Makita has come out with new 18V SubCompact brushless drill and impact driver combo kit, model CX203SYB.
At first glance it looks like it could be an upgrade compared to their existing kit, but there are a couple of things to look out for.
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Most notably, compared to their regular combo kit, Makita has downgraded the batteries, from 2.0Ah to 1.5Ah, and they also downgraded the charger from their regular fast charger to their “standard” charger that typically only appears in value-oriented and promo combo kits.
Spec-wise, there don’t seem to be any noticeable changes between these new models and their predecessors, as their on-paper specs are largely the same.
Makita lists the 1.5Ah battery as discontinued on their website, and as far as I am aware, it lacks the built-in battery fuel gauge of the compact 2.0Ah battery and modern higher capacity batteries.
Makita’s typical $99 seasonal-promo cordless drill and impact driver combo kits still aren’t discounted for Father’s Day (they’ve been holding at $119 while Dewalt and Milwaukee kits are already on sale), and so maybe this combo kit and separate drill and impact driver kits will be Makita’s new promo kits?
Shown here is Makita’s CX200RB 18V Sub-Compact brushless drill and impact driver combo kit.
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At the time of this posting, you can buy it for $219 via Amazon. The new kit, CX203SYB, is $229 at Home Depot.
Makita CX203SYB Key Features & Specs
Cordless Drill (XFD15ZB)
- 1/2″ chuck
- 350 in-lbs max torque
- 0-500/0-1700 RPM
- Weighs 2.9 lbs with battery
- LED worklight
Cordless Impact Driver (XDT18ZB)
- 1/4″ hex chuck
- 1,240 in-lbs max torque
- 0-1,300/0-3,000 RPM
- 0-2,000/0-4,100 IPM
- Weighs 2.6 lbs
- LED worklight
Makita SubCompact Comparisons
Compared to the older/previous subcompact drill (XFD11ZB), the new model (XFD15ZB) is a little heavier (2.9 lbs vs. 2.8 lbs), but the two tools have the same speed range and max torque rating.
The two tools are hard to tell apart, and there don’t look to be any significant differences, good or bad.
Compared to the older/previous subcompact impact driver (XDT15ZB), the new model (XDT18ZB) has the same max torque, the same weight, and slightly improved speeds.
Similar to the drill, if you don’t look closely enough, you’d think these were the same tool.
Price: $229
Buy Now via Home Depot
Compare: Older Combo via Amazon
The older kit is priced at $218.93 via Amazon at the time of this posting. It’s bundled with a rapid charger and 2x 2.0Ah batteries.
New Makita SubCompact Drill Kit XFD15SY1B
Makita has also launched a new SubCompact drill kit, XFD15SY1B.
This kit comes bundled with (1) 1.5Ah battery and a “standard” charger.
One think I never liked about Makita’s 18V SubCompact cordless drill was its cramped torque clutch dial, which I found to be clunky to adjust. It doesn’t look like this has been improved in the new model. If this is your primary drill, I’m sure you’ll get used to the mechanics and quickly adapt your muscle-memory.
Price: $159
Buy Now via Home Depot
Compare: Older Kit via Amazon
New Makita SubCompact Impact Kit XDT18SY1B
The new Makita Subcompact impact driver kit, XDT18SY1B, is also bundled with (1) 1.5Ah battery and “standard” charger.
Price: $159
Buy Now via Home Depot
Compare: Older Kit via Amazon
Discussion
Why Makita is bundling these Subcompact brushless tool kits with 1.5Ah capacity batteries? Makita USA lists these batteries as discontinued, and I don’t believe they were ever upgraded with built-in battery fuel gauges. You can’t see the back of the batteries in any of the product images, and so I assume there’s no fuel gauge or they’d show it.
Personally, I find this very disappointing, and not just because of the capacity downgrade and likely absence of a state of charge indicator. Makita seems to have avoided playing marketing games with the battery selection in their promo-priced cordless kits, and so 1.5Ah batteries in premium brushless tool kits seems very uncharacteristic for the brand.
I suppose with lower capacity batteries, users won’t notice or mind as much that the charger isn’t Makita’s typical 18V rapid charger. But the charger selection, like the 1.5Ah batteries, is usually a cost-cutting measure, and one I wouldn’t have expected here.
