It was hard not to be impressed by Dyson's V6 Absolute and V6 Fluffy cordless vacuum cleaners. They both managed to pack an impressive level of suction that put even some mains-powered cylinder vacuums to shame. They managed to make the act of cleaning, dare I say it, reasonably enjoyable as you nimbly maneuvered around the room. I had a chance to try out the V8 a few weeks ago and can happily say the V8 builds upon its impressive lineage.
Dyson is now back with a newer model in the form of the V8 Absolute, which as you might have guessed uses a newer V8 digital motor. This ups the power from the previous V6, running at 425W rather than 350W. This amounts to a motor that spins at up to 110,000rpm when you activate the V8's Max mode. Speaking of which, the Max mode is now more intuitively activated with a more intuitively placed switch, meaning you can more swiftly boost the suction on difficult areas.
One of the most important improvements is to battery life, which has now been doubled to 40 minutes. While Dyson would say that 20 minutes on the previous model was plenty for giving the house a quick clean, especially as the trigger power button meant it was only powered on when needed, extra run time is still a great thing to have and also means you won't always have to return the V8 Absolute to its charging station.
Like the old model, the V8 Absolute uses a fade-free lithium-ion battery, which means that performance shouldn't deteriorate as the battery depletes. If you've ever used an electric toothbrush you've probably felt how the motor begins to spin slower as battery power runs down. This wasn't the case when we tested the V6 models and this should be the same for the V8. How much dirt has accumulated in the bin should also not effect the V8's suction power.
Dyson has re-designed its post-motor filter meaning less allergens and dirt are ever expelled back into the air and acoustically the V8 is said to be 50% quieter. The other new aspect I was impressed by was the dirt ejector. In the V6 you found that dirt would get trapped in the bin when emptying, typically along the sides due to static. Now, when you empty the bin a rubber collar slides down the shroud, scraping excess dirt off like a squeegee. It means trapped dirt and debris gets removed and you don't get your hands dirty. It's a clever solution to what wasn't a major problem but one that was inconvenient.
The other improvement is that the clip for attaching different heads is now attached to the accessory, rather than the V6. It's a subtle, but important change, and means that you can switch accessories more easily. Again, a modular, small change that makes a reasonable difference in day-to-day use. Other improvements have been made to the cleaner heads, which supposedly has 150% more brush power than the previous V6 Animal motorised head. The necks now also pivot to reach trickier areas more easily.
At £499 RRP, the V8 Absolute is certainly a sizeable investment, however. For the money you get the V8 cordless vacuum, a direct-drive cleaner head, soft roller cleaner head, mini motorised tool, combination tool and crevice tool. The Absolute will be available exclusively from the Dyson website.
