The MOVA X4 Pro comes with many new and improved features that I’ve not experienced with other wet & dry vacuums. MOVA is a sister brand of Dreame, but it feels like it is competing directly with Dreame given the technologies that the MOVA X4 Pro has. SpotHeat spray cleaning, Push-In base station, and a 100ºC hot water wash are just some of the headline features. The MOVA X4 Pro retails for S$1,099 but there should usually be promotions that will bring the price down.
Unboxing
In the box, you’ll find the following items:
- MOVA X4 Pro main body
- Handle
- Charging base
- Spare roller brush
- Replacement filter
- Cleaning brush
- Cleaning solution (model MFF3)
- User manual
Design and build quality
The design language of the MOVA X4 Pro is reminiscent of Dreame, which is no surprise given MOVA is a sister company. But the overall design of the MOVA X4 Pro just feels more elevated and expensive. The main body of the MOVA X4 Pro has a two-toned black silver matte look, with small curves and accent pieces to make it not look too plain. The base of the MOVA X4 Pro has a rounded squarish shape with the wheels hidden instead it to give a more clean and modern look.
The handle comes in a glossy black finish that helps exude a little premium feel to it. The overall construction of the MOVA X4 Pro feels solid and well built. Interestingly, the clean water tank is actually located at the base of the vacuum. The dirty water tank uses a rubber seal to close it shut, so opening it does feel quite cumbersome and needs effort. I prefer a click-locking mechanism.
As for the base station, it is larger than the usual wet & dry vacuums I’ve used in the past. Reason being is because of the need to build in a ramp into the base station so that you can push the MOVA X4 Pro in. The base station has a good amount of heft and weight to it so that it does not move around when you are pushing the MOVA X4 Pro back in. The wire placement does give you slightly enough space to have the base station be flushed against the wall. Design wise, the base station does look pretty sleek with its matte black finish accompanied by a glossy black accent panel at the top.
Cleaning experience and features
As with most wet & dry vacuums, operating the MOVA X4 Pro is via the three buttons on the handle – (1) to power on the vacuum cleaner, (2) to switch between the cleaning modes, and (3) to kickstart self-cleaning. Once MOVA X4 Pro is powered on, the forward rotation of the brush roller will naturally pull the vacuum forward, requiring less effort to push to vacuum. The back wheels are smooth and the handle allows for easy control of the vacuum where you can do turns of at most 60º.
There are new features on the MOVA X4 Pro, as well as improved features from other wet & dry vacuums I’ve tested before such as the Dreame H14.
80ºC SpotHeat Spray Cleaning
This is something that I’ve not seen in any other wet & dry vacuums, and the intention is for the hot 80ºC water to break down tough stains such as soy sauce making it easier for the wet vacuum roller to remove the stain. You simply squeeze the trigger located on the handle when vacuuming in Hot Water mode and the nozzle will start to spray hot water until you let go of the trigger.
For general day-to-day use, instead wet vacuuming over any stains usually gets the job done. But having the option to spray hot water at a stain can be of great help, especially when tackling wine spills that are not cleaned immediately.
Push-In Base station
Now that I’m using the MOVA X4 Pro, I start to notice the slight hassle of undocking wet & dry vacuums such as the Dreame H14 as I have to lift it up and over the base station. The Push-In base station of the MOVA X4 Pro simplifies taking this task by letting you pull and push the vacuum back in place. It does requires some push effort to get over the initial ramp of the base station, but it is probably less tiring that lifting it.
As the clean and dirty water tanks are located at the back of the vacuum, it is conveniently positioned to remove them once the MOVA X4 Pro is docked.
180º Flat Reach
Having the ability to clean at a 180º angle is really appreciated especially if you have low height furniture. You’ll be able to put the MOVA X4 Pro under hard to reach areas such as under the sofa or bed. Moreover, it also makes general cleaning easier as you don’t really need to move chairs about when you can simply lie flat the MOVA X4 Pro to go under them. The MOVA X4 Pro will be able to fit into spaces as low as 12.8cm.
There is also a bead-like wheel located on the back of the vacuum to help glide the vacuum when it is in a 180º position. Being able to put the MOVA X4 Pro flat for cleaning made it possible clean under my sofa. Just be aware of volume in the dirty water tank as vacuuming in the flat mode has a maximum threshold allowed.
