Bosch IXO 8 Review: The £40 Screwdriver Gift, and What It Is Not
If you were shopping for the IXO 7, Bosch has moved on: the eighth-generation IXO is now on UK shelves with a 4 V swappable battery and 6.5 Nm, and the IXO 7 is being sold off alongside it. Both are brilliant at flat-pack and hopeless at anything a drill is for — so we have set out exactly where that line falls.
Where the reviews line up
The IXO 8 is new enough that almost nobody has tested it, so the evidence is a mix of the new model and the one it replaces: a side-by-side IXO 7 versus IXO 8 workshop test from the German specialist blog Machneuwerkstatt, a hands-on IXO 7 review from Parkers, and 31 buyer reviews of the IXO 7 at Screwfix. On the important points they say the same thing.
It is a screwdriver, not a drill. Bosch's own figure is 6.5 Nm of hard torque on the IXO 8 (5.5 Nm on the IXO 7). A budget combi drill makes ten times that. Machneuwerkstatt found both generations struggle in hardwood beyond a 5 × 50 mm screw without a pilot hole, and a separate Galaxus test of the IXO 7 called its power about what a human hand manages.
For what it is meant for, it is excellent. Parkers got through furniture and Christmas-present assembly without a recharge and gave the IXO 7 five stars; Screwfix buyers rate it 4.5 out of 5. Bosch's claim of up to 190 screws per charge is the one battery figure that has been independently matched — Galaxus counted about 190 on the IXO 7.
Buy the IXO 8 over the IXO 7 for one reason above the rest: its battery comes out, so a dead cell no longer means a dead tool. The other upgrade — USB-C in place of micro-USB — is reported by Machneuwerkstatt but not stated on any UK retailer listing we read, so check the box before you rely on your phone charger.
The three reviews this summary is built from
- MachneuwerkstattGerman workshop blog. The only hands-on IXO 8 test we found, run side by side with the IXO 7.
- ParkersHands-on review of the IXO 7, scored 5/5. Sibling model, not the IXO 8.
- Screwfix4.5/5 from 31 buyer reviews of the IXO 7, checked 6 October 2026.
Before the review: IXO 7 or IXO 8?
Both are on sale new in the UK today. The IXO 7 (3.6 V, 5.5 Nm, built-in battery, micro-USB) is still on Bosch's UK site at £52 and at Screwfix for £31.99. The IXO 8 (4 V, 6.5 Nm, removable BA 4V 2.0 Ah battery) is at Currys for £39.99, Very for £43 and Tooled-Up for £40.95. If the IXO 7 is cheaper by £10 or more and you only build the odd wardrobe, it is still a good buy; otherwise, the swappable battery makes the IXO 8 the one to give.
Specification at a glance
| Spec | IXO 8 figure | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Voltage and battery | 4 V, removable BA 4V 2.0 Ah lithium-ion (IXO 7: 3.6 V, 2.0 Ah built in) | Klium, Tooled-Up, Very listings |
| Torque | 3 Nm soft / 6.5 Nm hard (IXO 7: 3 / 5.5 Nm) | Bosch's figure, repeated by Bosch's press portal and retailers. Not independently measured |
| Screws per charge | Up to 190 | Currys listing for the IXO 8; Galaxus counted about 190 on the IXO 7 |
| Charging | USB. USB-C according to Machneuwerkstatt; IXO 7 is micro-USB | No UK listing names the connector — see below |
| Charge time | Not published for the IXO 8 (IXO 7: 3 hours) | IXO 7 figure from Bosch and Screwfix |
| No-load speed | Not published for the IXO 8 (IXO 7: 235 rpm) | Bosch, IXO 7 page |
| Weight | 0.35 kg (IXO 7: 0.32 kg with battery) | IXO 8 figure from Klium, Tooled-Up and Currys; none says whether it includes the battery |
| Dimensions | 152 × 46 × 121 mm | Tooled-Up and Very agree |
| Screw size | Up to 5 mm in wood, plastic and plaster | Currys |
| Light | 360° LED ring round the bit holder | All listings |
| In the box — Basic | Screwdriver, battery, 10 bits, storage box | Klium; Currys lists the same minus the box |
| In the box — Set | As Basic, plus angle adapter and offset adapter | Tooled-Up |
| Guarantee | 2 years (Currys) · 3 years with registration (Screwfix, IXO 7) | Sources disagree — see below |
| Typical UK price | Basic £39.99–£43 · Set £63.95 | Currys, Very, Tooled-Up, checked 6 October 2026 |
Machneuwerkstatt
This is a one-person specialist blog, written in German, by an author who describes himself as an industrial mechanic with more than seventeen years in the trade. What makes it useful is the method: both generations driving the same screws into OSB, spruce and oak, without pilot holes, across seven tests. It is a workshop comparison, not a lab measurement, and it is the only place we found anyone putting the IXO 8 to work.
