Dyson continues to push the limits of industrial design with the announcement of two new vacuums, each with space-age styling and impressive innovations. The question is, will the DC47 bagless canister vacuum and the DC50 upright vacuum make it onto our top picks list, when other Dyson models have fallen short? Here's how they'll need to improve and what we'll be looking for in our tests.
The DC47, which will be available May 13th for $450, is the first cylinder vacuum with two tiers of smaller cyclones working together to supposedly increase airflow and extract more dust. It's mounted on a ball for improved maneuverability. We tested the Dyson DC39 Animal canister vacuum, which has the same ball technology, but not the two-tiered cyclone action. It proved excellent on bare floors and maintained impressive suction through the hose for cleaning with tools. But it was subpar at removing embedded talc and sand from carpet, which kept it out of the winner's circle. For the DC47 to be better, it will have to improve on that carpet score.
The DC50, also available May 13th for $600, is described as a compact vacuum with the performance of a full-sized upright. It also uses ball technology and a self-adjusting cleaner head that maintains constant suction across all floor types. Dyson's engineers supposedly went through 1,859 prototypes of the machine to fine-tune the technology. In the bagless upright category, Dyson has more ground to make up to become one of Consumer Reports' leaders, including competition from the LG Kompressor LuV350P, the Hoover WindTunnel T-Series Rewind Bagless UH70120, the Kenmore Intuition 31040, and the Eureka AirSpeed AS1000A. The highest scoring Dyson, the $600 DC41 Animal, was average at carpet cleaning and removing pet hair for an overall score of 56. The $430 Dyson DC24 Ball Multi Floor fared even worse, earning one of the few poor scores for tool airflow.
One area Dyson does perform well is in reliability. Based on feedback from more than 100,000 readers, we know that Dyson's upright and canister vacuums have been less repair-prone than other brands. If the DC47 and DC50 live up to performance promises, the result could be a vacuum that looks cool, cleans well, and holds up over time.
We'll let you know as soon as the new Dysons arrive in our vacuum cleaner lab. In the meantime, you can choose from more than 40 recommended vacuums in our current Ratings.
