Dyson V15 Detect Review

The Dyson V15 Detect has the build quality consumers expect from a premium vacuum brand. This model offers more suction power, longer battery life, and smart features than other products in the brand's lineup.

Performance Comparison

Convenience

Stick vacuums entered the market, and consumers rapidly adopted the design due to the increased levels of convenience. We assessed each model's convenience by looking at the attachment, weight, charge time, and storage potential. The Dyson V15 Detect offers the user a high degree of convenience due to its attachments and battery life.

This model comes with a standard wall mount and seven different attachments. The attachments can fasten to the base of the shaft to enhance the model's overall versatility. The ball joints on the shaft have low rigidity levels, requiring a particular technique to install.

The vacuum weighs 6.9 pounds. When using the vacuum, it feels heavier than other models with the same weight due to poor weight distribution. The rechargeable battery lasted 56 minutes in Eco mode and 10 minutes on maximum power with 3 hours and 40 minutes recharge time.

Hard Surface

Hardwood floors are common places for stick vacuums to be used. We tested the products on hardwood laminate flooring using cheerios, oatmeal, flour, and rice. The Dyson V15 had superior performance throughout our hardwood tests.

The Dyson shined when tested against rice, flour, oatmeal, and pet hair, yet struggled with cereal. It could pick up all the rice on the first pass with the right attachment. It flung some grains up to 1.5 feet but still performed better than most of its competitors. The V15 rose to the challenge as it quickly cleared the flour mess on the first pass without forcing any into the cracks. Its stellar performance persisted in the oatmeal and pet hair tests as it cleaned the entire mess quickly.

Surprisingly, it found its match with cereal due to its tendency to clog with debris larger than one inch. It would also fling and crush the cereal. It also lacks sufficient clearance to vacuum medium to large debris in reverse.

Ease of Use

The user-friendly nature of stick vacuums is a driving reason to select one of these models over its traditional counterparts. This metric looks at the model's handling, power options, and noise levels. The V15 is an admirable product for its ease of use.

Dyson brings a range of power options to the new model. The automatic mode allows the vacuum to adjust the suction level to the detected mess to save battery and ensure the job gets done. However, the automatic suction was slow to detect changes and sometimes lacked accuracy, thus reducing the user's benefit. The medium and boost settings add to the power diversity and can be selected if the auto function isn't cutting it. On these settings, the V15 produces above-average noise levels.

While vacuuming, the user needs to hold the trigger, which makes larger vacuuming projects more tiring and less ideal, especially considering the 6.9-pound weight.

This product is easy to maneuver with its swivel steering and ability to reach deep under furniture. The V15 has stand-out edging abilities without using a specific attachment.

Carpet Cleaning

Carpet cleaning performance was assessed using the same debris as the hardwood testing but took place on low pile, medium pile, and fluffy carpets. Overall, the V15 excelled with pet hair and flour but was subpar with cereal, oatmeal, and rice.

Despite a strong performance throughout each metric, the V15 was disappointing when vacuuming rice on the carpet. It took nine passes to clean up the mess. This model also tended to fling rice around; it threw about 1/3 of the rice during a test run. Like rice, the oatmeal flung back a few inches, and it took four to five passes to clean the mess. The vacuum's impressive ability on fine materials made quick work of the more fine particles.

As mentioned in the hard surface metric, the lack of clearance on the vacuum head cannot pick up medium to large particles when working in reverse; a pile will form on the back side of the attachment.

The Dyson cleaned almost all the pet hair on its first pass, and the brush remained tangle free. It found similar success with flour and took a few passes to clean the messes fully. Overall, it had an impressive performance with fine materials on all carpet piles.

Should You Buy the Dyson V15 Detect?

This is a good option if you have a particular affinity for the Dyson brand and are looking for an easy-to-use vacuum specializing in hard floor performance. However, most consumers may shy away from this model, given the price and relative performance.

What Other Stick Vacuums Should You Consider?