If you’re hunting for a robotic vacuum that feels like a high-end model but doesn’t bust the budget, the EVOL 3 is a top pick and a great value alternative to pricier brands. It’s especially brilliant if you have furry friends, young kids, or a lot of pet hair to battle like we do!
Would I recommend it? Absolutely. For anyone seeking the best cheap robot vacuums that still deliver performance, convenience, and advanced features, this one ticks all the boxes.
Now if only it could fold the laundry or nag the kids to do their homework too… ; )
You can shop the Leresar Evol 3 here (ad info – affiliate link)
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