Well don't forget there is a suction air outlet valve at the top of the handle. With that open you get a better usage/easier to push hose and floor head. Also whilst George can use Henry dust bags, you can also buy 15 litre dust bags for George, thus cutting your cost in two if you just use that kind of bag alone. Also the 32mm sizing makes it easy to swap floor heads around, especially old Vax or Hoover floor heads that might be lighter to push anyway.
As a fan of the wet and dry model, Charles, I once managed to get through one bag in a holiday family home for 8 months before the bag needed changing and it was like a brick that required two hands to pull the bag out. Frankly I don't think any tub on the market is space efficient as yet, even James with the smaller length hose is a touch bulky.