Morphy Richards TurboGlide steam iron review: Making ironing a breeze

The Morphy Richards TurboGlide steam iron is a fantastic little iron that breezes through ironing piles with ease. During testing, it was practically faultless and the TurboGlide easily earned the top spot in our best steam irons roundup.

Of course, the very best steam irons will flatten out creases with minimal effort, and the Morphy Richards did this without a hitch. At £50, however, it’s not the cheapest iron I’ve tested, but its performance is well worth the investment and, as is often the case, regular sales and offers might mean you’ll be able to pick it up for a lot less.

Morphy Richards TurboGlide steam iron review: What do you get for the money?

Well-built, with an attractive purple and white design, the Morphy Richards TurboGlide is easy to use and incredibly efficient when it comes to powering through piles of ironing. The iron is comfortable to use, even when making my way through big heaps of laundry. It sadly isn’t the lightest iron I recommend, but at 1.38kg (without water) it’s light enough to use for long periods of time.

The iron’s design is nice and simple, with a large circular dial in the centre to adjust the temperature and a large spray button on the top of the handle. A small switch is located below the spray button which activates or turns off the steam functions.

Arguably one of the biggest selling points of the TurboGlide is its generously sized water tank. With a capacity of 400ml, the steam lasted considerably longer than I expected, and I made fewer refill trips when doing a big load of ironing. The easy view window also has water level indicators, showing the remaining steam time in minutes, which I thought was a clever little addition. This was the biggest water tank of any normal iron I’ve tested so far – if you want larger, you will need to consider one of the best steam generator irons instead.

In terms of safety features, the Morphy Richards TurboGlide is stable when it’s standing up and it has an auto shut-off mode that kicks in after eight minutes of non-use. I also appreciated the addition of an antiscale and self-clean function, which you can activate with the push of a button. This is particularly useful if, like me, you live in a hard water area, I would still recommend using distilled water, though. Even with self-cleaning, you should give it a proper clean from time-to-time, follow our tips for how to clean an iron for more info.

Morphy Richards TurboGlide steam iron review: What is it like to use?

As I’ve already mentioned above, I found the iron to be very comfortable to use. I have small wrists and many irons make them ache after a while due to sheer weight, but I didn’t run into this problem with the TurboGlide.

In my tests, the iron heated up to its three dot temperature in just 26 seconds, which was the fastest of all the irons I tested and once it gets to its required temperature, the standby light simply switches off.

Before I started using the iron, I was slightly concerned that, compared to other models, the lower continuous steam (40g/min) and slightly less powerful steam shot (150g/min) might make ironing a little laborious. But I needn’t have worried. Perhaps because of its larger water tank, the Morphy Richards powered through the ironing, removing creases incredibly easy. It gets a perfect score for crease reduction and it wasn’t slowed down by heavier fabrics, either.

The ceramic soleplate was also incredibly smooth, admirably earning the glide in its name. Heat output was also consistent, and I didn’t notice any drop-off as I ironed. As with most modern irons, there’s also a vertical steam option to steam curtains or upholstery and, with its lengthy 3m cord, I was able to reach even tricky to access areas in my home.

Going back to that water tank, I was impressed by how long the steam lasted due to its larger capacity. The markers that show how much steam you have remaining is a useful addition, meaning you won’t get caught out halfway through ironing a tricky shirt. This iron will power through a laundry load with ease.

Morphy Richards TurboGlide steam iron review: What could be better?

As our Best Buy iron, you probably won’t be surprised to hear that there wasn’t a lot to criticise with the TurboGlide. I did feel that the water reservoir cover was a little flimsy, which, to be honest, is a common complaint with many of these irons. And of course, as I mentioned above, the iron does have one of the lower continuous steam rates of irons I’ve tested at just 40g/min. If you’re a particularly ferocious ironer, you may find this an issue, but I feel most people won’t even notice, thanks to the larger water tank.

The incredibly long cord is useful in a variety of situations but could also be a bit of a hindrance in a small space. You could, of course, keep it wound up while using it in smaller kitchens or utility rooms.

It’s also worth noting that the dial to select your heat preference is a little stiff and can take a little effort to turn – though I would expect this to loosen up over time.

Morphy Richards TurboGlide steam iron review: Should you buy it?

There’s a lot here that’s worthy of a recommendation with the Morphy Richards TurboGlide iron. It’s extremely efficient, gliding over fabrics with ease and removing even the toughest creases with little effort. The giant water tank is a huge boon as well, making refill trips far less frequent. And the indicators on the side that show how much steam you have left in minutes makes it easier to judge how much ironing you’ll get done on one tank.

Despite the slightly lower continuous steam rate with the TurboGlide, I never felt that steam was lacking and I also liked the way the iron felt in my hands. This is a high-quality iron that will make tackling mountainous ironing piles a far quicker job.