Quick Answer: The Roomba Plus 405 Combo ($799.99, model G185020) brings LiDAR navigation and a self-washing AutoWash dock to iRobot’s mid-tier lineup — but Vacuum Wars, which has independently tested 200+ robot vacuums, measured it at 1.85/5 and ranked it 70th overall, titling the review “Great Hopes, OK Results.” It logged the lowest flattened pet-hair score the site has recorded (50%), below-average deep-carpet pickup (58% vs. a 75% average), and a mop that leaves roughly 5x more water behind than the field average. If you want an iRobot at this price, the older Roomba Combo 10 Max cleans meaningfully better; if you want this generation’s LiDAR without the pet-hair regression, budget up for the Roomba Max 705.
iRobot needed this launch to work. After ceding navigation to Roborock and Dreame for years, the Roomba Plus 405 arrived with the fix — internal LiDAR, a dock that washes its own mop pads, four suction levels. Then an independent lab actually ran it, and the numbers told a rougher story than the spec sheet.
Vacuum Wars summed it up in their own headline: “Great Hopes, OK Results.” That’s generous. Read past the title and the review calls the outcome “a letdown” and “a pretty big failure” for a flagship-adjacent refresh — not because the hardware is broken, but because the cleaning performance underneath the new sensor suite tested worse than the models it replaced.
Roomba Plus 405 by the numbers
- 1.85/5, ranked 70th of 200+ robots tested by Vacuum Wars — its independent scoring, not a marketing claim.
- 50% flattened pet-hair pickup — described by Vacuum Wars as “the lowest score we’ve seen yet,” against a 66% category average.
- 58% deep-carpet debris pickup, versus a 75% average and the Roomba Combo 10 Max’s own measured 85%.
- 5.20g of water left behind after mopping, against a 1.01g average — roughly 5x wetter than typical, despite a strong 145 stain-removal score (93 average).
- 0.13 kPa suction / 10 CFM airflow measured directly by Vacuum Wars, against a 200+ robot average of 0.83 kPa / 16 CFM. iRobot itself publishes no Pa figure, advertising “70x” the 2013 Roomba 600 series instead.
- $799.99 list price (model G185020), with iRobot promotions discounting it up to $400 at various points in 2026.
- 0.76 m²/min navigation — a new Roomba record per Vacuum Wars, but only good for 30th place overall.
Specs at a glance
| Spec | Roomba Plus 405 Combo |
|---|---|
| Model number | G185020 |
| List price | $799.99 |
| Navigation | ClearView LiDAR, up to 4 saved maps |
| Suction (measured, Vacuum Wars) | 0.13 kPa / 10 CFM airflow (below 200+ robot average) |
| Deep-carpet pickup (measured) | 58% (average 75%) |
| Flattened pet-hair pickup (measured) | 50% — lowest Vacuum Wars has recorded |
| Mopping | DualClean spinning pads, 200 RPM, SmartScrub, auto pad-lift on carpet |
| Water left after mop (measured) | 5.20g (average 1.01g) |
| Dock | AutoWash — 75-day auto-empty, 4-week pad wash/dry |
| Dock noise (auto-empty, measured) | 87.8 dBA |
| Robot dimensions | 14.1 × 13.8 × 4.2 in · 9.06 lbs |
| Battery | 120 min (iRobot spec) |
| Trial | 60-day home trial via iRobot |
| Vacuum Wars overall | 1.85/5, ranked 70th of 200+ tested |
Roomba Plus 405 Combo + AutoWash Dock
- ClearView LiDAR maps ~1,000 sq ft in 9 minutes and saves up to 4 home maps.
- AutoWash dock self-empties for 75 days and washes/dries mop pads for 4 weeks hands-off.
- Strong stain-lifting mop score, but independently measured pet-hair and carpet pickup trail the field.
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What “great hopes” actually meant
iRobot’s pitch for the Plus 405 is a familiar one: LiDAR navigation to finally match the competition, four suction levels, and an AutoWash dock that empties debris and launders its own mop pads without you touching either. On paper it reads like the company closing the navigation gap it’s been criticized for since Roborock and Dreame shipped LiDAR years earlier.
Vacuum Wars tests every robot on the same rig — the same debris types, the same carpet depths, the same pet-hair mats — which is what makes its numbers comparable across 200+ models instead of a one-off impression. Against that consistent bar, the Plus 405 scored 1.85 out of 5 and landed at 70th place. The review’s own title calls the outcome “great hopes, OK results”; the body of the review is more blunt, calling it “a letdown” and “a pretty big failure” for a robot this new.
Where it actually falls short: cleaning, not navigation
The LiDAR works. iRobot states the Plus 405 maps roughly 1,000 sq ft in about 9 minutes and keeps up to 4 maps for multi-level homes, and Vacuum Wars measured its real navigation efficiency at 0.76 m²/min — a new high for a Roomba, though only good enough for 30th overall against non-Roomba flagships.
