Brand New TACONY Canister - the Wonder!

[madabouthoovers]

The UK view

I know we wont be getting them here, but I do like the font of the "wonder" label - reminds me of old 70's US cartoons. I think the theme of this vac is going back to the 70's, and the colour is very cool and retro. The rear skate wheels also look very 70's.


Indeed, compared to the Miele Uniq, this does seem a little bland on features for the US market, but I think Tacony's focus here is on robustness and reliability - with a lot of retro feel.


IF you want the remote handles and electronic everything, there is a price to pay in terms of reliability of broken cables and features going faulty, costing so much to repair that the vac is thrown out prematurely.


The Wonder looks like it is designed to last longer and be more "environmentally friendly". Its definitely aimed at the younger market with its retro theme. Fair do's if it sells. I would expect it will be priced a bit more reasonably than the $1500 Miele Uniq, or $1000 Miele S8 Marin.

 

[dysonman1]

carry handle

On the bottom. Very large opening. Cleaner weighs 6 3/4 pounds. Very easy to carry and pull. It's not designed to replace the Immaculate or any of the full size (huge) canisters, it's designed to replace all the mid size models. Mid size price point too. While I don't know exactly what it will be yet, I do know the price is no where near what the huge full size canisters are. It should be very reasonable - and you're getting an extremely durable machine (as if you were buying a Model G today).

 

[georgect]

I knew it...

@ dysonman1...

I knew it couldn't replace the Immaculate/Impeccable or Moxie/Gusto.

Thanks for clearing that up.

I still think the "Wonder" is butt ugly, but may I ask...who is Riccar's demographic with this vacuum?
I ask because it just doesn't fit in with the line up with what Riccar offers currently with its mid size, compact and subcompact lines (even full sized).
Is a model getting discontinued or is the Wonder being added to the line up.

Is there really a big issue with what they offer now in regards to hardware, circuit boards, connections etc that the Wonder is supposed to "correct"?

I'm having a hard time understanding the purpose of this vacuum and all the energy, time and money that went into building this thing.

 

[luxlife]

AWESOME!

I've been wishing for something like this. Great to have a longer hose, but how long is the cord? Oh and I love that it's quiet, hopefully quieter than the other Riccar models.

 

[rugsucker]

wondering about the 'Wonder'

"reliability"-"durable"--Real life examples-A vac came in for minor repair Fri.It was an Elux Mo R from about 1960 that broke a front wheel axle.Otherwise runs and looks great.They had a cord,switch,motor,bag and QUALITY!After putting front wheels back on it will sit in the line up of customer repairs that includes an orange vac that someone thought would be as good as they remembered as it has the E word on it and an imported standard vac with the M word on it that the customer will probably not bother to pick up after we confirmed the major problems it has.
"hard time understanding the purpose"-If you drive through Anytown,USA you will see rows of apts,condos,2 story town houses,retro ranches,McMansions and more.A surprising number of these will have residents attempting to clean areas including hard floors and stairs with an $80-$150 upright vac from the Chinese Dept Store.Perhaps this is the purpose and demographic.
Tom,Curious about the owners manual.After the now standard warnings to not vacuum the yard while it is raining or when your scarf is dragging the floor(Isadora Duncan style)is it time to return to real photos and pics that show & explain the functions of a can vac with hose,wand,atts & power head?For example the ease to connect PN to hose and clean stairs,vans,mattresses,etc.Or folding the upholstery wings to match contour of item cleaned.

 

[kirbyloverdan]

Some of you get

this vacuum some don't .

Tom had a very big part in its development its a vacuum built to last with certain things taken from vacuums of the past from the museum .
hence the reference to the 1205 and the color too !

I love how some with a collection of under 10 vacuums seem to be "the" masters of vacuum critique . Tom has a collection of I think over 600 vacuums myself over 450 and he has owned a vacuum store as well as myself . I feel he is most qualified to know what should go into vacuum manufacturing and is an asset to Tacony and his input is very important . I am very excited to ad this vacuum to my collection as I will be purchasing this as soon as its available.

It is designed to be a user friendly simple beautifully designed long lasting vacuum period . Tom doesn't have to share anything with the club but does so graciously and I feel he doesn't deserve such nasty comments about this "Wonder"ful vacuum.

Thank you Tom for showing this vacuum and I appreciate you giving your professional knowledge to help Tacony bring this vacuum to market.

Dan

 

[electromatik]

I really can appreciate the retro color now. I also like the way it's shaped. This vacuum is quite competitive with the other mid-range high-end vacuums. It has all the features that Miele's mid-range machines do. Tacony must be doing a whole lot right because they control the #1 market share in high-end vacuums in the U.S. market.

