I've had 3 Panasonic cordless drills and when the current one poops out I'll probably get another one. I bought the first one 10 or 12 years ago. I still have all of the drills, but when the batteries die it doesn't make sense to replace them because it costs about the same to buy a new drill with 2 new batteries. A man with a tool repair shop explained to me that the companies are essentially selling the batteries and including the drills in the deal. That's why most cordless drills are poorly made. Most of them have nylon gears which represent the weak link in the chain. The tool guy (he doesn't sell new tools) recommended the Panasonic to me for a few reasons, one being that they use metal gears. He also said that Panasonic has an edge over the competition because they manufacture the batteries for most of the other cordless tool brands.

I have a 15.6 volt unit, but I'm not so sure that comparing voltage ratings is an accurate way to judge power. My drill claims 390 in.lbs. of torque and that's probably the better measurement if you can find that data on other brands.

The only drill my tool guy liked better than Panasonic was Hilti. I would have gone with his suggestion but the Hilti that was comparable to my $200 Panasonic cost about $350. Even I have limits.

I recently bought the Panasonic cordless circular saw and so far I like it. It's use is limited, but there are tasks that it does very well.