Four cleaning modes with 20,000Pa Suction Power
There are four cleaning modes on the MOVA X4 Pro listed below:
- Smart Mode
- Suction Mode
- Ultra Mode
- Hot-water Mode
Smart Mode is the default mode where it will automatically adjust the suction power based on the dirt on the floor – this should be used for everyday cleaning. Suction Mode can be used if you only want the suction mechanism without the mopping, which is useful for quickly cleaning away spilled liquids. Ultra Mode is ideal to use when doing deep cleaning, and does eat up battery life quite a fair bit. There is no way to manually adjust the amount of suction power, so I can only assume that Ultra Mode will utilize the maximum 20,000Pa of suction power.
There is a new Hot Water mode that enables you to perform SpotHeat Spray Clean by squeezing the trigger on the handle. Water that is used to dampened the brush roller doesn’t seem to be hot though, so it is only the ability to spray 80ºC hot water through the nozzle.
TangleCut scraper and LED-lit brush head
One of the key feature on the MOVA X4 Pro which you may not notice immediately is the inclusion of the TangleCut scraper along the roller brush. This acts as a hair cutting blade, and will cut any long hair when it is being vacuumed up to minimize the risk of hair tangling.
You don’t see the effect of the TangleCut scraper until you pour out the contents from the dirty water tank. Compared to Dreame H14, I found less long hair getting trapped at the bottom of the opening. This helps with the maintenance of the MOVA X4 Pro as it will require less manual cleaning of the vacuum.
MOVA X4 Pro also has a LED-lit brush head that shines green light to illuminate dusty areas better than regular white light. However, the LED light only turns on when the vacuum is in a 180º lie-flat mode or when you trigger SpotHeat spray cleaning. There doesn’t seem to be a way to manually trigger the LED light. MOVA should have enabled the LED to switch on when you press the trigger in regular Smart Mode.
0-Gap Edge cleaning
The 0-Gap edge cleaning on the MOVA X4 Pro is essentially the same as the edge-to-edge design of the Dreame H14. The brush roller is designed such that there are no blockers on both sides so that the brush can clean as close to the edge your flooring to clean more effectively.
Do note that if there are dust trapped really at the edge of the flooring, it is unlikely the brush will be able to vacuum it up due to spherical shape of the roller.
Maintenance
Apart from the aforementioned TangleCut scraper, there are post-cleaning features on the MOVA X4 Pro to reduce the amount of manual labour involved in the upkeep of the vacuum. There still isn’t a water-hookup kit equivalent for the wet & dry vacuum, so you are still expected to refill the clean water tank and empty out the dirty water tank. And that is probably all you have to do since washing and drying of the brush roller is done for you by the MOVA X4 Pro‘s base station.
100ºC Hot Water Wash
Compared to the Dreame H14’s 60ºC wash, the MOVA X4 Pro outperforms by offering a 100ºC hot water wash of the brush roller. Higher temperature is better as it get rids of dirt and any oil stains more effectively.
Also, I noticed that the way the brush is being washed is also different. Apart from a heated metal panel at the bottom of the base station, it looks like there is 100ºC hot steam that is being ejected out on the brush roller of the MOVA X4 Pro for cleaning. This is better than rely soley on the brush rotation on the heated metal panel to clean the brush as the hot water is distributed directly.
90ºC Hot Air Drying
After the brush roller is washed, the base station of the MOVA X4 Pro proceeds to dry the brush with 90ºC of hot air. This is an appreciated feature to have as it helps to remove any foul smell on the brush and help to extend the longevity as well. It also only takes just 5 minutes if you’re in a time crunch, but you can always opt for the smart quiet drying mode that takes around 30 minutes.
Battery life
MOVA X4 Pro can last around 45 minutes of continuous use, which by their estimates can clean about 350m². I found 45 minutes to be just enough time for simple everyday cleaning, but if I’m doing deep cleaning with Ultra Mode I find the battery to last around 30-35 minutes of use.
Conclusion
When it comes to the current generation of wet & dry vacuums, the closest in terms of specs to the MOVA X4 Pro is the Dreame H13 FlexReach. It has very similar feature set such as a hair scraper, hot water washing, 90ºC hot air drying, and 180º lie flat reach. The MOVA X4 Pro is more expensive than the Dreame H13 FlexReach because it has new features such as the SpotHeat spray cleaning, Push-In base station, which are good quality of life upgrades. I find the push-in base station of the MOVA X4 Pro to be operationally convenient, and could be something worth paying more especially if you do clean frequently.