Dyson V11 absolute
Buy now £699.99, Onbuy.com
- Weight: 3 kg
- Run time (on full charge): 60 minutes
- Charge time: 4.5 hours
- Bin volume: 0.76l
- Dimensions: H25cm x W26cm x D126cm
- Suction power: 18.5V
- Cordless: Yes
- Rating: 9.5/10
Design
As with all Dyson models the V11 has a sleek look, with its motor and bin encased in an attractive and compact purple compartment at the top of the cordless vacuum.
Like its predecessor, the V10 (£349.99, Dyson.co.uk), it has a slimline stick, which attaches easily to the floor heads and motor with a simple click. Although it has a bigger battery its run time after charging it – one hour – is the same, while it also has the same easy to grip handle and one touch trigger just under the handle.
We loved the V11’s new addition of a small LCD screen. The screen clearly shows how much battery life you have left and what mode you’re using the vacuum in. While if something gets stuck, or your Dyson isn’t working, it also troubleshoots for you – we hadn’t fit the bin back on properly and it warned us via the LCD screen when we tried to start the machine.
Read more: Is Dyson’s V11 outsize cordless vacuum cleaner worth £650?
The model comes with two floor heads. This includes its main torque head, which has dynamic load sensor (DLS) technology so that, with one flip of a button, you can deep clean carpets more easily. Its second-floor head, made with soft woven nylon and anti-static carbon fibre is great for harder floors, but we also found it gentler on rugs and pet beds.
The model comes apart and can be quickly and easily transformed into a handheld. It comes with seven accessories, including the mini-motorised tool, which was perfect for stairs and cleaning crumbs off our couch without leaving any marks, while we also found the mini dusting brush good for skirting boards.
One big thumbs down for the design of the Dyson model, however, is how it isn’t able to stand on its own, and has to be leant against furniture while you’re mid clean. We think a park and go feature would be beneficial, as we found that multiple times it would just topple over.
Read more: 8 best robot vacuum cleaners that clean your floors and carpets effortlessly
The bin is designed to remove dust and dirt as easily as possible – and its best to do as a handheld. We simply slid the purple lever down the bin and the dirt spilled out. It does leave some dust inside, but we just wiped it out with a cloth, although it can be fully washed before it’s reattached.
Performance
The V11 is, without a doubt, a powerful cordless vacuum, but is it worth nearly £700? The model has three power modes – auto, eco and boost mode, and although it runs well on eco mode, and you get the most hoovering time out of it, we loved its auto mode. Some vacuums perform well on carpet and not on hard floors, but its power mode detects when you’ve changed floor types, adjusting speed and power – which can be heard and detected as you go from one to another. Boost mode was great when we’d spilt something – although it did drain the battery quicker.
Talking about the battery, it’s easy to click out if you want to charge it on its own, but it can also be charged while in the vacuum. Best done when the wall bracket is mounted, we did find it quite fiddly to attach, but once in you can simply hang it from the wall and allow it to fully charge – which, from nothing can take up to four hours.
Read more: 9 best car vacuum cleaners to keep your car clean and crumb-free
Incredibly light to use, we found the main brush floor head – an integrated digital motor that spins the brush bar up to 60 times a second – exceptional at picking up food, dirt and even hair. Sometimes we were surprised at just how clean it got our carpets. We also found that it manoeuvred around different floor types easily, with the articulated design of the heads getting into tight spots and under our furniture.
The vacuum also has some impressive tech – with “radial root cyclone” technology providing no loss of suction, and its machine filtration meaning no dust particles will escape into your living space – aka cleaner air.
The only downside for us, which is a pet hate on all Dysons, is that we have to keep the trigger power button down as we clean. It’s supposed to be for energy efficiency, which is obviously a plus, but we would love to see a power button where you could choose this option.