The New Dyson V16 Is the Most Powerful Cordless Vacuum Out
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The Dyson V16 Piston Animal is the first cordless vacuum I’ve tested from any brand that’s as powerful as a corded vacuum. And it finally includes a universal cleaning head that detects and transitions seamlessly between rugs and hard floors. Unless you need a height-adjustable brush roller for cleaning shag and long-pile rugs, it can be the only vacuum you own for daily and deep cleaning, so long as you’re willing to pay a substantial premium for this convenience.
At $979, it’s nearly twice as costly as my current pick forbest overall cordless vacuum, theShark PowerDetect Cordless. And the V16 doesn’t even include a self-emptying dock at that price — although its redesigned dustbin fits up to 30 days’ worth of debris thanks to a built-in compactor. The much-cheaper Shark is still a better value overall, but if you want your home tofeelclean in addition to looking clean,andyou don’t want to bother with a secondary corded vacuum, the V16 is worth the premium.
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Floor attachments:Anti-tangle All Floor Cones Sense head with LED, motorized Fluffy Optic hard-floor roller with laser |Other attachments:Motorized corkscrew upholstery brushroll, crevice |Self-emptying dock:No, but has a compacting bin |Battery life:70 mins. |Auto mode:No |Suction power:315 air watts |Weight:7.5 lbs. |Dustbin capacity:1.3 l.|Warranty:Three years |HEPA filter:Yes
More suction than a Gen5Detect, as maneuverable as a V15
I had written a whole paragraph about how much lighter the V16 was than the Gen5Detect — Dyson’s previous flagship cordless vacuum — before realizing that it’s actually slightly heavier and bigger. Yet in use, it feels both lighter and more maneuverable than its predecessor because Dyson lowered the V16’s center of gravity by flipping the motor mount. As a result, it handles more like the smaller, lighter V15 than the ungainly Gen5Detect.
The V16 also uses a brand-new 900-watt brushless motor that produces 315 air watts of suction — 13 percent more than the previous flagship motor and nearly as powerful as the 1,000-watt motor in the Sebo Felix, my current pick forbestcordedvacuum. More importantly, it lasts up to 17 minutes on its highest suction setting, compared to just eight minutes for the Gen5Detect. So it’s efficient enough to clean an entire single-family bungalow on one charge.
The conical floor-cleaning head is excellent on carpets, okay on hardwood
The All Floor Cones Sense attachment is Dyson’s first attempt at creating a universal floor-cleaning head that’s as effective on hard floors as it is on rugs. It automatically spins its brush roller faster to dislodge dust from deep within rugs and carpets, while slowing down to gently sweep hardwood without scratching it. It also has a green LED that lights up on hard surfaces to highlight any dust and debris in need of cleaning. Switching takes about a second, but is a mostly seamless and reliable experience overall.
Having just thoroughly vacuumed my living room rug with theShark PowerDetect Speeda few hours prior, I wasn’t expecting the V16 to find much on its first pass. But the suction was so powerful that it filled the 1.3-liter dustbin with two inches of fine dust and debris that the weaker vacuum had been missing for weeks. Afterward, the short-pile red silk rug felt just as clean as it does after being vacuumed by a corded vacuum.
The head’s diamond shape poses some challenges when cleaning right up against trim or when trying to edge into a corner, but it’s very effective everywhere else. And while it’s true that the very center of the cleaning head can leave behind a thin line of unvacuumed debris in a controlled test (such as flour sprinkled evenly onto a floor), this isn’t a problem in actual use, since one typically backtracks and overlaps a lot while vacuuming. It’s also a worthwhile trade-off, given that the conical shape is what makes this vacuum so good at handling hair. This design uses centrifugal force to shed, ball up, and suck up long hairs before they can tangle around the axles. In over a month of testing in both a two-story house and a small apartment, I’ve yet to disentangle a single one of my wife’s shoulder-length hairs from it.
The All Floor Cones aren’t nearly as impressive when cleaning hard floors, but they’re still an improvement over Dyson’s dedicated carpet-cleaning heads. This new head’s slower rotation speed prevents the bristles from scratching the floor finish while also minimizing the amount of debris that gets flung away from the cleaning head. The green LED does a good job illuminating the dirt that still needs cleaning, even if the vacuum isn’t always powerful enough to suck it all up in a single pass (boost mode is the exception). The LED, however, is still less effective than the laser light on Dyson’s hard-floor-only Fluffy Optic head, which is also better at cleaning hard floors due to its denser, softer brush roller.
Thankfully, Dyson still includes a Fluffy Optic head in the box, and it’s now easier than ever to switch between them, thanks to a new release lever at the top of the floor extension tube. I typically won’t bother switching if it’s only been a few days since I last vacuumed, but if the dust and fur have been piling up, it’s worth the couple extra steps to use the much more effective Fluffy Optic head. Also in the box: a crevice tool for tight spots and Dyson’s Best in Class corkscrew motorized upholstery-cleaning tool.
The CleanKompactor Piston makes emptying the dustbin a monthly task
If you’ve ever smushed the contents of a nearly-full trash can to make room where there was none, then you have an idea of how the Piston in the V16 Piston Animal works. Basically, you’re meant to actuate it after every cleaning to keep the contents of the dustbin from interfering with the vacuum’s suction-generating cyclones. Dyson says you can do this for up to 30 days before you finally need to empty the whole thing, but my two-cat household only gets about two weeks during summer shedding season. All this repeated compaction has the ancillary benefit of minimizing the amount of dust kicked up when the bin’s contents are finally ejected into a trash receptacle.
(While it’s not available yet, Dyson is planning to release a self-emptying dock for purchase in the fall. Ironically, the dock will be the first Dyson vacuum with a bag, but I actually prefer it because it eliminates the poofs of dust that arise every time I have to empty the bagless dock of my Shark into the trash. It likely won’t be cheap, and the prototypes I’ve seen look quite large compared to the competition’s, but I look forward to trying it nonetheless.)
It feels nicer, because it really is
Dyson vacuums are known for their design, more so than their durability, but the V16 may prove to be the exception. Not only does the satin finish feel nicer than the slick shells used on previous generations, but during a recent visit to Dyson’s Singapore headquarters, I confirmed with an engineer that the body is actually made from a higher-grade plastic. Time will tell if this makes a difference in long-term durability, but so far, it feels just as solid as it did when I first took it out of the package over a month ago.
It can wash your floors too (if you pay extra)
For a bit more, you can upgrade to the V16S, which includes a “Submarine” floorwashing attachment — basically a Dyson PencilWash, except you use the vacuum as a handle.I wasn’t a fan of the original PencilWashas a standalone floor washer for $350, and this add-on version shares the same icky clean-up procedure. But for only $120 extra, the Submarine is a fine value, especially considering it actually cleans better than the standalone PencilWash. (Note that you must decide at the time of purchase, as the Submarine head is only compatible with the V16S.) During testing, I found that the additional weight of the vacuum handle places just enough downward pressure on the cleaning head to optimize its performance on tough stains — like dried-up wet cat-food crumbs and errant espresso drips. It works best withDyson’s own non-foaming floor cleaner, but you can also mix white vinegar into the reservoir or just spritz some all-purpose cleaner onto problem areas as needed.
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Other cordless vacuums I recommend
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Our pick for best overall cordless vacuum is better at cleaning carpets.
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Convenient and maneuverable on hard floors but doesn't work on carpets.
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A less expensive option that's fine for hard floors.
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