Milwaukee M18 Fuel 1/2" Drill Driver Review

Drilling

When testing the power of the M18 FUEL, we found it delivered some top-tier results, earning one of the top scores of the bunch. This drill easily drilled the hole saw to its full 5" depth in the solid door in around 15 seconds. It stalled and caught a few times when we tried this in the high gear but showed absolutely zero issues when in low gear, and still made short work of the task.

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This drill continued its stellar performance with the 1-inch spade bit. It showed no sign of a struggle at all until the battery was essentially completely dead. We like that this drill never really caught or stalled, even when breaking through to the other side of the stacked 2x12s.

The M18 FUEL finished this metric with another solid performance with the twist drills and the steel sheet. This drill took 1.1 seconds to make a ¼-inch hole and about 3-4 seconds to make a ½-inch hole in a 16-gauge steel sheet — some of the fastest times of the group. This drill effortlessly cut through the steel without stalling or catching, even when cutting through the last burr.

Driving

The M18 FUEL absolutely crushed the competition in driving ability, tying for the top spot overall. It drove the 5" lag screw to the full depth without too many issues. We used the high gear to drive the screw past the threads, then swapped to the low gear to sink the screw completely.

The clutch on this drill has 14 different settings, giving you a wide range of adjustability if you want to limit the torque to prevent overdriving the screws. This drill also did very well with the standard 3" wood screws. It easily drives the countersunk screws to the full depth and offers more than enough control to set the heads flush with the surface or just slightly under.

Battery Life

We used a 2 amp-hour battery with the M18 FUEL, and found power was used quite efficiently in our battery tests. Alternating between drilling and driving, it completed nine full cycles and a partial 10th cycle before completely dying. For reference, 10 cycles is the max accomplished by any drill in our test.

It drove all the screws in for the 10th cycle, but only completed about half of one of the holes before the battery died. We did have to shift down to the lower gear setting partway through the 9th cycle to finish drilling the holes, as the battery was so depleted that it couldn't source enough power while in the higher gear setting.

We also liked how quickly this battery charged, only taking around 25 minutes to complete a charge with the stock charger — much faster than comparable batteries.

Convenience

The M18 FUEL is a little heavier, tipping the scales at just over four pounds. It has the option for the belt clip to be attached near the battery. This model is fairly typical when it comes to swapping the batteries, though we do like the presence of a battery indicator on the batteries.

This drill has two different operating speeds, and the chuck can hold up to a ½" shank. The M18 FUEL has an integrated LED light above the battery. This light usually provides ample light and stays on for about 11 seconds, but we didn't like that you need to start the drill to have the light turn on.

Should You Buy the M18 FUEL?

If you are searching for a premium cordless drill and aren't looking for an introductory kit with batteries and charger included, then the M18 FUEL is a great option. It has tons of drilling and driving power and great battery performance. It's a heavy-duty tool for heavy-duty projects, earning one of the best scores of the entire group. While this drill is a top-tier product, it can be a bit on the expensive side if you are shopping on a budget, particularly if you don't need a particularly heavy-duty drill. If you are trying to build up a fleet of cordless tools, the M18 Fuel line is a great one with professional-grade performance. However, each tool in this line is generally at the upper end of the price range for any given tool category, which is important to consider before diving into this set of Milwaukee tools.

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