Best pressure washers: six machines from 110 to 135 bar for cars, patios and drives, on bar, litres and hose

Kärcher’s mid-range all-rounder: 20 to 130 bar and 420 l/h from a 1.8 kW water-cooled motor, a trigger gun with a display that steps through three pressure settings so you do not swap lances between the car and the patio, both the Vario Power and Dirt Blaster lances, and on this Flex version an 8 m hose and a 0.5 l detergent tank. Five-metre cable.

It is heavy, and the listing’s 11.5 kg is lighter than the 13.1 kg reviewers weigh in use.

For a house with a car, a patio and garden furniture, it is the one to buy once.

The same 130 bar and 420 l/h and the same two lances in the plain body: no Power Control gun, an air-cooled 1,800 W motor, a 6 m hose, a 5 m cable, a telescopic handle, and 4.6 kg without accessories, which is a third of the Power Control.

Pressure is set by twisting the lance, and the air-cooled motor is for regular rather than heavy use.

For the same jobs a few times a year, it is the sensible saving.

The K 4 built for area: 130 bar and 420 l/h, water-cooled, an 8 m PremiumFlex hose that does not kink, a built-in water filter, and the eco!Booster lance, a wide rotary nozzle that Kärcher says cleans faster than the fan lance at the same flow without the stripes a Dirt Blaster leaves on soft stone. Kärcher lists 11.8 kg without accessories.

There is no Power Control gun, so pressure is set by lance, and the five-year guarantee the listing mentions is not confirmed on Kärcher’s page.

For decking, a large patio or a block-paved drive, it is the fastest here.

Bosch’s mid-size machine: 135 bar and 450 l/h, the highest flow here, from a 1,900 W motor, a 7 m hose, a water filter, a high-pressure detergent nozzle and a single 3-in-1 nozzle that twists between fan, rotary and point jets, so there is nothing to swap. Bosch says 7.9 kg; the listing 6.55.

The motor is air-cooled, and there is no low-pressure setting short of backing off the trigger.

For a car, bikes and a medium patio without the Kärcher price, it is the one.

The compact Kärcher: 110 bar and 360 l/h from 1.4 kW, 3.4 kg, a one-way spray lance and a Dirt Blaster, and a 3 m hose. It fits in a kitchen cupboard and cleans a car, bins and a few square metres of paving.

The hose keeps the machine at your heels, the motor is air-cooled, and Kärcher rates it at 20 m² an hour, two thirds of a K 4.

For a flat with a parking space, or a small paved yard, it is the right size.

The budget machine with the brand-name numbers: 135 bar maximum and 90 bar working pressure, 1,800 W, a 6 m hose, a 5 m cable, and a jet nozzle, turbo nozzle, detergent nozzle and brush in the box, all clipping to the body. Vytronix’s page says 480 l/h and 7.8 kg; its manual says 6 l/min and 9.1 kg.

The one-year warranty and the disagreement between page and manual tell you what it is.

For a car and a path two or three times a year, it does the job at the lowest price here.