Pint-sized, but POWERFUL! And Expensive.

We've owned this vac for almost 2 years and it's very powerful, very quiet, and very portable. We'd purchased it because we don't have much wall-to-wall carpeting...mostly area rugs. Our thinking was that we didn't really need a unit with a powerhead because of this.

First, a bit of trivia: This canister vac is branded an Electrolux, but I was told by an Electrolux rep that they don't make it...it's actually made by Eureka. The reason I know this, is because I've had to search for new attachments for it and stopped into an Electrolux dealer. Anyhow...

The Good:
Small and lightweight. The unit is very compact and easily maneuverable. Has a telescoping nozzle, for what it's worth.

Quiet. This is the quietest vacuum I know of. The noise is greater when the rug attachment is spinning because of the high-pitch whine, but still much quieter than a unit with a powerhead.

It's Powerful! The vacuum is tiny, but very powerful. It's almost powerful to a fault, as it's suction can make it difficult to pull, and nearly impossible to push, the nozzle across a rug..."glide" it does not. But suck, it does in spades. Luckily, it features adjustable suction. We mostly use it on the "Gentle" setting.

HEPA filtration. I have allergies so I figured I should buy a unit with one.

The not-so-good:

Attachments. The vacuum does not have a "powered" rug attachement. The rug attachment it has is suction powered. Meaning that, the beater bar is spun by the power of the suction through the attachment. If you own deep-pile carpet, then this vacuum is probably NOT for you. I'm not sure how effective this attachment really is for the following reason: In order for the bar to spin, you have to crank up the suction. However, in doing so, you also make it very difficult to push/pull the nozzle across the rug's surface. You have to play with the suction settings to find a happy medium, whereby the bar spins, but you don't break your back push/pulling across the rug.

As others have said, the attachments aren't very durable. The corner attachment and small brush/floor attachment can be housed right on the underside of the handle. The holder is too easily removed from the handle, so mostly, we don't keep it attached.

Recently, the black plastic "guide" piece on the bottom of the rug attachment has cracked and will need to be replaced. I'll report back on my replacement experience in the future.

Small capacity and expensive bags. With compact size, comes compact capacity. The unit sucks so powerfully, and the bags are so small, that it fills up pretty quickly. Bags for this unit are not cheap. 4 for $11 at Sears.

Loss of suction. As the bags fill, the unit's power decreases noticeably. Probably a good thing, as it let's you know it's time to change the bag. The little bag indicator isn't lit up, so it's not very noticeable.


UPDATE: DON'T LOSE THE ATTACHMENTS!!! Our cleaning lady lost the floor piece for this vacuum and the rug attachment's guide cracked, so I figured I'd just replace them. I went to Sears to order them and they wanted $100 a piece!! Ouch.