 

[ctvacman]

Can't wait to see the blue riccar version of this. Someone mentioned they made the power nozzles quieter, does anyone know what they did to achieve this? Since it basically looks like all other tacony full size PN's. If it really is as quiet as a model g this will be a great vac that I will certainly have to check out.

 

[normvac]

Wonder - ful !

Tom
Thank you, the wonder is a beautiful, powerful, amazing mid-sized canister
vacuum. It is a delight to see on the page and I look forward to it being
introduced in stores across the county. The color is great, the size is good. The tools are well thought out and applied.
Especially the ever lasting Winged up/dust brush. Have always loved that
tool on the Electrolux since 1957. As well as the engineering of the throw
back cord winder from Lux. Plus the new floor dusting tool. It is just an
all around great mid sized machine that the market has NOT seen since the 60's.
That a larger and ever growing older consumer market will buy and use!
Thank you for sharing and showing it to us ! Can't wait to see the price.
Would love to have one for my apt.
Norm

 

[durango159]

YAY, no circuit boards!!

GeorgeCT, the problem with circuit boards and you've probably experienced this is that their life is short. Several appliances have them installed in the current market line up from refrigerators, to washing machines to vacuum cleaners. Just about any new appliance on the market regardless of the category to have a problem, it tends to be the circuit board. Many of the boards are about $80 just themselves to break but in some cases a bad circuit board causes other issues to fail.

I think you'll like the tug and release cord winder system. That's how I refer to them or as Tom says it's like a window shade!! They work nice and are easier to use than you think!! My Hoover Celebrity, Eureka Rotomatic have them and they're excellent!! Some Kenmore canisters-- the current model lime green is a tug and release system. I find it much easier to pull cord out on the tug and release style than with a button winder style.

I think Tom mentioned that Tacony has more models being released too??? The Wonder/ Prima line is just one series. That being the case we may be seeing a lighter weight but full sized machine to replace Gusto/ Moxie style series. The Moxie and Gusto have tremendous power and I love how quiet the suction unit is however weight and wheels getting stuck on it's own cord and other things are an issue. I like the onboard tool storage of those styles. However the onboard tools are a chintzy combo dusting/ upholstery tool. Crevice tool is at par with much of the rest of the market and it's a smaller bare floor brush on board. Other than for a quick pick up spot removal, I can't understand using a bare floor brush for area rugs. While some may work you'll flare the bristles out and most of your dirt will get caught in the extra soft bristles that are designed for bare floor usage and not rugs. Your better bet I'd say and I've cleaned numerous houses over the years as a business, is using power nozzle, even with brush roll turned off or Mini power head or upholstery nozzle. You could also get Riccars combo bare floor/ rug head or another manufacturers since the hose looks to be universal fit so just about any friction fit attachment will slide on and fit!!

I think the "Wonder" name partly comes for it being almost a wonder of its time. A canister vac with an actual variable speed motor rather than a circuit board that just controls the electrical power transferred to the motor causing motor and board failure. The tug and release cord system, the hose grip looks almost comfortable for multiple positions to hold onto. The older style Riccar hose material was very flexible and easy to use, I'm sure this newer style will be just as easy if not more so for ease of use!! Just look how nicely it's coiled up in Reply 2, I know some hoses that wouldn't do that!!

I look forward to trying one someday when I make it down to visit Tom or in my local vac shop!

 

[georgect]

I'm not a "Retro" type of guy...

@ Durango159

Rob...I take really good care of my appliances and to this day have a working Hoover Dimension 1000 (my first "electronic" vacuum).
I've never had any problems with circuit boards on any thing I own.
My whole house is surge protected and my computers, TV's and electronics are individually plugged into "protected" outlets.

My Hoover Dimension 1000 is not a tug and rewind cord rewinder, it has a step on cord rewind that still works to this day. So I don't buy that a "tug to rewind" cord rewinder is any better than a brake system (it just has to be made right).

If indeed Riccar has "updated" models coming out to replace their "full size" lineup, and if the Wonder is any indication of what's to come for those updated full sized models...then count me out.

I want all the bells and whistles, I want all the conveniences, I want all the latest electronics and I want them to last (like my Dimension 1000).

You know what...if Riccar can make a current day version of the Dimension 1000 I'd buy it in a heart beat...no matter what the price.
I don't mind paying for QUALITY.

I don't like "Retro" anything. To me, that's not moving forward.
It's going to be 2015 and Riccar is introducing a "year one" vacuum, how is that innovative? It's actually taking a back seat and making a fail safe boring retro machine. It just wont compete with the Dyson's or Miele's of this and future generations.

