UK WHICH "Independent" Test Ratings/Reliability

[sebo_fan]

Taken from Which Magazine 2015. No surprises despite obvious bias to the Miele brand yet again...

 

[sebo_fan]

Uprights

 

[sebo_fan]

Test findings

 

[sebo4me]

I'm convinced Miele are paying them a lot of money!
Don't get me I think their cylinders are excellent but Which are so biased!

 

[sebo4me]

The Miele S7 is big bulky heavy and I've heard many reports about bits breaking off it!

 

[turbo500]

The Miele S7..or U1 as it is now...is being phased out. You can only order it via mail order now. And yes, it's a royal PITA. You have to take the motor out just to replace the handle release. BUT they do clean fantastically.

 

[sebo_fan]

They've only been around since 2007/8 so how Miele can be ranked as outright best brand for uprights is beyond me. As usual Which have gone deaf on the Tweet I sent them regarding this.

 

[sebo4me]

I wonder if they will bring out another upright after this one is phased out? Is it being phased out in the US also?

 

[sebo4me]

I used to subscribe to Which but I lost respect for them because of this.

 

[sebo_fan]

Im on and off with Which. They're good with some of their other brands/testing but then they also have wide discrepancies with the info they care to share about their vacuums. Same model Miele vacs which have a hugely different test score because of a filter upgrade between the machines. Doesn't make sense. Or for the fact that they continually promote brands or models that are out with the consumer's reach.

 

[oliveoiltinfoil]

I have had 2 Mieles, S6 cylinder and an S7 and found the cylinder to be like any other straight suction cylinder I have sued. Sure, it is quiet and quite well made but thats it. I found the S7 to be horrible to be honest. I bunny hopped over my shag thick carpets and the build quality quite patchy and cheap in places. I tried changing the belt once and it basically fell to pieces. So many pieces of plastic you have to put back.

Not a patch on SEBO in terms of performance, quality or value. I don't go by Which? ratings anyway.

 

[sebo4me]

I'd disagree with you there. Miele cylinders are fantastic. They have the edge over Sebo cylinders in terms of performance, bags, filtration and aesthetics.
Sebo come out tops on build quality and running costs.
I'd prefer Sebo uprights to the Miele S7

 

[turbo500]

I kind of agree. The S5/c2 complete and s8/c3 cleaners are superior to Sebo cylinders but the s6/c2 compact and s2/c1 aren't as good. But then again, that is reflected in the price - the latter ranges are considerably cheaper than all of the other mentioned models and all of the Sebo cylinders.

Agree about the Sebo uprights being better though. The S7/U1 is too big, heavy, overly complicated and not that solid when compared with Miele's cylinders.

 

[sebo_fan]

But if you haven't noticed what SEBO are doing for years on end with Miele, its not as if they are competing with exact machines until probably the arrival of the E Airbelt family, which now offers a 3.5 litre capacity to similar capacity to the S6.

The C series for example had a bigger dust bag capacity to Miele's stable S500 and previous S700 models where the C series was pitched against. Whilst Miele uprated the power, SEBO stuck to their guns with the 1500 watt C2, C3 and associated added PN versions.

The K series has a 3 litre dust bag capacity, so it is both smaller on capacity than either the lovely S4 (a favourite model of mine) S6 and even previous models like the S300 series by Miele. Due to customer demand, power was increased from original 1800 watts to 2100 watts over a period of time.

Currently the D series by SEBO is bigger than the S8 on size, weight and slightly bigger dust bag capacity, almost twice as much cable and better built.

Whereas Miele may well trump SEBO for style, SEBO's newer cylinders in general are far better built in my experience. I've owned equal share of Miele products so I'm not that biased.

One of my daily drivers is my Miele S8. I dont know if I would go for a smaller Miele again - the way the bin lids open and bend far too easily isn't worth the money they cost to buy.

 

[paulinroyton]

Miele S7 Range

When the Miele S7 range first came out my partner bought me one for Xmas. Not sure of model number but it was the yellow upright cleaner.

The first one was faulty and had to exchange it on Boxing Day. The second one eventually fell to bits. The bag full indicator kept on getting sucked in, and a part from underneath kept on falling out.

In the end it got sold and now using a Sebo X4 upright and it's the best cleaner I have ever used.

Paul

 

[sebo4me]

Yes Sebos are better built than Miele. But Miele are still sell built and will last 10 to 15 years if they are looked after.
You can pick up the basic model for £150. I think that is FANTASTIC value.

 

[purpledefector]

If which? are biased...where is someone supposed to get a reliable and informed objective assessment?

 

[sebo_fan]

That is a good point. I wouldn't say Which are biased with every brand or service they test but it just seems Which for the last couple of years have recommended Miele above all else.

There are a few other independents, purpledefector (also welcome if you are new on here) - but online such as The Gadget Show who sometimes show one new vacuum cleaner or many and then the review type companies such as www.trustedreviews.com and plenty of other review sites.

Which? of course are also magazine based so you get that physical copy in the hand even though they are available online.

I'd hazard a bet that most collectors will know a lot more info than Which - but it seems a shame that Joe Public isn't aware of the knowledge.

Roger's videos on You Tube (ibaisaic) are well worth seeking out and watching.

 

[gibsonlp]

I think it has more to do with who Which pitches their magazine at. The people who seem to buy Mieles drive BMW's and Mercedes who like german engineering and will want something powerful which is well known and reliable. Still I have to agree they're well engineered and have great looks, better marketed, performance and more acceisble than a sebo.