I have wanted a new cordless drill for a couple of years now. I didn't have a shortage of them... I had six different Ryobis (three different models), and two Makitas. They all worked, but I had one pet peave: The NiMH batteries self-discharge too quickly. It seemed like I had to put a fresh battery in every day, the batteries would go flat over night. This is an area where lithium batteries shine, they can sit for months.Since this was for computer work, not construction, I wanted one that was light. And one that was fast. The Makita DF030D seemed to be the least expensive that fit the bill. And hey, for not much more, you can get the LCT203W kit - which has an impact driver. It's a work expense, so I went for the combo.
I haven't used the impact driver much, so I'm going to focus on the drill. It's everything that I wanted - light, fast, and reliable. The 0-1300 RPM range is nice and fast, driving the little computer screws in a fraction of a second. With the clutch set on "1", the torque is more than acceptable for this use, but not too much - I have not stripped ANYTHING on that setting.
On the 0-350RPM range, it has plenty of torque for driving "real" screws. But with the small batteries in this, you're not going to drive many of them. Also, it does not come with a traditional chuck, but rather a quick-release "hex chuck". If you're going to do a lot of drilling and already have various bit assortments, that could be a hinderance. But if you're just going to use it with a philips bit (I use a 6" philips bit!), it's just fine.
The light on it isn't terribly useful most of the time... but when it is useful... it's really useful. Before I bought the drill, I didn't really consider that desirable, but there have been a few times when I have been truly thankful for it.
Overall, this is a good, solid, high-quality drill, exactly what you would expect from Makita. And given the battery size, it's a very high-performance drill. More than one of my coworkers has described it as "sexy". If you're looking for something handy and light to carry around, consider this. As long as the "hex chuck" works for you, and you understand the limitations of small batteries, this really is a pleasure to use.
