Dyson V11 absolute review: Is the cordless vacuum’s suction power really worth £700?
The Dyson V11 absolute is an update on the V10 and came on to the market in March 2019 – so it’s still one of the newer models from the home appliances technology company.
Dyson uses cutting edge technology, such as light digital motors and cyclonic separation technology to give a great performance and make sure their vacuums are as easy to use as possible – and the V11 absolute is no different.
Joining the absolute is also the brand’s V11 animal (£399.99, Dyson.co.uk), tourque drive (£499.99, Dyson.co.uk) and V11 outsize (£649.99, Dyson.co.uk), which is its latest model.
Some of its standout features include its LCD screen – which informs you of battery power and run time – the slide out bin and its powerful suction.
We tested the vacuum on both its design and performance – using its different floor heads and attachments on different surfaces and home furnishings, while also testing how long the battery lasted in different modes. The design and set up was also heavily studied, before we valued both these aspects against the vacuum’s price.
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Dyson V11 absolute
Buy now £699.99, Onbuy.com
Weight: 3 kg
Run time (on full charge): 60 minutes
Charge time: 4.5 hours
Bin volume: 0.76l
Dimensions: H25cm x W26cm x D126cm
Suction power: 18.5V
Cordless: Yes
Rating: 9.5/10
Design
As with all Dyson models the V11 has a sleek look, with its motor and bin encased in an attractive and compact purple compartment at the top of the cordless vacuum.
Like its predecessor, the V10 (£349.99, Dyson.co.uk), it has a slimline stick, which attaches easily to the floor heads and motor with a simple click. Although it has a bigger battery its run time after charging it – one hour – is the same, while it also has the same easy to grip handle and one touch trigger just under the handle.
We loved the V11’s new addition of a small LCD screen. The screen clearly shows how much battery life you have left and what mode you’re using the vacuum in. While if something gets stuck, or your Dyson isn’t working, it also troubleshoots for you – we hadn’t fit the bin back on properly and it warned us via the LCD screen when we tried to start the machine.
Read more: Is Dyson’s V11 outsize cordless vacuum cleaner worth £650?
The model comes with two floor heads. This includes its main torque head, which has dynamic load sensor (DLS) technology so that, with one flip of a button, you can deep clean carpets more easily. Its second-floor head, made with soft woven nylon and anti-static carbon fibre is great for harder floors, but we also found it gentler on rugs and pet beds.
The model comes apart and can be quickly and easily transformed into a handheld. It comes with seven accessories, including the mini-motorised tool, which was perfect for stairs and cleaning crumbs off our couch without leaving any marks, while we also found the mini dusting brush good for skirting boards.
One big thumbs down for the design of the Dyson model, however, is how it isn’t able to stand on its own, and has to be leant against furniture while you’re mid clean. We think a park and go feature would be beneficial, as we found that multiple times it would just topple over.
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The bin is designed to remove dust and dirt as easily as possible – and its best to do as a handheld. We simply slid the purple lever down the bin and the dirt spilled out. It does leave some dust inside, but we just wiped it out with a cloth, although it can be fully washed before it’s reattached.
Performance
The V11 is, without a doubt, a powerful cordless vacuum, but is it worth nearly £700? The model has three power modes – auto, eco and boost mode, and although it runs well on eco mode, and you get the most hoovering time out of it, we loved its auto mode. Some vacuums perform well on carpet and not on hard floors, but its power mode detects when you’ve changed floor types, adjusting speed and power – which can be heard and detected as you go from one to another. Boost mode was great when we’d spilt something – although it did drain the battery quicker.
Talking about the battery, it’s easy to click out if you want to charge it on its own, but it can also be charged while in the vacuum. Best done when the wall bracket is mounted, we did find it quite fiddly to attach, but once in you can simply hang it from the wall and allow it to fully charge – which, from nothing can take up to four hours.
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Incredibly light to use, we found the main brush floor head – an integrated digital motor that spins the brush bar up to 60 times a second – exceptional at picking up food, dirt and even hair. Sometimes we were surprised at just how clean it got our carpets. We also found that it manoeuvred around different floor types easily, with the articulated design of the heads getting into tight spots and under our furniture.
The vacuum also has some impressive tech – with “radial root cyclone” technology providing no loss of suction, and its machine filtration meaning no dust particles will escape into your living space – aka cleaner air.
The only downside for us, which is a pet hate on all Dysons, is that we have to keep the trigger power button down as we clean. It’s supposed to be for energy efficiency, which is obviously a plus, but we would love to see a power button where you could choose this option.
Buy now £699.99, Onbuy.com
The verdict: Dyson V11 absolute
From start to finish the V11 is easy to use, clean and store – with only minor hiccups. We loved the streamlined look of the cordless vacuum, an update on the V10, with its purple battery, floor heads and stick, making it attractive to have hanging in your living room.
Its suction is one of the most powerful from all the vacuums we’ve tested, picking up different dirt with ease, while its LCD display makes it easy to keep updated with battery time, cleaning modes and any problems with the hoover.
At nearly £700 we’d love to see Dyson investing in a park and go model, to keep the vacuum upright when we’re not using it, and even though many may not agree, its trigger power button took some time to get used to.
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