On the other side of the coin if you’re after Makita’s most powerful combi, then look no further than their 40V XGT range, which includes a combi, you can see that here.

Now like I say I am going to focus mainly on 18V LXT Combi Drills – this is purely due to it being the most sought-after and complex range of Makita Combis. There is of course a small range of lightweight and compact options in the 12V CXT range, which you can view here. If you’re a pro and know all about Body Only and Battery options, then skip on ahead. If not, then I’d like to clear up something that is again quite confusing. The model numbers that Makita produce are generally a 6-digit reference, which signifies the ‘Type’ of tool and the model of that tool. So for their combi drills, they start with ‘DHP’ (Which stands for ‘Drill Hammer Percussion’). Then comes the 3 numbers e.g: DHP481 (481 being the model). Then anything that comes after those 6 digits just signifies the colour or battery option. With ‘Z’ meaning ‘body only’ (no Batteries), and ‘W’ meaning ‘White’ (Special edition colour). You’ll then often see things like RTJ (DHP481RTJ) which signifies that it comes with 2x 5Ah Batteries, Charger and Case).But for now, let’s focus our attention on 18V LXT. At the time of writing this, there are 9 models on the market and I am going to do what I can to break them down for you. A note about model numbers

For this article, we’re going to keep it simple and only concentrate on the base models (the first 6 digits). All of the drills I’m about to mention are available in a variety of kits. You could therefore see model numbers for drills which are all the same drill, but with different colours/options.And clearly with the ultra-fast charging times, you’ll be able to use the Makita DHP453 all day long, making it not only powerful and reliable, but un-put-downable!