Mike - I highly doubt the EU regulations would make a difference in the U1 Auto Eco's performance, or influence Miele's decision to make the brushes on the brushroll more stiffer than the previous S7 Salsa you own. I think Rolls_Rapide is right on this one, it may have to do with the company realizing a stiffer brushroll for North American carpeting was needed, or more likely, feedback from consumers communicating with Miele or also from their authorized dealers & what their customers have been telling them. Even though this upright range is sold in Europe, it's important to remember that this was not only Miele's first upright they designed from scratch themselves, but it was specifically intended for America & Canada as they needed a product to compete with Sebo & Simplicity/Riccar.
Colby - I agree with you, if you're spending over $500 for a quality machine you have to realize the cost of parts & consumables are going to be in line with the cost of the vacuum. But try telling that to normal consumers who are sick & tired of low & mid range vacuums breaking down & giving them headaches, & then decide to try a high end brand like Miele, convinced by their own research & by consulting with a vac shop it will last longer without problems. It's one thing to spend $700, $800, or $1,000 for a new upright or canister, thinking you're buying better quality. But in the average family home, with a husband, wife, 1 or more kids dragging in dirt, & a dog or cat shedding fur, the average consumer is going to find it hard to justify spending up to $5 per bag or $50 for a HEPA filter for Miele, Sebo or some other high end brand, when in their mind, the Dyson or Shark they just got rid of cleaned just as well WITHOUT ridiculous bag, filter or belt costs. You don't think people consider it a issue with their vacuum? Go ahead & look on Amazon at all the people buying generic bags & filters for their vacuums & leaving reviews, they feel like they have no choice but to buy generic parts online to keep operating costs reasonable. That's the whole reason people buy bagless vacuums to begin with. IMHO, it's a problem the vacuum industry is going to have to address.
Tom - I wouldn't start bashing Miele bag & filter costs so quick there. One thing I'm sure you don't want customers coming to the Museum, or members here on Vacuumland to know, is that your Simplicity & Riccar vacuums actually cost MORE MONEY than Miele's vacuums do to operate. On my Simplicity Gusto, the HEPA filter costs $35 to buy alone, or $50 to buy as a set with the carbon prefilter (if you use the filter kit for the previous S38 & buy the S38 filter holder, not the newer HEPA filter & pre-motor granulated carbon filter kit), & it's rated for only 25 hours. Miele's HEPA filter is rated for 50 hours, & costs $50. So that means for 50 hours of operation, the Simplicity filter costs $70, which is $20 more than operating a Miele canister the same amount of hours. In addition, a 6 pack of Simplicity Type H bags costs $20, which is $3.33 per bag, vs Miele G/N bags costing $4.38 per bag if you buy the 8 bag value pack. But not only is the Simplicity bag slightly smaller, but because it's only a 3 ply HEPA bag, the HEPA Cloth material clogs easier & I find with my Gusto the bag needs to be changed at 1/2 full. The Miele Airclean bags maintain full power up to 3/4 full, so not only do you get better cleaning performance, you get longer bag life, so it's really a dead heat as to whether the Simplicity/Riccar or Miele bags are more expensive.
Rob
Rob
