New Vorwerk Kobold VK200

[folletto83]

What a wonderful cleaning system!

http://https//youtu.be/CcAefkx_yWQ

 

[tolivac]

Whenever I see these upright Vorwerk cleaners-they so make me think of a Kirby.Are these available in the US?They are also sort of similar to the Sebo Felix.

 

[sebo_fan]

The only real similarity is that the Felix has a height adjustable handle (to 3 levels of height) swivel joint and removable PN to make it a shoulder vac if you buy optional shoulder slings or if you want to change over to the parquet hard floor cleaning brush floor head.

Personally I can't abide either design as a hand held vac. If I was going to have a vacuum cleaner with a shoulder strap it would be half the size and not as elongated and bulky.

The Felix was designed by an ex-Vorwerk designer, so its no surprise it shares a similarity to many on sight.

However, now that I own a Vorwerk, it is like night and day versus the Felix; the Vorwerk is light, far easier to push and cleans well as an upright vac. But it is like Kirby though in terms of having to dismantle everything to use smaller cleaning tools or specialised floor heads.

I prefer my Sebo Felix at the end of the day. It is far more capable given its short hose on board and has cleaning tools that I depend on all of the time. It is also far better built than the Vorwerk I own and the dust bags on the Felix take far longer to fill up. Cost effectively the Sebo Felix is also better value, long term. To gain the lightest weight when pushing it, I have changed the roller brush over and put the height setting to number 3 out of the 4 height selections.

This new VK200 is stunning though in terms of its look and what it can do - but it reinforces having to dismantle it all of the time to get the best out of its attachments and that still includes having to take off PN etc to add the long hose and smaller cleaning tools.

 

[eurekaprince]

I guess another big difference is that the Vorwerk hose is electrified, whereas the Sebo Felix's hose is not. This probably makes the Vorwerk's much heavier or bulkier and therefore not practical to have permanently on board. Though for the price you pay, they could also throw in a lightweight non-electrified hose as well.

 

[sebo_fan]

Other thread can be found at:

http://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?32169

 

[madaboutsebo]

I believe in some Countries they offer a non electricified hose for the Vorwerk. The actual electric one is not that heavy to use in general as it currently is but would make the vacuum bulky/heavy if it was an onboard hose. It's main use is for the Polsterboy attachment that has a motor driven x2 contra rotating brush bars and its is also used as part of 2 new attachments for the VK200 that clip onto the Polsterboy in place of the brush bar part. So they are using the electric hose more so with this update. The Polsterboy is great for stairs and upholstery makes cleaning these surfaces quick and easy. You can use other attachments if required. Suppose due to the Kobold design (bottom fill bag) an onboard hose in general would probably alter the design of the machine! Not sure Vorwerk would ever do that as it would slightly increase weight of the machine and they like the Kobold to be lite!

I do like the onboard hose on my Felix as it's handy and occasionally miss not having one on the Vorwerk but I usually do all the hose related cleaning first with the Kobold then the floors after for example. Not to everyone's taste or idea of cleaning.

 

[sebo_fan]

Good points, Jon. Yes the Vorwerk is not the be all end all and it shares its just expensive pricing as a Kirby upright would in the UK.

However the pricing is astronomical even if Vorwerk UK offered me a big discount to buy the then new VK150, before the VK200 came out.

I believe however that a second hand Vorwerk is the most cost effective way to go. Not so much of a hardship to the pocket if it doesn't suit.

 

[madaboutsebo]

Thank you Nar. Yes it is expensive agree there, for me it was an investment as a home cleaning system and the benefits that came with it. They are not for everyone. People are use to onboard tools and a hose on uprights or convience of using a canister. Plus they want quick all over cleaning, floors and above floors at the same time which is one of the many reasons I suspect cordless have been popular especially in the UK too. Grab and go cleaning, clean as you go along! Seems to be the trend at present, in the UK! I would like to see the Tiger come to the UK as well to offer a canister, you still get the same tools and cleaning heads etc just in a canister format!

That's true a second hand one is one way to go and see if you like it. Or if you know someone that can lend you one to use!! Suppose one of the many reasons they demo the machine in your home. So you get to see it in action in your environment you clean and live in and get to have a go yourself.

I do like the simplicity of the designs for both Vorwerk and SEBO, and they perform great too.

 

[sebo_fan]

I have a non-electric hose for my Vorwerk and its absolutely fine. However like the rest of the vac, the plastics aren't good. I know it is different for the VK135 models after that, though.

Whilst I am in support of cordless, my best friend who has two SEBO vacs and one he bought from me originally has been looking at the wonder of the Dyson V6. After he tried it, he was smitten with it and still wants to buy one. I have tried the Dyson and it is good but like mostly all of these cordless vacs appearing on the UK market, they're all too over priced for what you get.

