Awesome Fred! I bought this same one Saturday
I have not been here in ages and I was scratching my head at your handle, good thing you posted your picture (LOL)! Anyway, I pretty much made up my mind when I found out about these that I was going to buy one, so when I went on the website over the holidays and saw they had at last come out, and saw the price (I was expecting it to be at least $1,000, so from that standpoint I was pleasantly surprised) off I went!
Initially I'd planned to get the other red one, with the dial suction control, thinking that would be fine. (For the uninitiated, there are two models; the only real difference is one has electronic suction control with an automatic setting, the other has a simple knob, but there is a $200 difference in price). I thought that was a bit much just for that, but the plot thickens, and I guess I went on a good day!
The store I went to (a 45 year old sewing and vac shop I recently discovered, only about a mile from the site of the LA convention coincidentally!) I was waited on by one man, who demonstrated and showed me the cleaner, and I asked for the model I mentioned above. The other man (person in charge I think) said he was sure there was one in back. Turns out he had sold the last red one earlier that day, but they had yellow. It's kind of a pretty yellow like the vintage "sunny yellow" appliances, and I quietly considered it for a moment, even though I technically wanted red. The person in charge man said "well, I have the red in the other (higher end) model you see here." I said "yes, but I didn't want to pay $200 just for the upgraded suction control." Without even flinching, he said "I'll sell you this model for $749" (the two models were $699 and $899 respectively). I of course without flinching said "let's do it!"
Interestingly, I have never been a fan of using uprights for above the floor cleaning, but I have to say this thing is the absolute bomb. Aside from just wanting the new product, what clinched the deal when I went to the website was the long cord (I like to plug once and be done), and long 12' hose (I find vacuum hoses generally speaking a bit too short). It also stated that it had an anti tip device, that being a problem with this type of cleaner generally, to which I can attest. It's very simple to use the tools with this cleaner, you can attach them either to the handle directly or to an aluminum telescoping wand, very similar to what you used to get with Hoover. The hose is rather Constellation-esque and stretches for a long distance. Whatever the anti tip device is works, because the cleaner did not fall down once in cleaning the whole house. It is easy to maneuver, having those swivel casters like on the Miele canisters. It was wonderful.
Far as floor and carpet cleaning, I felt it excelled here as well. I have the standard modern day plush wall to wall carpet, some vinyl, and several area rugs, a couple low pile and one a very hefty shag (not regular shag, each "strand" is a sort of nub about 1/2" in diameter, it's really cool!). I've largely used an older metal Royal on the rugs since I moved here, which was basically fine, but this has a much more aggressive (and I suppose faster) brushroll and of course a much more powerful motor. I never used the Royal on the shag, I used to just go over it with the Miele canister's combo tool. This cleaner groomed all the rugs (including that one) beautifully and in some spots you could really hear stuff going into the cleaner! With the brushroll turned off it also did a fine job on the bare floors and bathroom scatter rug. Another nice feature is the handle release footswitch. If, while you're cleaning, you go from say a bare floor to carpet or carpet to area rug (a step "up") you can step on it and it lifts the front right up and off you go. All the height adjustment is automatic, a boon as compared to Royal's screw type adjustment (I had it set for the wall to wall and never changed it for the area rugs even though I probably should have).
The headlight, as Fred pointed out, is really nice, and the controls are convenient. The on off and brushroll switch are right on the handle, and suction controls right in front of you. One handy feature is that the brushroll shuts off in the upright position, regardless of switch position, nice if you're going back and forth between rug cleaning and use of tools. Which brings me to the "automatic" setting, something at first assumption I figured to be maybe "cool" but of limited real world practicality. I could not have been more wrong on this point and I am so happy that I wound up with this model. It handled the transitions of various surfaces, particularly in above the floor cleaning beautifully, and it's kind of cool you can hear it speed up and slow down depending on what you're doing. If you switch from automatic back to manual, it even remembers the last setting you'd used in manual mode. The bags and filter are very convenient to change.
For my part, I give this thing a 20 on a scale of 1 to 10 and two thumbs up all at once. I thought I'd be buying it sort of as an "enthusiast" type thing, which I technically did, but even aside from that as a standard vacuum consumer, I am very pleased with my investment and the value I got for my money. I don't know what took so long or what that whole rebadged Panasonic business was all about (nothing wrong with Panasonic, just odd for such a high end company to have done that), but once they decided to come out with this they really seemingly thought of everything. It uses the same motor as the canister and is similarly quiet. The brushroll makes more sound than the cleaner itself.
For the modern day cleaners, I really think Miele is pretty much the cream of the crop in any configuration, particularly for those of us who detest a noisy cleaner, which are so prolific today. I have had a mid line Miele canister (no power nozzle) for many years which I have loved and has served me well. I bought it on Ebay slightly used from a woman who decided on a whim to upgrade to the then top end unit (Blue Moon maybe?). I always thought of upgrading especially after the 236 nozzle came out, but doing rugs with a canister just doesn't do it for me (I'm always getting tangled up in the cord or hose and I guess I've just never quite got it down) and it never would have been my only cleaner like this upright could be.
Really, for things like doing my blinds, ceiling fan and things like this, this upright is far easier to deal with. Actually, I'd like to see them take a cue from this new upright and try a longer cord and a 12' hose on the already fine canister line. The length of the cord and hose are the primary things I would want to change if anything, on my canister.
