The CNET Appliances team endured hours of prolonged vacuuming to pick out these four models. If you’re on the hunt for an upright luxury vacuum cleaner, each of these brings unique strengths to the, uh, carpet.
Electrolux Precision Brushroll Clean
CNET rating: 4 stars out of 5 (Excellent)
The good: Features abound in the durably built and efficiently designed Electrolux Precision Brushroll Clean. The brush-roll cleaning technology is a particular favorite — it pulls jammed items from the brush and into the bin at the press of a lever.
The bad: It is the heaviest and least maneuverable of the vacuums tested in this group. Don't take that to mean that it's unwieldy, though.
The cost: $299.99 to $399.99
The bottom line: This vacuum cleaner is entirely worth its $300 price tag. The search for vacuum perfection is ongoing, but the Electrolux Precision Brushroll Clean gets pretty darn close.
Oreck Touch Bagless Vacuum Cleaner
CNET rating: 4 stars out of 5 (Excellent)
The good: The Oreck Touch is a powerful performer from a long-trusted brand. At a price of $400, it flat-out beat the $650 Dyson DC41 in our basic cleaning tests.
The bad: A few minor design imperfections detract from an otherwise flawless build. Also, the Oreck isn't quite as versatile a vacuum as the DC41 or the Shark Rotator Pro Lift-Away.
The cost: $399.99
The bottom line: The Oreck Touch is an exceptional vacuum that left us all highly impressed. It's an excellent choice for anyone looking to upgrade to a high-end machine.
Shark Rotator Pro Lift-Away
CNET rating: 4 stars out of 5 (Excellent)
The good: The Shark Rotator Pro Lift-Away is a veritable master of versatility. It comes with so many attachments and accessories that you are pretty much guaranteed to have the right brush for the job at hand.
The bad: It didn't lead during performance testing. Then again, it costs $450 less than some of its competition — and in many cases the results were only marginally worse.
The cost: $199.80 to $259
The bottom line: The Shark is a very good vacuum with solid construction and intuitive design. Other models may have performed better, but none of them can match this sweeper's value for the price.
Dyson DC41 Animal Complete
CNET rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 (Very good)
The good: The Dyson DC41 Animal Complete cleans like you'd expect it to given the high price tag. The clever Tangle-Free Turbine and its many other brush attachments give it an added layer of functionality for more flexible housecleaning.
The bad: Dyson is renowned for its design, but maybe it shouldn't be — this vacuum suffers from several baffling build oversights.
The cost: $649.99 to $729.99
The bottom line: You don't need to pay $650 to own a vacuum that cleans at this level, and if you are paying that much, you deserve a machine with a better design than this.
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