This is why I waited so long to get a discount from Vax with the Cordless Air. Its the best cost effective cordless upright I have tried so far.

I doubt I would buy another cordless vacuum though unless its a dust buster. Even if the Vax does offer a far longer running time, it will never replace a proper upright vacuum in my opinion.

 

[vintagerepairer]

I think the thing to remember with these ensembles is that it's not about what the cleaner can do which attracts the attention of those who buy it, it's about how many separate tools it has and the perception that buying this will render ones home "clean" just by owning such a machine. It's not my mind-set, but it is for a good deal of people.

The Kenwood Chef was quite clever in this respect, as practically each accessory was a separate purchase. The mixer itself cost a lot of money but costs were never the less kept down by not including all parts as standard. A simple booklet showing all the parts that could be purchased was supplied with each mixer - even that to some people would doubtless have "looked the part".

 

[sebo_fan]

My late parents' old A901 Kenwood Chef always came with a liquidiser as standard but it leaked every time they used it. I suppose looking back, and I still own the original hard back recipe book as it is super, that's all you really needed when looking through the suggested recipes.

Now they run the risk of confusing buyers with far too many versions of the model. Still I suppose they have to make money.

So does Vorwerk, but in my mind a vacuum cleaner that costs £1000 or more should at least offer a hose and a single attachment at the least. Given that the new Vk200 has a 3 litre dust bag, it's hardly a big upright for the big cost price.

At least the Kenwood Chef managed to retain its original large capacity bowl and standard attachments.

 

[eurekaprince]

Have any of Europe's consumer testing organizations (Which? or Rad & Ron) ever tested the latest Vorwerk vacs? I would be curious to read a report on the Tiger canister - from any of the last 10 years.

 

[vintagerepairer]

I am sure I have seen Vorwerk in Which? reports of old, but in recent times they have become very much focused on what the bulk of consumers are liable to buy, rather than any product for the category which they can get their hands on, as was the case it seemed for a long time.

 

[eurekaprince]

Aww...that's too bad. Would have been great to see how the Tiger compares performance-wise with other German vacs like Miele or Sebo....

 

[sebo_fan]

The Tiger has never been available in the UK, but plenty of the uprights have and they get top scores alongside other uprights. However Which has maintained that for the price of a Vorwerk, you can buy two standard vacuums.

 

[madaboutsebo]

Personally for me and I would say for a percentage of Vorwerk owners and protential buyers it was what the Kobold could do that attracted me to it and seeing what it can do in the home demo. Of course that's not everyone perception for some as mentioned it's the amount of tools and attachments you get with it!
For me it was an investment and I love using it, but I will admit it's not a system/vacuum cleaner for everyone especially the price being the main point protential buyers would query regardless of what it can do.

Vorwerk more so in recent times pitches the Kobold as a home care cleaning system and at the heart of it is a vacuum cleaner which is small and lite to use. The bag capacity could do with being larger still even for me but they have generally been on the small side on most of the Kobolds to allow the machine to stay small I suppose. It's quite an efficient design especially the last generation VK140/VK150 and the new VK200.

Time will tell if Vorwerk become more known in the UK in the future for the Tiger to become available!

 

[sebo_fan]

I think the very reason to why bag capacity is small is intentional continuation of purchasing more dust bags.

If I had the money I'd certainly buy the VK200. However I'm happier being an owner of an older model even if the plastics leave something to be desired.

The Vorwerk Tiger canister vac also has a 4.5 litre dust capacity, so its on a par with Miele's S8 or S2, or SEBO's D series.

 

[madaboutsebo]

yrs very true plus (depending on use!) less time collected dust and dirt sits in the machine maybe another less prominent reason too!

I do like the VK200 and would like one but happy with my VK150 for now. It's nice to know if I did want to buy the new VK200 the tools and accessories I already have fit the new model so I would only need the Vacuum itself plus the new VF200 that dispenses the dry powder (Kobosan) and grooms it into the carpet and the new Polsterboy PB400 that comes with the additional 2 attachments. I believe these attachments and the others I have with the VK150 should fit older Kobold models (clean air/fan models). I know the duo-clean vac and mop head does fit some of the older models!

Be interesting to see in the future how much higher Dyson will go in terms of price point on their latest models they launch! When you think the latest one have been around the £500 mark depending on model! It's not far off the starting price (UK) of just the Kobold without all the attachments!! I was surprised Vorwerk kept the pricing the same on the new model I did expect it to increase slightly!

 

[eurekaprince]

Love the topside cord reel port! We've seen that placement on some North American canisters as well, the Eureka Rally canister being one of them. This design makes it so much easier to pull out the cord, and to guide it back in. Wonder why we don't see more vacs with this design....