Most of the vacuums I’ve reviewed here are designed to clean homes but now we’ll sidetrack a bit. We’ll talk about the Metropolitan Vac ‘N’ Blo vacuum that car enthusiasts have been raving about.
This compact vacuum cleaner is designed specifically to clean every nook and cranny of your automobile.
If you’re looking for great options to vacuum your vehicle then please check out our car vacuum guide.
It has all the attachments you need to clean vents, carpet, tight areas in between seats, the dashboard and everything in between.
Another function that this product has is the blower function that is especially useful after you do an engine detail.
Unlike other compact vacuums that have relatively weak motors, this little beast packs in a lot of punch. It has a 4 peak horsepower motor under the hood so to speak.
If you buy this in Amazon it will cost around $210 which is a lot of dough for a car vacuum.
Let’s investigate whether or not the features of this automotive vacuum justifies the price that the manufacturer is asking.
A quick look at the features
- Utilizes a 4 horsepower motor (take note this is peak power)
- Vacuum is made from steel (attachments are made from plastic)
- Has both vacuum and blower functionality
- Comes with 13 attachments that will help you clean every nook and cranny of your car
- Made in the USA
- Has 12” power cord
- This is a bagged vacuum
- Backed up with a 1-year warranty
Pros
- A purpose-built vacuum for car enthusiasts
- Strong suction
- Lots of accessories will help you clean your car’s interior and blow off water from the engine bay after a detail session
- You can also use this in and around your workshop
- Long hose and interchangeable tools improve range and versatility
Cons
- Expensive for a car vacuum
- Short power cord – you will need an extension cord if you don’t have a garage
- No attachments for cleaning your home’s floor
- You have to make sure you have spare bags (these bags cost around $1 per bag in Amazon)
- Plastic attachments will break over time (does not use the best plastics)
- No wheels (you’ll have to purchase a separate dolly for around $30)
What to expect from this compact automotive cleaner
In the car detailing world, the Metropolitan Vac ‘N’ Blo is the holy grail of car vacuums because of its compact design, powerful suction and it has a lot of attachments that can clean every nook and cranny of your car.
Some even have used this in their mobile detailing business to help them vacuum their client’s vehicles.
The vacuum I’m featuring here comes with the VNB-73 vacuum motor that produces 4-hp of power.
Out of the box you will get one 6 foot flexible hose, a couple of 20″ extension wands, a pik-all nozzle, crevice tool, dusting brush, blower nozzle, inflator adapter, 4 piece micro cleaning kit and a shoulder strap.
Here’s a look at the 4 piece micro cleaning kit…
As you can see, it comes with everything you’ll need to clean almost everything inside your vehicle. However it does not come with an attachment that has a motorized brush for cleaning pet hair off upholstery and carpet flooring.
While the main vacuum base is light, it does not come with any wheels but it has a shoulder strap.
The downside of using the shoulder strap is when the steel casing heats up, you might hurt yourself because of the heat generated by the motor.
Make no mistake that this product is not only for automobiles but you can also use this inside your home for cleaning nooks and crannies.
Bare Floor Performance
This vacuum does not have the tool that will help you clean large area of bare floor. What is has are spot cleaning tools for tidying up small areas at a time.
You can attach the small dusting brush to the extension wand and flexible hose so you won’t need to kneel down and clean spot areas on your tile or hardwood surface.
If you want to double this as your bare floor cleaner, you’ll have to purchase the full sized automotive detail vacuum set for over $310 or this one for around $350. Those two variants come with a cleaning head with a stiff brush which makes it a good option for surfaces like tile. But it may scratch more delicate surfaces like hardwood.
Carpet Performance
This vacuum will not deep clean carpet because it does not have any tool for it. Again, this will be best used as a spot surface cleaner.
Here’s how it will perform inside a car’s carpet flooring using the crevice tool…
If you want more coverage, you can use the brush tool or the pik-all nozzle that also doubles as an upholstery tool.
Check out how the Vac ‘N’ Blo deals with sand again with the pic-all tool…
Upholstery Performance
For cleaning surface dirt on car upholstery this vacuum is well equipped for the job. The main tool you will use here is the pik-all tool, brush and crevice tool.
Out of the box, it does not come with any attachment that has a motorized brush to agitate embedded dirt, you will have to buy this separately.
But for most of your upholstery cleaning needs, the pik-all tool will be up to the task.
Pet Hair Removal
If you travel a lot with your pet dog or cat, this particular vacuum won’t be able to efficiently clean embedded pet hair on the carpet flooring or fabric upholstery. You will need to again purchase a separate tool to do this for around $15.
