Tefal Express Essential SV6116 review: A good-value steam generator iron that’s brilliant if you’re on a budget

If you’re willing to forgo some of the fancier features steam generator irons are known for, I’d consider a good entry-level model from a well-known brand, of which Tefal’s Express Essential SV6116 is a perfect example. Finding the best steam generator iron that ticks all your boxes doesn’t have to cost the Earth.

Even though it comes with a pocket-friendly price tag, there’s plenty to recommend it. Its features include an eco mode that reduces the steam and temperature when you’re ironing items that are only lightly creased; vertical steaming for refreshing clothes or removing light creases while on a hanger; and a steam boost for tricky ironing tasks. Plus, it’s fairly lightweight overall.

Admittedly, if you’ve owned a higher-end steam generator before, here, you’ll find things you’ll have to work around. These include a fixed water tank, rather awkward cable storage and an iron that doesn’t lock into the base for carrying and storing. It also takes a little longer to heat up than others. Still, if none of those are a deal-breaker and you’d like to save yourself some cash, the Tefal Express Essential SV6116 steam generator iron is a smart buy to compliment your ironing board.

Tefal Express Essential SV6116 steam generator iron review: What do you get for the money?

Steam generator irons can be big and bulky – the Tefal Pro Express Vision GV9820 for example is 5.2kg, while the Philips PerfectCare Elite GC9650/80 is 5.1kg. In contrast, Tefal Express Essential is a compact contender for your ironing pile, coming in at just 3.16kg overall, with a compact size of 17.9 x 36.2 x 25.6cm (WDH). This means that it’s easier to store and move around – plus you might not even need a more robust ironing board to accommodate its weight.

Unsurprisingly, it’s simply designed. While the iron hooks into the base by the heel, there’s nothing to secure it at the nose, so it’s prone to being knocked off and shouldn’t be carried by the iron’s handle. The base’s 1.4l water tank is also fixed, with a small hinged spout. Filling using a jug is recommended rather than under a tap, so you’ll need a steady hand to prevent spills.

The power cable is a versatile length of 1.6m but there’s no storage for it. Fortunately, there’s provision for the water cord, but it’s basic, and involves threading it awkwardly through two clips around the base.

There are just three buttons on the base: an on-off, eco-mode and anti-calc for descaling. As there’s no removable scale filter, this is a more involved process of holding the iron over the sink. I particularly like the inclusion of an eco feature, as it could be a money saver because it reduces the amount of steam and the temperature when selected. Also useful for dealing with a varied ironing pile of lightly and deeply creased clothing.

For a small steam generator, it offers plenty of power. You’ll find a continuous steam rate of 120g/min, shot of 270g/min and steam pressure of 5.3 bar. All twinned with a ceramic soleplate that, in testing, glided beautifully over fabric.

Tefal Express Essential SV6116 steam generator iron review: What’s it like to use?

While the manufacturer suggests that the Express Essential SV6116 heats up in two minutes, in testing, I found that it was actually faster, reaching its max temperature from cold in exactly one minute. While doing so, it clocked up a top power consumption of 2,368W according to my meter. This heat-up time is slower than some irons but for a budget-friendly steam generator, I thought it was decent, meaning that you can set up your board and sort items to be ironed while it gets ready.

I also checked the minimum and maximum temperature each setting reached with a thermocouple thermometer while the water tank was empty. I measured a maximum heat of 241.6°C – good for denim and heavy cottons – dropping only as low as 170.1°C before the iron began heating up again. Its two-dot temperature reached an average 129.3°C but the heat didn’t kick back in again until it had dropped to a lower than expected 86.4°C. One dot reached a little higher than average 115.1°C, with power only kicking in at 69.1°C. The wide range of this was a little disappointing, meaning that it may not be as consistently effective on those ‘cool iron’ fabrics.

Comfort is key with any iron. While I liked that the Express Essential SV6116 was light enough to use for long periods, I found that its water cord connection tended to get in the way of the heel of my hand when holding the handle. The connection isn’t fixed, but it doesn’t rotate back far enough to be out of the way. To mitigate this, I tended to twist my wrist slightly, which isn’t ideal when working through a large ironing pile.

Tefal Express Essential SV6116 steam generator iron review: How well does it iron?

As you’d hope, even though it’s a more affordable steam generator iron, the Express Essential SV6116 features the good build quality and innovation you’d find on some of the pricier irons from Tefal. This is most noticeable in its ceramic soleplate, which moves effortlessly on fabrics with minimal effort. In testing, it moved very easily over the shirt I was ironing. This does also mean you can’t leave the iron flat momentarily, or it can start to drift.

The iron is stable sitting on its heel, even when I wobbled the board slightly to mimic accidental knocks. Its steam trigger is also fairly responsive; steam does take a second or two to start coming through after building up, though. It’s a little trickier to engage the steam shot, which needs three quick presses of the trigger, rather than having its own button. I did like that the steam came out smoothly and gradually instead of a burst that can burn your fingers.

Crease removal was good overall. I liked that when ironing a shirt arm on one side, the steam penetrated deeply, so that the other side was mostly pressed and only needed a quick sweep over to remove fine creases. To iron each arm, the back and collar took only a few minutes, with no need to put excessive effort into any part of it. My only complaint would be that the water cord being in the way of my hand made manoeuvring left and right more difficult than when using my usual iron.

I also tried using it to steam clothes vertically, but after a few minutes, I found it a bit too heavy to hold in that position. When finished, the base was light enough to transport to the sink to empty out remaining water from the tank – but it’s hard to do so completely. Even after a spirited shake, some drops still lingered inside.

Tefal Express Essential SV6116 steam generator iron review: Should you buy it?

If you can’t decide between a steam iron and steam generator, and it’s the price that’s mostly putting you off, the Tefal Express Essential SV6116 could be a good option. All the basics are there – ease of ironing, consistent steam, compact and simpler to store – plus it’s pretty affordable.

It might not include the nice-to-have features, such as a removable stand, removable water tank and scale collector but for the price, that’s not a bad trade-off. My only preference would be to have the handle unimpeded by the water cord, and an easier way to select the steam shot.