From what I can tell, the new Subcompact tools aren’t much different from their preceding models, except for the impact which has slightly improved speed specs.
Will these new models replace existing SKUs, or be sold alongside them?
With few apparent differences, why buy these new models over their predecessors?
Gordon
Both the new models seem to have improved chucks. The impact has a dual ball bearing chuck similar to the one found on the XDT16. The Drill has a “metal jampot” like the higher end drills. That should prevent the breakage at the rear of the chuck that a few people had.
The downgrade in batteries and charger is a bit of a kick in the teeth. I can’t believe they would remove the battery gauge on the tool and the battery. But they’re also going to great lengths to hide the back of the battery. Personally I don’t care too much about the charger because I have a few dual rapid chargers.
I certainly don’t like how HD just updated the old listing with the new part number and photos, but left the 445 reviews. That’s pretty shitty of them, whether that is HD or Makita making that decision.
XRH07
they started reintroducing the previously disced 1.5 Ah packs and the slow charger into certain kits almost 2 years ago. I bought a Gen 1 Subcompact drill/driver kit with a circular saw and flashlight and that shipped with 1.5s and a slow charger. Their $99 drill/impact driver kits @ Home Depot were also downgraded to slow chargers for the first time in 2019 iirc.
As for the 1.5 that has been considered “discontinued” since like 2016-2017, around the time they upgraded the 2.0 Ah battery to have a battery gauge. They just never got around to changing the website when they started bringing the 1.5 back I guess.
And it’s likely a cost cutting measure to recoup their margins due to tariffs. These downgrades allow them to keep the base MSRP roughly the same as the previous kits they replace. All these changes did start to appear right as the power tool tariffs loomed, so it’s probably the best guess you’re going to get.
Lava
The impacts have slightly different body contours, but the drills are more markedly different with the new versions showing four screws/bolts just behind the clutch ring and what appears to be a metal housing of the gear box. This is showing a construction more similar to their larger drills – a significant change from the original, and I am surprised you did not pick up on it even after positioning the two photos directly side by side.
Battery downgrades suck, as do slower chargers, yet seems strange that Makita is developing new versions of 18v sub compact tools and reviving discontinued small battery sizes for a platform that some pundits believe is on the way out due to 40v tools. Very strange, unless of course the pundits are wrong – then it makes perfect sense. Expect the pundits to be confused.
Stuart
I can see the difference in case construction, but the implications are unknown. What’s the reasoning behind it – to save money on assembly/construction, or improve things in some way? I’d consider it a trivial difference until its context or its significance comes to light.
It’s best to look at these new offerings solely through an 18V lens, ignoring potential XGT influences or contexts completely.
What’s interesting is that the new subcompact polisher is bundled with a single 2.0Ah battery and regular rapid charger – https://toolguyd.com/makita-cordless-polishers/ .
Going with 1.5Ah batteries and the slower charger doesn’t fit Makita’s or other brands’ patterns. Pro brands typically don’t bundle main line brushless tools with 1.5Ah batteries, they typically only do that with budget/entry-priced models or older brushed motor models and SKUs.
For instance, Milwaukee’s M18 compact brushless drill and impact driver promo kits are bundled with a single 2.0Ah battery. Even Bosch has went with a single 2.0Ah battery instead of 2x 1.5Ah batteries with their entry-priced drill kit – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085DTSG6F/?tag=toolguyd-20 – and their impact driver kit – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SHVK783/?tag=toolguyd-20 .
It’s usually 2x 1.3Ah or 1.5Ah batteries, or 1x 2.0Ah compact battery (or 1x 3.0Ah for Makita non-subcompact single-battery promo kits). Dewalt once paired their promo hammer drill kit with a single compact 3.0Ah battery, but that was a one-season-only deal.
I don’t recall seeing Makita’s subcompact tools being paired with 1.5Ah batteries before. This just seems like an unusual direction for them, given how consistent they’ve been with the subcompact kit configurations in the past.