Don't get me wrong, I'm NOT a Dyson fan but at least they are being innovative, bold and taking chances. Shouldn't Riccar be as innovative as Dyson and as timeless as Miele? Hell yeah!
Actually Riccar should be light years ahead of Miele or Dyson but the Wonder is no match.

Now I don't know who this Tom (dysonman1) person is and I'm not attacking him or his work and I'm not being nasty...I'm being TOTALLY HONEST and not holding back.
I truly appreciate the time he took posting these pictures and sharing his information with the rest of us. In fact I'm the only one that "Checkrate/Like'ed" his original post.
I did wait to purchase a Riccar because of Tom's insight that there was a "new" Riccar coming out this year and now that vacuum is the "Wonder".

The "Wonder" is the total opposite of what I'm looking for in a vacuum.
Maybe the next vacuum they produce will be the one I'll LOVE and all of you can hate that.
Until then, I just don't see the point of the Wonder.

 

[durango159]

Well I can say that I love Hoover Dimension 1000's too. I have 2 of them but they are the more basic models with standard hose and no electronic variable speed. I also grew up with a Hoover Dimension 1000 which my parents inherited when we had my grandparents into a nursing home. That machine had the cord replaced a few times from cleaning assistants running the Quadraflex Powermatic over the cords. I'm not sure how many times if ever the cord winder may have been replaced. At this present time that machine sits in my parents attic as a spare. The power head is long gone, front wheel on canister doesn't stay in place and cord winder does not operate. But machine sounds great with lots of power while running. I wish machines like that were still around though as I love the onboard tool set on that machine. If a Hoover Dimension 1000 was still made with a quick connect wand system, better filtration and rubberized wheels on power nozzle it would be a hell of a nice modern day cleaner!!

 

[georgect]

@ Durango159

Well at least we both can agree on something.

It would be totally awesome to see a modern day Dimension 1000 with the features you mentioned (quick connect wand system, better filtration and rubberized wheels on power nozzle).

I'd also like to see natural bristles (horse hair) used on the on board tools instead of nylon and a telescoping wand. Oh yeah and a more sleeker color (not green).

I love the fact that the Dimension was FULL SIZED, had very neat and clean lines, had variable power (that you can control from the handle).

I guess this is what I was hoping Riccar (Tacony) was going to produce.
Boy was I let down when the Wonder came out instead.

I have not read (correct me if I'm wrong) that Tom said there were other Tacony models coming out but now I'm kind of scared if they do.
I wouldn't want to see another stripped down bare minimum vacuum like the Wonder added to the line up, taking away full featured models.

 

[eurekaprince]

If Tacony really wanted to have a canister that stood out from the crowd, they should provide a nicely-designed attachment carrier that could hold a full set of full-size attachments. That Swiffer Bare Floor Tool is a giant step in the right direction, but if you are not going to provide on-board tool storage (in order to keep the weight down), Tacony should bring back the classic concept of a separate tool carrier. There is plenty of room for innovative design in that department...and a modern plastic version of the old cardboard tool carriers would be a great marketable feature.

 

[ralph123]

How well does Wonder clean carpet?

Any preliminary results on the Wonder's carpet cleaning ability? How well does it perform in the company's lab tests?

 

[stricklybojack]

VDTA pic.

Joshua of the Clean Sweep Vacuum Center posted this pic with others in a slideshow on another thread. Looks to be the other color & different labeling perhaps?

 

[constellation86]

I like the darker version in the last picture! Are they planning on making a Maytag similar to this? And Yay for the long hose! I am sick of 6 foot or shorter hoses!
Nicholas

 

[thevacuumman]

I'm liking the looks of the Wonder so far, I can think of several people in my family that would like it. I like it because of the lack of the fancy bells N' whistles, I really like the color of it and I've been considering getting one for my sister when the dealer in Amarillo gets them, as my sister is in the market for a canister because they just pulled all of their carpet out of the house and the sold their Windtunnel Air as they didn't really have a need for it anymore. I took her to the new Sears Home store in Borger and she wasn't really impressed by the current Kenmores. The next time I go to Amarillo, I'm going to take her to Amarillo Vacuum who is our dealer for the Tacony brands and they also have Miele. So I'm going to help her do some "tire-kicking" for a new vacuum.

 

[stricklybojack]

Another VDTA pic from Joshua...

seems this is the Riccar version (?), 'The Prima', nice color.

 

[electromatik]

That is a very alluring color. I quite like it.