The problem is what the LiDAR is driving. On Vacuum Wars’ suction rig, the Plus 405 measured 0.13 kPa and 10 CFM of airflow, both below the 200+ robot averages of 0.83 kPa and 16 CFM — iRobot’s own “70x the 600 series” claim being a marketing comparison to over a decade-old hardware, not a number you can cross-check. That weak baseline shows up directly in the pickup tests: 58% deep-carpet debris pickup against a 75% average, and — the number that stands out — 50% flattened pet-hair pickup, which Vacuum Wars flagged as the lowest score the site has recorded. For a robot going up against households that bought a Roomba specifically for pet hair, that’s the number that matters most.
Set beside the Roomba Combo 10 Max it’s meant to improve on, the regression is stark: the Combo 10 Max measured 85% deep-carpet pickup and previously earned a perfect pet-hair score in the same test suite. iRobot’s newer, LiDAR-equipped robot cleans measurably worse than the older, camera-only one it’s positioned to replace. If pet hair is the reason you’re shopping, our best robot vacuum for pet hair guide points to stronger options.
Mopping: strong on stains, weak on drying
This is the one area where the Plus 405 tests well — and then undercuts itself. The DualClean spinning mop pads run at 200 RPM with SmartScrub, and Vacuum Wars scored dried-on stain removal at 145, well ahead of the 93 average and even the MOVA P10 Ultra’s 73.
But the same test measured 5.20 grams of water left on the floor after mopping, against a 1.01g average — roughly five times wetter than typical. Strong scrubbing that leaves the floor visibly damp is exactly the combination Vacuum Wars flagged as making the mop “unsuitable for actual floor maintenance” despite the good stain score. Mop pads automatically lift off carpet when sensed, so the wetness issue is a hard-floor problem specifically. For mopping systems that tested cleaner overall, see our best robot mop rankings.
Shop Plus 405 mop pads & dock bags on Amazon →
What we don’t like
- Lowest pet-hair score Vacuum Wars has recorded. 50% flattened pet-hair pickup, against a 66% category average.
- Below-average deep-carpet pickup. 58% versus 75% average, and well behind the Combo 10 Max’s 85%.
- Mop leaves the floor wet. 5.20g of residual water versus a 1.01g average, despite a strong stain-removal score.
- No dedicated obstacle-avoidance sensor array, per Vacuum Wars — a notable omission at this price in 2026.
- “Consistently buggy” app, per the same review.
- Loud auto-empty. 87.8 dBA measured during dock emptying.
- No published suction spec. “70x the 600 series” is a marketing ratio, not a number that lets you compare against competitors.
How it compares
Inside iRobot’s own 2026 lineup, the Roomba Max 705 is the closer comparison than it first looks — same generation, same core weakness pattern of strong navigation and mopping hardware paired with disappointing raw pickup. The Max 705 Combo lists $500 higher ($1,299.99 vs. $799.99) and reviews.org measured it at roughly 80% clearance, still ahead of the Plus 405’s 58% carpet score on Vacuum Wars’ test. Neither reviews as iRobot’s strongest generation for pure cleaning.
For cleaning power specifically, the older Roomba Combo 10 Max remains the better iRobot buy — better carpet and pet-hair numbers, camera-only navigation instead of LiDAR, and it’s frequently discounted below the Plus 405’s list price. Outside the brand, the field the Plus 405 is competing against is covered in our best robot vacuum and best robot vacuum for pet hair rankings, and the Roomba vs Roborock matchup covers how iRobot stacks up against the current LiDAR leader.
Who should buy the Roomba Plus 405
- Buy it if you want a modern LiDAR-navigating robot with a self-washing dock and stain removal is your main mopping concern.
- Buy it if you’re locked into the iRobot ecosystem and want multi-map support for a multi-level home.
- Skip it if pet hair is your main problem — this is the lowest pet-hair score Vacuum Wars has measured on any robot.
- Skip it if carpet cleaning matters — the older Combo 10 Max measurably outcleans it.
- Skip it if a dry floor after mopping matters to you; the residual-water figure is roughly 5x the field average.
- Consider the Roomba Max 705 instead if you have the extra $500 and want iRobot’s stronger mopping result.
The bottom line
The Roomba Plus 405 fixed the thing iRobot kept getting criticized for — navigation — and shipped a dock that genuinely reduces maintenance. But Vacuum Wars’ independent numbers, measured the same way across 200+ robots, put it at 70th place with 1.85/5, driven by the lowest pet-hair score the site has recorded and a mop that leaves 5x more water behind than average. “Great hopes, OK results” is the review’s own headline; “a letdown” and “a pretty big failure” is how the review actually reads once you’re past it.
If you’re choosing inside iRobot’s catalog purely on measured cleaning performance, the older Roomba Combo 10 Max wins. If you want this generation’s LiDAR and mopping hardware without the pet-hair regression, the pricier Roomba Max 705 tested closer to average. Either way, don’t buy the Plus 405 on the spec sheet alone — check our best robot vacuum rankings for what actually tested well this year.