If the downgraded battery and charger resulted from cost-saving measures, were similar decisions factored into the new models’ designs and construction? Or are the downgraded kit components intended to offset higher tool production costs so that similar pricing could be maintained compared to preceding models?
Perry
Stuart, I have to wonder if makita isn’t downgrading the lxt line into a lower-tier now that the xgt is their big push for pros. It would make sense of why they continue to say they’re still going to be making new lxt tools alongside the new lineup
MM
I’ve seen other companies start packaging smaller batteries with their kits. I think they’re doing it simply to complete on price. A little while ago I was at lowes picking up a ballast for a lighting fixture. They had a big display of Dewalt kits with 1.3 amp batteries, something I haven’t come across before.
I think Makita is pushing XGT for for those tools which use a lot of power so obviously it’s going to appeal to pros but the thing is that the LXT line has a huge number of specialty tools that really don’t make sense to produce in the XGT format. Things like their detail belt sander, caulking dispensers, lasers, grease guns, surface scanner, etc. simply don’t make sense to make in the XGT format, so I think LXT will be here for a long time before they’ve gotten all the low hanging fruit out of the way and start making XGT versions of those low-power-demand tools, assuming they ever do.
lava
“the LXT line has a huge number of specialty tools that really don’t make sense to produce in the XGT format.”
YES. This is so obvious. Suggesting that LXT will be discontinued (therefor don’t buy that battery line anymore) seems like bad advice. If I didn’t know better i’d think some were just lashing out at Makita because they wouldn’t share their plans…
Stuart
Those 1.3Ah kits are nothing new, that’s been a seasonal strategy for Dewalt’s entry-priced kits for a few years now.
But as far as I’ve seen, Makita has competed against these offerings with 1x 3Ah drill and impact kits, or special buy combo kits.
A 3Ah battery doesn’t make sense with subcompact tools, which is why Makita always bundled them with 2Ah batteries.
Stuart
It’s possible, but is it likely?
Right now, there’s no pattern or trend.
John
Do the subcompacts take 18v 3or 5 amp batteries?
Noah
Bummer about the battery and charger. I like my subcompact drill, but not enough to upgrade to this. The impact driver is ok. My top of the line xdt16 is much more powerful and shorter (but wider). I’m confused why the charger isn’t at least a smaller size like other brands’. I thought the rapid charger was large for the fan that speeds up cooling and charging time. Presumably this one doesn’t have that fan and the size should be reduced?
Jared
If this ends up as a special buy I’ll take this back – but this looks like a lot of money for unimpressive specs.
The M12 Fuel impact driver and hammer drill combo is pretty much the same price at Home Depot. I’d much rather have that. More compact and specs as-good or better.
Serendipity
I’ve had the m12 fuel kit, hammer drill, an impact driver. I also have the Makita sub compact kit. The impact driver isn’t nearly as powerful or comfortable to use, and the size difference is negligible. The m12 fuel hammer drill is a joke. Terrible trigger, no power. The only thing the m12 impact has is a quick insert bit.
Corey Moore
Off the cuff, looks like some reinforced construction measures and a downgrade on batteries to offset cost. Who knows. I did see a few of those drills snapped, ditching a single piece molded plastic housing seems like a good idea to fix that.
Rob
The primary market for these is the Home Depot end cap. Hence the price reduced battery packs. The last I heard about the new drill is that it’s slightly smaller. I do not understand the subcompact impact one bit. Just buy the XDT16/TD171 or it’s forthcoming replacement (TD172). The subcompact drills (despite their horrible clutch ring placement) are really impressive for their size to power ratio (and rock bottom price). I get a lot of use out of them. I originally imported the DDF083 (ball dent bit chuck) variant and then grabbed the American “subcompact” drill driver afterwards because it was on clearance for $40. Build quality is not anything to write home about but they do the trick.
ZC
You’ve completely neglected to mention that the new one comes with a Rohm chuck, instead of Makitas in-house chuck that I assume is some rebranded no name. This is a massive improvement. I use my xfd11zb every work day, and the chuck started to degrade quickly: loosening under load, slipping bits, and now a severe wobble in the whole chuck assembly regardless how much I tighten the chuck screw. To be fair I have been extremely rough on it and it has gone far beyond what could be reasonably expected of it, but the chuck being bad is pretty much the most debilitating degradation.
