I tested the Dreame L40 Ultra Gen 2 through my full standardized suite, and the big story is simple: class-leading cleaning for the money. Dreame removed several premium features to hit a much lower price, but the vacuuming and mopping performance still landed way above what I expect at around $600.
Pros
+Excellent carpet pickup in my testing (98% with the stock rubber roller)
+Strong hard-floor pickup (97%+) and very good grout performance
+Mopping removed baked-on stains with two passes
+Dock cleaned and dried mop pads extremely well even without hot water
+Matter support included
Cons
-Basic obstacle avoidance (ignored cords and bumped objects in my tests)
-Originally struggled to travel in straight lines out of turns (later addressed by firmware 4.3.9-1221)
-Hot water washing and detergent tank removed (detergent tank sold separately)