Bosch 0603131100 Review

Hanging shelves, mounting curtain rails, securing cabinets to brickwork — sooner or later every home project hits a wall, quite literally. When your standard drill meets concrete, stone, or dense masonry, it simply spins without biting, leaving you with little more than a polished dimple and a hot drill bit. This is where an impact drill earns its place. Unlike a regular rotary drill, an impact drill adds a hammering action — thousands of tiny pulses per minute — that chips away at hard materials while the bit rotates, letting you drill clean holes into brick, concrete, and stone almost as easily as you would into wood. For anyone who regularly works on masonry walls — whether you are a professional installer, a renovator, or simply a homeowner who prefers to do things properly rather than calling a tradesperson for every wall fixture — a capable impact drill with enough power, good safety features, and comfortable handling transforms a weekend of frustration into a morning of satisfying progress.

The impact drill market ranges from budget options that struggle with anything harder than soft brick to professional-grade machines that drill through reinforced concrete day in, day out. When choosing one, the key factors to weigh are motor power — measured in watts — which determines how fast and how deep you can drill; torque, which affects the drill's ability to power through tough spots without stalling; and safety features, because a drill that suddenly jams at 3,000 RPM can twist your wrist before you even register what happened. Bosch, the German engineering giant, brings decades of power tool expertise to its green DIY and semi-professional range, and the UniversalImpact 800 sits right at the sweet spot where homeowner affordability meets trade-level capability.

In this review we examine the 800-watt corded impact drill that comes with a carry case, depth stop, and auxiliary handle. We look at the motor performance, the KickBack Control safety system, the self-tightening Autolock chuck, and how the drill handles real-world jobs across wood, metal, and masonry. By the end you will know whether this tool has the power and features to handle your projects and if the build quality justifies the investment.

Powered by an 800-watt corded motor running on 230-volt mains electricity, the Bosch UniversalImpact 800 delivers a maximum rotational speed of 3,000 RPM with up to 19 Newton metres of torque — enough grunt to drill through wood up to 30 mm in diameter, metal up to 13 mm, and masonry with ease. The impact mechanism provides the hammering action that makes short work of brick and concrete, while Bosch's Speed Preselection system lets you dial in the right RPM for the material before you even pull the trigger — slower for metal to avoid work-hardening, faster for softwood to clear chips efficiently. The constant-speed electronics maintain that preselected RPM under load, so the bit does not bog down when you hit a harder patch inside the wall.

What immediately stands out is the safety engineering. The KickBack Control function uses an integrated sensor to detect sudden rotational jams — when the drill bit catches in rebar or a knot in the timber — and shuts the motor down instantly before the tool can wrench itself out of your hands. This is a feature more commonly found on professional-grade tools costing twice as much. The self-tightening Autolock chuck accepts bits up to 13 mm and lets you change accessories with one hand — simply insert the bit and the chuck tightens as you drill, with no key needed. At 1.7 kg the tool is light enough for overhead work yet substantial enough to feel planted and stable during heavy drilling.

Day-to-day usability benefits from Bosch's attention to ergonomics. The slim 6.9 cm grip circumference suits most hand sizes and the auxiliary handle — included in the box — gives you a two-handed stance for controlled drilling into tough masonry. The variable-speed trigger lets you start holes slowly for precise positioning before ramping up to full speed, and the lock-on button reduces finger fatigue during repetitive drilling. The depth stop is a simple metal rod that clamps into the auxiliary handle, letting you set a maximum drilling depth — useful when you need consistent hole depths for wall plugs or dowels across a whole room.

Bosch includes a sturdy carry case that holds the drill, the auxiliary handle, and the depth stop in dedicated compartments — no loose parts rattling around in the bottom of a tool bag. The cord is generous enough for most room-scale work without an extension lead, though for outdoor or large-site use you will want one. The drill is manufactured in Hungary and backed by a 24-month warranty with one year of guaranteed spare parts availability in the EU, which is reassuring for a tool that will see regular use. The green Bosch livery is instantly recognisable and slots neatly into the brand's ecosystem of DIY and garden tools.

Measuring 27.3 × 6.9 × 23.2 cm and weighing 1.7 kg, the UniversalImpact 800 is compact enough to store in a cupboard or on a shelf without dominating the space. It holds an impressive 4.4 out of 5 stars from nearly 7,900 customer reviews on Amazon France and ranks #10 in Impact Drivers — a top-ten bestseller position that speaks volumes about its real-world reputation. At €75.24 including the case and accessories, it represents strong value in the mid-range corded impact drill segment, especially given the safety features that are normally reserved for tools at significantly higher price points.

The Bosch UniversalImpact 800 is ideal for homeowners, renovators, and semi-professional users who regularly drill into masonry walls and need a safe, powerful corded impact drill that bridges the gap between entry-level machines and expensive professional tools.