Makita TD00004G vs the Fastest Impact Drivers: High-Torque Brute Force Compared

Introduction

Makita has a new 40V XGT impact driver, the TD00004G, and it is not what you might expect. Instead of chasing refinement, Makita built it for one thing: brute strength. We put it up against Makita’s own flagship models, the DeWalt DCF860, the Milwaukee M18 Gen 4, and the HiKOKI Triple Hammer 36V, driving everything from long structural timber screws to half-inch lag bolts with no pilot holes.

The playing field was level: freshly charged 5Ah batteries, every tool on full power, and the same screws for everyone. The results tell a clear story about where raw torque really lives.

Makita TD00004G: Built for Brute Strength

The TD00004G is Makita’s most powerful impact driver yet, with 230 Nm of max fastening torque. Visually it looks a bit plain, almost like an old impact wrench, and that is roughly what it is: an impact driver body built on an impact wrench platform with a 6.35 mm quarter-inch hex chuck on the front. This is not a flagship model. It is teal, not purple, and it is built for whacking in big screws rather than piling on features.

Specs sit at 3,900 RPM and 3,900 impacts per minute, so it spins faster than the flagships but hits less frequently. It has four speed settings plus a tect screw mode for thin metal, but it drops the wood screw and bolt release modes, the front ring light, and the quick speed-switch button found on Makita’s premium drivers. One welcome return is the glow-in-the-dark ring, so you can find the tool in a blackout. In testing with large Simpson Strong-Tie SDWS timber screws, it was the only driver tested that sank the screw right down to the collet, and it stayed close to the Milwaukee when conditions got brutal.

The Flagships: Makita TD00002G and TD00001G

The TD00002G is the current 40V flagship, rated at 220 Nm with 3,700 RPM and 4,600 impacts per minute. It carries the full feature set: four speeds, wood screw modes, bolt release modes, a front ring light, and a quick-switch button near the trigger that lets you cycle speeds without looking away from the work, with programmable presets. The original TD00001G also manages 220 Nm of fastening torque at 3,700 RPM, and the TD00002G adds dual spring technology that acts like a dampener, reducing the jolt through your wrist.

In the timber screw tests, both were quick and refined, roughly matching each other on speed. On the really big stainless screws they struggled a bit, similar to the HiKOKI, and they were retired from the harshest tests to avoid needless strain. If you want a comfortable, well-featured all-rounder on the 40V XGT system, the TD00002G remains the better pick. The TD00003G also exists as a lower-tier model at 210 Nm, though it was never released in the US and the TD00004G simply outguns it.

DeWalt DCF860: Quick but Questionable Numbers

The DeWalt DCF860 carries the highest torque rating in this comparison at 282 Nm, at least on paper. In practice, it is a very quick impact driver and a genuinely good tool, but the big number does not fully translate. When the half-inch stainless bolt test got serious, it managed about the same depth as the Makita, around 70 mm into the timber, and it did not clearly outperform the lower-rated competition by anything close to a 50 Nm margin.

It is fast, it is right up there with the Makita and Milwaukee on everyday work, and it drove the large timber screws competently. Just do not buy it expecting the rated figure to hand it an automatic win in the toughest situations.

Milwaukee M18 Gen 4: The Brutal Benchmark

The Milwaukee M18 Gen 4 impact driver is rated lower than the DeWalt on paper, yet when things got genuinely tough it still found another gear. It sank the big stainless timber screw confidently, beat the Gen 3 in the deep-bolt test, and pushed the half-inch lag bolt the furthest of anything tested, roughly 40 mm deeper than the Makita and DeWalt managed.

The trade-off is comfort. Milwaukee’s tools vibrate a lot more, and the trigger was by far the least comfortable of the group, with a sharp piece of plastic that sticks up past the trigger edge at full pull. If you want the last word in raw power and can tolerate a rougher ride, this is still the one with the slight edge in pure brutishness.

HiKOKI Triple Hammer 36V: Smooth but Outmatched

The HiKOKI Triple Hammer 36V, sold under other names in some markets, is a genuinely nice impact driver that uses triple hammer technology to reduce jolting through the hand. On everyday timber screws it felt comparable to the rest of the field in speed.

Where it falls apart is the heavy end. With big and stainless screws it produced strange behavior, skipping impacts and sounding uneven, and it struggled on the deep-sink test, needing extra effort to match what the Makita did comfortably. It is not well suited to large screws, so keep it for general-purpose driving rather than structural work.

Which One Should You Buy?

If you drive a lot of big screws all day, the Makita TD00004G makes a strong case. It edged out its own flagships, matched the DeWalt on the hardest tests, and came within a whisker of the Milwaukee while being noticeably more comfortable and less buzzy in the hand. It is the only one of the group that sank the big stainless screw flush to the collet, and it even removed a half-inch lag bolt it had just driven in without breaking a sweat.

For balanced, comfortable, feature-rich daily use, pick the Makita TD00002G on 40V or the smaller 18V flagship instead; those tools are about refinement, and the TD00004G is not. It even lacks proper work lights beyond two basic LEDs, so it is not the tool for dark crawlspaces. The glow-in-the-dark ring helps, but only after the lights have already gone out.

Conclusion

The TD00004G is Makita’s answer to the big-smash competition, and it lands close to the Milwaukee while trading away flagship features for raw torque. If brute strength is the job, it belongs on your shortlist. If comfort and versatility matter more, the flagships still hold their ground.