Thanks - that's a really good review and confirms my choice. Thanks to all the others on here who helped as well.
Just watch your impact joules,I had a bosch and it was brilliant,my mate bought one he thought was the same,it was terrible,only had 1.2 joules impact,absolutely useless.A lot of people look at the wattage first,wrong! a drill with 3 joules and an 800watt motor will outperform a drill with 1.2 joules and a 1000 watt motor every time on masonry.
Don't bother with that Bosch,just looked at the spec and it's low on the joules,1.7 I think,get something bigger it will serve you better,this is 2.7 for an extra tenner. http://www.screwfix.com/p/hitachi-dh24px-j1-2kg-sds-plus-hammer-drill-230v/86484
Bosch GBH 2-26 DRE can be found for £100 or less,& it has 2.7 Joules. https://www.bosch-professional.com/gb/en/gbh-2-26-dre-8733-ocs-p/ Here we go £95 & free delivery. https://www.howetools.co.uk/bosch-gbh-2-26-dre-240v-sds-hammer?utm_source=google_shopping
I had the 2-24DFR brilliant bit of kit,the chucks were interchangeable,no adaptor,one snapped off and the other snapped on.See what I mean about the joules though? They all do it,make a decent drill then make one almost identical but with aound 1.6 joules,people don't look at that then think all the drills are garbage.
TBH only doing lightweight DIY with it so reckon the bosch would be ok,,,, That Hitachi does look good though. Anyone know how short the power cable is? Had that with a previous hammer drill and it really pi**ed me off.!
Th they're normally either 2 or 3 mtrs,tbh if I were you I'd go for the Hitachi mate,the Bosch with it's 1.6 maybe ok on soft brick but get hard brick or concrete and you're gonna feel it.I've been drilling holes for over 30 years and had loads of drills trust me,you'll regret it if you get the Bosch.
2-24DFR a brilliant drill, had mine years, still going & it's still available. Also got it's bigger brother the GBH 4 DFE which also has the interchangable chucks. As to extensions, I just cut the plugs off my drills, & fit the blue industrial plugs, & have several extension lead of different lengths, 5mtrs, 10mtrs, & a short 300mm fly lead with 3 pin plug one end other blue socket to use with longer extension reels.
I've had them all over the years,got rid of my sds max last year,just got 2 small makita's now and the bigger HR3000,that I've had for years,plus the big 900 Kango.That and about half a dozen cordless drills,it's frightening,I reckon I must have about 5 grands worth of power tools,mind you i've a nice angle drill,Hilti,even has a clutch on it.
I bought a Makita palm sander a few months back and has only got a 2m lead (measured from body to plug). Not ideal when doing ceilings, came with 3 yr warranty. But don't want to replace the lead yet as may invalidate the warranty.
I made up a 4m flexible lead with a twin rubber socket. This means that I can run my SDS & my little Makita impact driver without swapping plugs.
Never needed to use the warrenty on any of my Bosch tools. So, annoying short leads on power tools should be 4mtrs minimum.
So....went with the Hitachi in the end. So far not very impressed. Drilling 5mm holes for yellow rawl plugs in plaster / brick and its much harder work than it should be. Not sure the hammer function is working properly. Seems to sit for ages not moving when it hits the brick and then will finally jump about all the place and got through like crazy. Tried 2 new drill bits. Gonna pop it back and get a replacement today to see if it's faulty or whether it's just not a great a drill...
Not good then,very surprised, might be unlucky & a faulty a drill, try another, or look at Bosch in earlier posts.
A lot of modern drills won't hammer on plaster for some reason,it's only when they hit the brick that the hammer seems to come in,it's just a case of being ready and having a steady grip.Don't forget to lubricate the chuck regularly using grease not wd40.
Got a replacement from my local branch (after just a bit of attitude from the girl at the counter). It's marginally better, certainly much quieter....except that the chuck isn't true! Not as bad as the two titans but definitely not straight. Neither of the hitachis had sealed cases and the cables look like they had been tied up by jo bloggs rather than at a factory. Makes me wonder if they were customer returns that just made it back to the shelves. Quality assurance said they had received no other complaints about the titan drills (despite the comments in the reviews). I'm gonna live with the current hitachi cos i can't be arsed to drive back again. However, won't buy any more power tools from screwfix. Bit of a shame but it seems the quality when buying in branch is a bit hit and miss....