Buyers and Collectors - Two very different groups of peeps.
RE: Argos reviews.
Argos reviews are very much written by the common buyer and I tend to look at them if I'm buying a product from Argos before passing off my money. In terms of the PP vacs though Jamie, a lot of buyers just buy the machine because it has the "Hoover" name attached to it. Yet with other models, some buyers have put comments on that slate the particular model, citing that Hoover weren't the brand they thought they were buying, leading from their past glory.
Another review company, Reevoo seems to be used by Hoover UK on their own website but they never seem to check up on the actual content of the reviews, only using the average rating to promote the models - yet some of the Reevoo reviews are really quite damaging to some of the machines that Hoover have not done their homework in checking up with.
It does surprise me that Hoover don't learn from their reputation. Clearly although the Pure Power has its many faults, its bag design is far more efficient even if buyers do have to source bags. Buyers tend to live the mantra that if you buy a cheap bag less upright vacuum, it means no more buying bags - but then they find they have to either buy a replacement filter or a drive belt. End of the day they have to keep buying something for it. As Chris states quite clearly, buyers aren't that bothered in flaws - they buy a machine that is fit for purpose.
I have however said this before and will continue to do again - when I had to live with a Dustmanager in a rented property, a friend from the Yahoo Hooverland group advised me to get a bag holder grommet from either an old Pure Power or from a repair shop, thus chucking away the hopeless split bag less bin design and screwing in the bag holder to the back of the machine that just uses the Pure Power body. Result? A high suction powered upright vacuum able to use the dust bags AND maintaining better power, suction and ultimately the performance the design illustrates. The cost of the part was next to nothing either!
Albeit being noisy and a brute to push - an inherent design fault I hate about Pure Powers despite their height selection.