The finding is honest in both directions. The IXO 8 is the better buy new, mainly because of its swappable battery and USB-C charging — he lists the IXO 7's micro-USB as dated. But he does not tell IXO 7 owners to upgrade: for household jobs the older one is adequate. And he is clear about the ceiling. Neither model has a torque adjustment ring, and both struggle in hardwood beyond 5 × 50 mm screws unless you pre-drill. He also notes an overload indicator on the IXO 8's light ring that the IXO 7 lacks.
Watch: Brandheiße Neuheiten von Bosch Home and Garden / Bosch grün DIY
A German round-up of new Bosch green-range tools that came up in two separate IXO 8 searches. We could not open it, so we cannot confirm how much of it is about the IXO 8.
Watch on YouTube ↗Parkers
Parkers is a car title, and its reviewer used the IXO 7 the way most owners will: furniture assembly, a pile of Christmas presents that needed putting together, and an attempt at a headlight change on a Ford Fiesta. Through all of that it did not need a recharge. The verdict is that the IXO 7 is a meaningful improvement on the IXO 6, and the score is five out of five.
The criticisms are small but specific, and two of them matter for the IXO 8. Parkers missed the variable-speed trigger the IXO 6 had, and found the bits awkward to get out of their holder. It also called the micro-USB port outdated — the upgrade the IXO 8 is reported to fix. For a sterner editorial view, Galaxus's IXO 7 test (September 2022) is worth knowing about: about 190 screws per charge, the angle attachment genuinely handy for shelf building, the cutter jamming on thick cardboard, and a project that stalled for lack of power. Its line — a cordless screwdriver for people who don't really want a cordless screwdriver — is a fair warning if you are buying for someone with real DIY ambitions.
Watch: Tried & Tested: Bosch IXO - A Drill for Men, Women, and with a hack, possibly even for Toddlers!***
A general hands-on with the IXO. The listing does not say which generation, so treat it as a look at the format rather than the IXO 8 specifically — and note that despite the title, it is not a drill.
Watch on YouTube ↗Screwfix
These are customer ratings on a page that sells the product, and they are for the IXO 7 — Tooled-Up's IXO 8 pages show "not yet reviewed", and we found no other dated IXO 8 rating with a sample size. Thirty-one reviews is a modest pool, but Screwfix's customers skew towards people who own proper drills, which makes a 4.5 average for a 5.5 Nm screwdriver a reasonable vote of confidence in it as a second tool.
Screwfix's listing is also the clearest on the box contents for the IXO 7: ten bits (PZ1, PZ2, PZ3, PH2, PH3, T20, T25, SL5, H3 and H5), a micro-USB cable and a carry case, 3-hour charge, 235 rpm, 0.32 kg with the battery. At £31.99 it is also the cheapest way into an IXO right now — the obvious alternative if the IXO 8's swappable battery does not matter to you.
Watch: Bosch IXO 7
A YouTube Short of the IXO 7 — the model these buyers are rating, not the IXO 8.
