Miele S8990 UniQ Canister Vacuum Cleaner (Old Model)

Pros: Quiet: It is amazingly quiet. The motor produces lots of suction and the filtration system is awesome. Quality of handle is excellent.Important considerations: Price @ $1500 I expected unmatched performance, reliability and a company that provides excellent support.Cons: The powerhead made noise out of the box. After about 5 uses, it was clearly defective. I called the company, which has no support on the weekend or after normal business hours, and spoke to Jim in New Jersey. His first task was to lecture me for purchasing on Amazon. He was unfamiliar with the powerhead on the model. (First, he said I didn't have the proper head and when I informed him that only one head comes with it his response was "oh yeah... You got the big boy" I asked for a head replacement and exchange he refused then he lamented over the price saying "that's a $300 head"My response was "exactly" I then informed Jim of the extended warranty and all I wanted was to have the head replaced. He then accused Amazon of attempting to sell warranties (What... Amazon's selling warranties now?) until I made him read his own literature. His solution: I was directed to a local dealer to get a repair on a brand new vacuum. Let me repeat, I was sent to a dealer to have an out-of-the-box defective part repaired not replaced. I went to the local dealer. When I got there I was told that I should try another brand of vacuum. He suggested a Riccar. I gave up on Miele. (Total waste of time was about 4.5 hours)Thanks to Amazon I returned the Miele and got a wonderful Sebo.Summary:This vacuum can be awesome if the head doesn't fail, or if it's no big deal to have a pretty short cord. It's quite and powerful. The filtration is awesome. The company representative I spoke with sounded like a sleazy salesman with a bad script. He didn't know his product and he attempted to be a "know it all"... How utterly disappointing I was in this company for employing such a tool. This, along with the quick failure, price, proprietary short hose and short cord is the reason for the low rating. I hope the company addresses these issues because it's such a nice vacuum.

Pros* I have owned previous "true HEPA" vacuum cleaners but noticed a critical difference with this unit: My allergies went away. Totally.* Perfect, 0 ppm, lab-grade filtration.* Superb materials, build quality, and fit-n-finish.* Velvet bumper protects woodwork and furniture, while the swivel wheels prevent contact in the first place.* Rigid, positive locking, stainless steel wand.* Paced, one-touch cord retract mechanism is superior to any I have ever experienced.* Light base unit encourages me to just carry it when doing stairs.* Unusually quiet electric carpet head.* Perfectly flat profile allows cleaning under almost any furniture, no matter how close to the floor.* Handle-mounted controls.* Very light, uncrushable hose with swivels on both ends.* Classy, real metal satin-finished trim on the base unit.* Attachments, wand, and hose are oversized (although this is hard to perceive). The result is exceptional, 94 CFM airflow. This rivals, even exceeds, the cleaning power of commercial back-pack vacuums.* Unusually long 10-year warranty. Absolutely no problems experienced, and none expected.Cons* Overpriced by $300 for what you get.* Handle controls can be accidentally brushed, shutting off the unit, because they aren't recessed.* Attachments are expensive.* LEDs on the base unit are silly, unnecessary, and a poor excuse for the inflated price.Suggestions* Recess handle-mounted controls to avoid accidental button-pressing.* Add slots on the bottom that mate to an optional backpack platform so the base unit can be worn. Given its small size, lightness, and quietness, this is a natural application. A terrific value-added feature, and easy for Miele to implement.Summary Appraisal* Miele offers a unit with a less-sophisticated carpet head, no hand-mounted controls, and manual speed control selectable on the base unit for about $1000. Same fundamental mechanicals and better value.* Uniq is great for people like me who value luxury appliances.* The high (perhaps excessive) initial price will be forgotten over time as the perfect filtration and exceptional user experience become welcome habits.

This will be my second Miele vacuum. My first was the blue moon and I was VERY happy with that vacuum for more than 10 years until the electronic hose kept having to be replaced several times per year and I decided it was time for a new one. I opted for the UniQ canister vac and just haven't been as happy. While I still love the fact that the vacuum is quiet and that the power hose is built in to the extension pole, I find that the hose is waaay too short and the most frustrating feature (which I'm shocked that I have not read anyone else complain about in these reviews) is that the power and cord rewind buttons are so sensitive, that the hose hits them (frequently) and either turns the machine off or shockingly rewinds the cord with so much power that it rips out of the wall and strikes anything in it's path. Dangerous to an eye and quite painful when you are that thing in it's path and you don't see it coming. In addition, the canister tends to flip over often which also activates one of those buttons or both. Nothing more frustrating than to have your vacuuming continually interrupted and having to constantly restart the machine or plug it back in. My husband, my cleaning lady and myself all have the same complaints with the vac, so I know it isn't just something that I'm doing. Unfortunately, my friend is looking to replace her 13 year old Blue Moon and I recommended that she purchase a new brand as I could no longer recommend this product for these serious design flaws.