Narwal Freo Z Ultra robot vacuum review: Shiny floors but a few flaws

In the last year, Narwal has released two robot vacuums: the Narwal Freo and the Narwal Freo X Ultra. Now it’s time for another flagship model, the Narwal Freo Z Ultra. Some things have improved, but some small minus signs unfortunately also remain (and a couple have been added).

If you’re in the US, you can buy the Freo Z Ultra for $1,499.99 from Narwal.

One of the features this robot has that previous models lacked is automatic dust container emptying. This is now done automatically when the vacuum cleaner docks with the base station, just like for the dirty water from mopping.

Jan Sandbladh

Jan Sandbladh

Jan Sandbladh

Admittedly, this is a good option for allergy sufferers, and admittedly the bag doesn’t need to be changed very often as it’s large (2.5 litres) and the dust in it is compressed, although the boasted 120 days before you need to swap it out is wishful thinking.

But there is no getting away from the fact that it is both more environmentally unfriendly and more uneconomical than a simple container that could be emptied straight into a bin.

Hopefully this will be fixed for the next version.

Easy to use and feature-rich

As with previous models, the Narwal Freo Z Ultra is also very easy to get started with and use. After plugging in the base station, and filling up with water for mopping, the vacuum cleaner automatically maps your home, which is done both quickly and efficiently.

However, as before, some manual intervention may be required. Firstly, if the thresholds between rooms are too high (in which case several different maps are required), and secondly if you have carpets or rugs.

Carpet identification is supposed to be automatic, but in practice you’ll get the best results if you go in and edit the maps manually.

Once this is done, it’s just a matter of getting started. Thanks to the Freo Mind feature, you don’t have to go in and adjust the cleaning settings if you don’t want to. Instead, the Narwal Freo Z Ultra analyses the dirt levels itself and then decides on its own how to clean and how thorough it should be.

But of course, if you want to, you can manually control most aspects of cleaning. Everything from the suction power for vacuuming and the amount of water for mopping, to how thorough the cleaning should be.

There is also a wide range of settings for the base station and its maintenance, all packaged in a clear and simple interface.

Jan Sandbladh

Jan Sandbladh

Jan Sandbladh

Overall, the Narwal Freo Z Ultra is very feature-rich and equipped with small niceties, such as the fluffy plinth module that cleans vertical surfaces and improves dust collection along mouldings.

Sparkling clean

The automatic adjustment of the settings works surprisingly well, but for the very best results, a little manual adjustment is often required. But when this is done, the result is a sparkling clean home!

Thanks to the combination of vacuuming and mopping, the Narwal Freo Z Ultra cleans really effectively. It gets into corners and under cabinets and the like, just as you would expect from a good robot vacuum cleaner.

As a bonus, the Narwal Freo Z Ultra is also relatively quiet, both when cleaning the floor and during processing and cleaning in the base station.

Jan Sandbladh

Jan Sandbladh

Jan Sandbladh

Jan Sandbladh

Jan Sandbladh

Jan Sandbladh

But unfortunately, one more drawback from earlier models remains – poor obstacle avoidance. Because even though the Narwal Freo Z Ultra is equipped with a camera (which, by the way, is another one of its clever features), it’s not able to avoid all obstacles.

Large obstacles (like furniture) and medium-sized obstacles (like a lost cuddly toy or a sock left under the bed) can be avoided, but smaller objects (like a matchbox) are still happily ignored and occasionally cause problems when the robot vacuum gets stuck.

Jan Sandbladh

Jan Sandbladh

Jan Sandbladh

Jan Sandbladh

Jan Sandbladh

Jan Sandbladh

So given these minus signs that remain and that the price of the Narwal Freo Z Ultra is higher than the Narwal Freo X Ultra, we’re giving it a solid four out of five.