Watch on YouTube ↗The adapters, and what they cost
Much of the IXO's appeal as a gift is the IXO Collection of click-on adapters. They are sold separately, and they add up. Prices we found on 6 October 2026: the torque setting adapter £16.50 at Wickes (the only way to get a clutch on an IXO — neither the IXO 7 nor the IXO 8 has one built in); the barbecue blower adapter £16 at Wickes; the cutter adapter for cardboard, PVC, leather and cloth up to 6 mm £20.38 at Toolstore UK, out of stock that day. The angle and offset adapters come in the IXO 8 Set (£63.95 at Tooled-Up), which is £23 more than the Basic — cheaper than buying them separately if you want both. Tooled-Up's standalone angle adaptor (£18.95) is listed for the IXO 4, so we cannot confirm it fits the IXO 8; Bosch says the IXO 8 takes all IXO Collection attachments.
What it is not
It is not a drill. At 6.5 Nm there is no hammer action, no clutch and no chuck for round-shank bits — it takes 1/4-inch hex bits only. If the job involves masonry, long screws into joists or anything heavier than flat-pack, you want a combi drill: see our Bosch GSB 18V-55 review and DeWalt DCD796 review, and if you are still deciding on power source, cordless or corded.
Strengths and weak points
What holds up
- Removable battery on the IXO 8, so the tool outlives its cell.
- About 190 screws per charge — Bosch's claim, matched by Galaxus's count on the IXO 7.
- Light and small enough to live in a kitchen drawer: 0.35 kg.
- The 360° LED ring is genuinely useful inside cupboards.
- Rated 4.5/5 by 31 Screwfix buyers and 5/5 by Parkers (both IXO 7).
- A sensible gift at £40 that the recipient will actually use.
What people complain about
- No built-in torque adjustment — you need the £16.50 adapter for delicate work.
- Struggles in hardwood beyond 5 × 50 mm screws without a pilot hole.
- No variable-speed trigger, a step back from the IXO 6 that Parkers noticed.
- Bits are awkward to remove from the holder (Parkers, IXO 7).
- Adapters are sold separately, and the extras quickly cost as much as the tool.
- No UK buyer reviews of the IXO 8 yet.
Who it actually suits
Buy it if you are building flat-pack, putting up curtain brackets into plugs, changing battery covers on toys, or buying a present for someone who does not own a drill and does not want one. At £40 for the Basic it is one of the more useful gifts in this price band, and the IXO 8's removable battery makes it the version that should last.
Look elsewhere if the person already owns a combi drill with a clutch (it will do most of this, just less handily), or if the jobs involve hardwood, masonry or long screws — that is drill territory. If you only need the occasional screwdriving job done and the price matters most, the IXO 7 at £31.99 is still a good buy while stock lasts.
What we could not check
- Bosch's UK IXO 8 product page. It appeared in search, but returned an error when we opened it. Our IXO 8 figures come from Bosch's press portal, UK retailers and a Dutch retailer's spec sheet, not from Bosch UK directly.
- USB-C. Only Machneuwerkstatt says the IXO 8 charges by USB-C. Every UK listing we read says "USB" without naming the connector, and none lists a cable in the box. Check before you count on a phone charger.
- Guarantee length. Currys states 2 years for the IXO 8; Screwfix states a 3-year guarantee with registration for the IXO 7; Bosch's IXO 7 page mentions 2 years. We could not find Bosch's current UK terms for extending the IXO 8 guarantee through MyBosch registration, so register it and check what you get.
- Torque. 6.5 Nm is Bosch's figure. No source measured it.
- Weight with or without battery. Nobody states which for the IXO 8's 0.35 kg.
- Charge time and speed for the IXO 8. Not published anywhere we looked.
- Bosch's UK RRP for the IXO 8. We found retailer prices only.
- Adapter compatibility. Bosch says the IXO 8 takes all IXO Collection attachments; individual adapter listings name older generations or just "IXO".
- The videos. All three were confirmed by search listing, not by opening them, because YouTube does not load from here. Two show the IXO 7 or an unnamed generation, and the third may only touch on the IXO 8.
- IXO 8 buyer ratings. None with a sample size exists yet in the UK.
Sources last checked 6 October 2026. Prices and stock move fast at gift-buying time — check the listing in front of you before ordering.