New Heavy Duty Craftsman C3 XCP Cordless Drill Driver

Craftsman has come out with a new heavy duty C3 19.2V cordless drill driver that provides a high level of performance and durability at a great price. The new drill/driver is also the first C3 kit to feature Craftsman’s new XCP li-ion battery technology.

After we previewed Craftsman’s new 20V modular Bolt-On power tools, a couple of people wrote in to ask what about Craftsman’s C3 line? Don’t fret, the C3 and Bolt-On cordless products are aimed at different user types and both lines will co-exist in parallel.

Here’s a quick sneak peek at Craftsman’s newest C3 heavy duty drill/driver. The new drill looks to be built with the same grip and ergonomics of the C3 3/8″ compact impact driver that was released last year. The compact impact feels great in-hand, and so we expect nothing less from the new drill.

Features and Specs

• 1/2-inch single-sleeve all-metal chuck
• 465 in-lbs max torque
• 2-speeds: 0-340/0-1600 RPM
• 24-position clutch
• built-in LED worklight
• textured overmold grip
• kit includes 1x compact XCP battery

MSRP: $140

Buy Now(via Sears)

First Impression

We’re actually quite interested in the new heavy duty drill/driver. It looks to deliver high enough torque to conquer even the most demanding DIY applications. If you need more than  465 in-lbs in a cordless drill/driver, then you’d best double your budget and look at professional brands.

The drill/driver kit is nicely priced with a street price of $125 or so. Perhaps later on there will be a drill/driver and impact driver combo kit that comes with two XCP batteries for $200. If we had to guess, we’d say the next XCP-featuring C3 kit to come out will be a compact and lightweight impact driver, in which case a combo kit would make perfect sense.

Craftsman has also come out with a new line of value-priced lithium-ion battery packs, as well as new C3 drill and driver kits paired up with the new tech. Seems like there’s something for everybody. Now all we need is a new line of Craftsman Professional cordless tools.