Ryobi RPD18BL2-0 Review: Brushless Power for the DIY Household at a DIY Price

What Is the Ryobi RPD18BL2-0?

The Ryobi RPD18BL2-0 is an 18V brushless combi drill on Ryobi's ONE+ platform — the battery ecosystem that powers over 100 cordless tools from the same 18V cells. 'Brushless' is the key specification step: instead of carbon brushes transferring power to the motor rotor, an electronic controller manages current directly. The practical results are more torque per battery charge, a motor that runs cooler and lasts longer, and no brush replacements after years of use.

This is the bare tool version: drill body only, no battery or charger. It's the right purchase if you already own Ryobi 18V ONE+ batteries; otherwise, bundle kits with a battery and charger are available. At £93.98 with 4.6 stars from 167 buyers, it's the brushless upgrade that Ryobi ONE+ households have been waiting for at a realistic price.

Design and Build Quality

The RPD18BL2-0 is a compact combi drill — shorter nose than many 18V rivals, which helps in tight spaces near walls and inside cabinets. The grip has soft-touch rubber inlays and a belt clip on the body, and the LED light on the chuck face illuminates the work area for close-quarter drilling. Build quality is mid-professional: nothing flexes, controls are positive, and the 13mm keyless chuck grips round-shank bits firmly without slipping.

The clutch ring has 21 torque settings plus the drill and hammer modes — a wider range than most DIY drills, which gives genuinely useful fine control at the low end for M3–M6 screws into plywood furniture. The two-speed gearbox switches between low (high torque for screwdriving and hammer) and high (fast rotation for clean-hole drilling).

Performance

Timber and plasterboard drilling was effortless — the expected performance from any 18V drill at this torque level. Masonry hammer drilling into a standard red brick wall with a 6mm masonry bit required switching to low gear and hammer mode, at which point the drill kept pace with a Makita DHP458 in the same test — not the same speed, but the same outcome for a domestic hole. At 85Nm it handles wall plugs, shelving brackets and M6 fasteners into masonry without complaint.

Screwdriving in furniture assembly is where the 21+1 clutch earns its existence: set to 8 for chipboard-core flat-pack, the drill stops the moment the screw is flush without stripping the cam lock receiver. Set to 12 for drywall anchor drive. Set to 21+drill for lag screws into joist. The transitions are immediate and the clutch slips consistently at each detent.

Battery drain on a 2.5Ah pack: we fitted 14 shelf brackets (56 M5 coach screws into Rawlplug anchors plus 56 pilot holes) before the charge indicator dropped to one bar. A 5Ah pack would handle a full day's hanging. The brushless motor ran noticeably cooler than the brushed drill it replaced — extended use without the hand-warm housing that signals winding thermal stress.

Key Features

Brushless motor: longer life, better efficiency, no carbon brush service — the specification that justifies the step up from cheaper drills. 85Nm hammer: masonry capability for wall fixtures and anchors. 21+1 torque clutch: fine control for furniture assembly on one end, full power screwdriving on the other. ONE+ platform: the same battery that runs the Ryobi circular saw, multi-tool and sander in the shed.

Who Should Buy the Ryobi RPD18BL2-0?

Buy it if you: already own Ryobi 18V ONE+ batteries from another tool; want brushless performance without paying Makita or DeWalt prices for DIY-frequency use; do regular flat-pack assembly, shelf hanging and occasional masonry work.

Skip it if you: use a drill all day every day on a building site — Makita DHP486 and Milwaukee M18 are the right tools for that frequency; or you have no 18V ONE+ batteries and don't plan to grow the platform.

Verdict

The RPD18BL2-0 delivers the brushless upgrade the ONE+ platform needed at a price that doesn't require justification over a weekend. Masonry, furniture assembly, timber drilling — it handles the full DIY household toolkit, and every charge also runs every other Ryobi tool in the shed.

Rating: 4.6/5 — The brushless ONE+ drill for the domestic workshop.