Attachments and Accessories
This model comes with 13 attachments – check out the photo below.
Cord Length
Power cord is around 12 feet long when you compare it to other canister vacuums, it is pretty short. You will need a good extension cord if you don’t have a garage.
Filter Clean up
This machine does not come with any filter, it has a bag that you will need to replace when it is full. These bags will cost around $5++ for a pack of 5 so that’s around a dollar a bag. Make sure to have backup bags just in case you need to replace it.
Warranty
This only comes with a one year warranty. If anything breaks during that period, the manufacturer will replace any part free of charge.
Product Specifications
| Model | VNB-83BA |
| Attachments | 6 foot flexible hose 2 - 20" extension wands pik-all nozzle Crevice tool Dusting brush Blower nozzle Inflator adapter Micro cleaning kit Shoulder strap |
| Adjustable handle height |  |
| Cord Length | 12 feet |
| Auto Cord Rewind | |
| Motorized brush | |
| Brush on/off switch | |
| Swivel | |
| Headlight | |
| Filter clogged indicator | |
| Full bin indicator | |
| Bagless | * This is a bagged vacuum |
| Multi-surface |  |
| Self propelled | |
| Net weight | 17 pounds |
| Shipping weight | 12.7 pounds |
| Hose length | N/A |
| Cleaning Path | 12" |
| Overall length | 17" |
| Dirt capacity | N/A |
| Filter type | No filter (this is a bagged vacuum) |
| Power | (4.0 peak HP) 1,350 Watts |
| Voltage | 120 volts |
| Manufactured in | USA |
| Warranty | 1 year |
Customer Reviews
Overall this vacuum has gotten a lot of high marks in Amazon because it simply works as a car vacuum. All the attachments that come along with it will help you clean every nook and cranny of your car.
From the dusting brush all the way down to the micro-detailing brush, all these tools are made to clean car interiors.
Another overlooked function is the blower function that blows warm air.
Not only does this help dry up the engine bay after a detailing session, it also helps in blowing excess air off your vehicle after washing it.
Car enthusiasts whole love to DIY will love to have this tool in their arsenal. Car detailing sites like Autogeek and Chemical guys also sell this product – as a testament to its overall effectiveness.
But this product is not perfect, there are some quirks you should know before buying one.
Short warranty
First, this machine despite being close to $200 only comes with a one year warranty – a little too short for me.
Second, the 6 foot hose is a little bit short. Some consumers said that they would prefer something with a 12 foot hose and not the 24 hose that is sold separately.
Third, the body of this does not have a wheel but you can buy the caddy separately for an extra $25. Other variants come with a caddy but those are more expensive.
Fourth, the plastic tools that come with this is prone to breaking overtime.
The weakest link would be the end of the hose where the flexible hose and plastic coupler that hold the attachments meet.
You’ll notice in the one of the videos I will share that it has duct tape because the it has broken off.
Lastly the power cord is only 12 feet only – a little bit too short for something that you will use outdoors.
Here are some video reviews…
From Jimbo Balaam (a professional detailer)…
David Sterm from Metrovac shows you how this vacuum works in Autogeek’s video…
The suction is impressive to be honest and a lot of automotive enthusiasts really love how this vacuum works.
Also the lack of competition is another factor why I think their warranty is still at one year.
I don’t see any manufacturer just yet that has stepped up the plate to challenge MetroVac.
Where can I buy this?
You can buy this car vacuum from Amazon for less than $215. And it’s eligible for Amazon’s 2-day free shipping if you join Prime. Other variants are also available if you need more power or functionality.
If you buy this direct from metrovacworld.com, it would more than it would in Amazon and it does not come with the 2-day free shipping.
To wrap up
This vacuum would be great for the car enthusiast who likes to DIY their car cleaning activities.
Having someone do an interior detail on your vehicle would easily cost a few hundred dollars. The Vac ‘N’ Blo will allow you to keep your car’s interior in tip top shape.
It can also double as a canister vacuum that you can use to clean upholstery and other hard to reach areas inside your home.
Versatile machine
While the packaging and accessories are great, I am concerned with the quality of materials used – particularly the hose and accessories.
If you’re a heavy user, these plastics will break. And considering you’re paying almost $200 for this – I hope that metrovac will improve on this.
Another concern for me is the short power cord, at only 12” feet I feet that it’s too short for a canister vacuum.
Overall this product is a very good compact vacuum that car owners can use to vacuum their vehicles every weekend.
Professional detailers also have used this in their mobile detailing business. But there is some concern with the durability of the plastics – nothing a good old duct tape couldn’t fix.