I was debating whether to buy a replacement chuck or a new drill, but when I saw in Home Depot that it was a real chuck I immediately made up my mind. As someone who already has a full suite of Makita batteries, this combo is actually perfect for me since now I can retire my current subcompact to home and have that little battery and not al charger for the random home improvement I do. I know that I am a fringe case, but really I don’t think most people looking into this drill are buying into a Makita system for this tool. This is for the people that want to expand their existing system.
I’ve also noticed that Makita appears to not be selling the xfd15zb tool only. It’s not listed on the website, and the only listing I found for it was at Tractor Supply Co. which offered it to me for $109, very close to the current HD prices. I suspect once they sell through their current stock of xfd11zb kits and singlets, they will be offering this in more and better equiped kits. They just can’t right now because it would be tantamount to admitting the xfd11zb wasn’t as good as it could be.
Stuart
I haven’t see any mention of this in any official product descriptions, and Makita USA also never provided such details.
Also, just because it’s a Rohm chuck, that doesn’t automatically mean it’s good – their plastic chucks are pretty cheap.
The subcompact tools held appeal since the size category was somewhat exclusive to Makita for a while, and so some users did buy into the system with or for these tools. Now, subcompact seems to be associated with entry-level, which could be why Makita downgraded the included battery capacity to 1.5Ah.
It’s possible that they went with a new chuck for name-brand appeal, and there’s the possibility it’s a downgrade over their own chucks. Or, the downgraded battery could allow for an improved plastic chuck. But, it doesn’t leave me with much optimism that Makita USA bundled these new tools with a lower capacity battery that they also list as discontinued.
Rog
My local HD has the CX200RB set on markdown for $160 so I thought “why not” since I’ve been wanting to try some of Makitas other tools. Got to the register and it rang up $110!
At that price I’m extremely happy with the purchase, love the compact size and light weight. Will be perfect for the garage and working around the house.
Matthew
Something interesting may be going on with the CX203SYB. It’s currently reduced to $169.00. I just purchased the CX203SYB at Home Depot. I was initially a little disappointed that it would come with 1.5 Ah batteries. However, the kit came with two 2.0 Ah batteries (with charge status buttons).
I was pretty happy for the unexpected upgrade. The charger was not the upgraded fast charger, which wasn’t too much of an issue because I already have one. Very pleased with the new kit.
Lee
The Makita website lists the CX203SYB as discontinued and lists the CT225SYX as the replacement model. The CT225SYX doesn’t seem to be a close replacement to the CX203SYB as it is a “Compact” not a Subcompact. The CT225SYX is also NOT “Brushless”.
Some Home Depot stores may still have stock of the CX203SYB, but the Holiday price of $169 has been increased back to the pre-Holiday price of $229. My HD store did not have stock.
I was able to purchase the driver-drill portion of the CX203SYB known as the XFD15SYB1 for the Holiday price of $99.00, regular price $159.00. HD honored the Holiday price because they had not removed the Holiday pricing display sign even though the Holiday pricing has expired. While the CX203SYB may be an overall better deal, I only really needed the XFD15SYB1 Subcompact Driver-Drill.
cleen
Just got the current generation combo kit, driver-drill with impact driver, for $169 plus tax at HD. (Kit’s model no. is CX203SYB.)
I really wanted the older set though because I don’t like the silver trim in the middle of the newer drill, plus as you’ve all mentioned, the 1.5 Ah batteries plus non-fast charging cost-cutting B.S., but obviously impossible to get the previous generation kit in 2022.
Good deal though right?…
Stuart
Seems like a decent deal.
Chris
The 1.5ah in your kit are fast charging, just not advertised as such. About 15 min to fully- charged.
Chris
If want the 2ah batteries, you need to order CX205RB.
https://www.makitatools.com/products/details/CX205RB
Unfortunately, it costs a $40-50 more than the current $169 deal at the big Orange box store.
But worth it, IMO.
You’ll get the newest tools with the 2ah
“gauge” batteries and the better “C” charger with fan.
The batteries without the gauge are of no interest to me.