You might check out the Electrolux Oxygen canister, rated #2 out of 22 canisters by Consumer Reports a few months ago. Costs $400 and rated excellent on carpets, bare floor, emissions, and pet hair.

We bought a Kenmore about a year ago for a bit over $300. We didn't want to spend much more than that. It gets the job done; no complaints. I'm sure there are machines that perform somewhat better, but again, we had a budget limit.

Miele is pricey, but it does have its fans. To look at the CR ratings, however, one can conclude that there is virtually no correlation between price and performance, at least for vacuum cleaners. On the other hand, some folks put little value on CR ratings.

Good luck!

If you do a search or Miele Canninster you'll be able to read the comments of people who have them. I recently asked for suggestions on how to clean my hardwood floor and several people mentioned Miele.

I have a Miele canister vac and I love it. It feels like a much more substantial machine than the Electrolux Oxygen that I also own, and which has now been moved upstairs. The Miele's are pricy, but I think you generally get what you pay for. Miele vacuums have a 7 year warranty on the motor - which tells me that these things are built to last. If you do a search on Miele's you will find many people who have had one for 15 to 20 years and are still happy with them. My Electrolux vac feels flimsy to me, and I don't think it cleans as thoroughly as the Miele.

I love my miele- I have the aquarius-it was pricey but I saved up and finally got it-it doesn't have the smell that some vacuums have, you know the stench that they have after a bit of use and it has the hepa filter which helps with allergens-it is lightweight but a powerhouse for cleaning-i have 3 large dogs and a cat plus 4 grandchildren that are here almost everyday and it does a great job on hardwoods and carpet-i would not trade it for anything-

I have an older Miele Flamenco II. It replaced a 20 year old Kirby that I loved. The Miele was excellent. I bought bags in bulk from ebay - much less expensive than a local vac shop.
I would not have replaced it, but we built a home and put in central vac - which I love, but the Miele was almost as good!

By all means, get a Miele!

I have a Miele Plus that I got at a flea market for 15 bucks! The same model goes for over 500 dollars new and it's still a current model. I collect vacuums as a hobby and have 30 machines including Kirby, Electrolux, Rainbow, Filter Queen, Dyson, Hoover, and Eureka.. and several others... I love the Miele more than any of them! The fit and finish is AWESOME. It is put together very nicely. It doesn't creak or crack when I grab it. The cord winder is VERY strong and you don't have to "help" it in as you do with some other brands. The suction is just AMAZING... and it can be dialed own for delicate items. The exhaust is on the top of the machine so it doesn't blow things all over the place like vacuums that have it in the back would. There is even a metal piece in the hand grip to prevent static electricity from forming! All three wheels on the Miele rotate 360 degrees... awesome thing in small or tight spaces like my 1 bedroom apartment. The Miele is also VERY quiet compared to other vacuums, especially if you turn the suction down, but even on high.

A few things I don't like about my model.... it didn't come with an on board dusting brush. It also has the wires for the power nozzle on the outside, so they are a pain to disconnect and reconnect when changing attachments.

Are you sure that you want a turbo nozzle instead of an electric power nozzle? Do you just have some low pile area rugs, or wall to wall carpet?

We have a mix of low-pile carpet, wood with oriental rugs,
and tile floors. No deep pile at all.

Currently, with my old WorldVac, I use the power head only
on the bedroom carpet. I believe the turbo will work fine
there. The rest of the house gets a floor brush, hard floor
or not. The brush (about 2x10) seems to do the low pile
carpets better than the standard smooth-bottom carpet
tool.

A Miele is a great option. They are quiet, easy to use, and have great power. You will love it. I am not sure which Miele would be best for you, but below is a Miele Selection Tool. Give it try maybe it can help point you in the right direction.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vacuum Selection Tool

I love my Miele Capricorn. It's a great machine, quiet, and you can't beat the filtration system! BUT, I've only had it a few months and already found a couple of problems. One is that the power head attachment for carpet does not do "to the edge" cleaning. My old Royal sucked up from the sides to get the "edge" between the carpet and the moulding. With this one I have to use remove the power head and run the wand along the edge of the carpet. Also, I just forked over $45.00 to have the power head cleaned. I thought it was broken and took it in for repair thinking it was under warranty. Wrong!! We have a golden/lab mix and 2 cats who all shed like crazy. Apparently all of the hair was clogging the power head. Since I don't want to keep paying them to clean it I will have to take it apart every month or two and clean it out. Not what I expected from a $1200.00 machine!

I have a Miele aluminium. It replaced an $800 Electrolux cannister. I love it. The filtration system is great. It is light. It moves easily. I bought the Miele small electric broom type for it's extension and ability to reach cobwebs. I can also use the larger machine's wand for more reach. It is easy to pull out and vaccuum. IMO, worth the price.

ebear, if you owned a $200,000 Ferrari and drove it often (and perhaps you do), would you complain about it needing an oil change every month or so? Think of all the cat and dog hair you've removed from the carpet and furniture. How often did the Royal need cleaning? Did it remove as much hair as the Miele?

Unfortunately, I don't vacuum nearly as often as I should. This is the second time in less than a year the power head was in for repair. The royal (an upright) required very little maintenance. I cleaned the roller every so often but it was mostly "string" type things getting caught up in the roller. The Royal definitely had the better suction. Even the guy at the vacuum store told us that the Royal was more powerful than the Miele. My biggest complaint about the Royal, and main reason for getting the Miele, was the filtration. It smelled whenever I vacuumed. I just knew that all of the allergens were being put back into the air. Don't get me wrong, I like the Miele. It has a lot of great features and I think it was worth the price. I just wouldn't recommend it to anyone with pets who shed a lot. The Meile powerbrush doesn't seem to be able to handle it.

Miele is a great vacuum choice but I personally I don't recommend the turbo for more than 3 or 4 area rugs or with lots of pet hair. Also If you decide on the Eureka built Electrolux Oxygen be sure you have a store near by where you can buy wands, hoses and powerheads because you will be replacing them often after they burn out. Also never leave it plugged in when not being used. Consumer Reports just uses a vacuum for the test, their reviews really lack real world usage.

I bought a Bosch canister at Costco and got a good deal on it I think. I considered a Miele for a while but this Bosch was a better value. Plus my experience with my Miele dishwasher = over rated, over priced. Very happy with the Bosch vacuum.

How do you tell what pile of carpet you have? I am also seriously considering a Miele as both me and my son have asthma and I have really bad allergies. We only have carpet in the bedrooms and a few scatter rugs. The carpet in the bedrooms are cut pile but I have no idea if they are low or medium or high pile carpet.

I had two Electrolux canisters. (one was given by a relative,the other was part of my divorce settlement). I loved both, the older one just stopped running and I stupidly threw it out. The other one, the hose kept clogging and I got tired of paying to get it fixed, so it went out too. since then I've had 4 vacuums, Bissel, Hoover (bagless,the worst) and the other 2 I can't even remember. I would love to get another Electrolux, altho the company has changed and they use name "Aerus". oth my old Elextroluxes were terrific on all types of surfaces, and I've always had multiple shidding pets.

Buy the Miele, they are great vacs. Buy the one with the biggest power head that has the height adjustment. Their power heads are made by Wessel-Werks, in Germany. It's one of the best power heads out there. I used one for years with my central vac and I had 5 power heads for that system. Every time I changed the carpet I bought a new power head as the old one would not work with the new carpet. The Wessel-Werks would have handled all of my carpet changes but it was not available 25 years ago. Your decorating tastes may change through the coming years and U may tire of the hardwood. God knows, I grew up with hard wood and the best thing that my mom ever did was carpet over it! Shag carpet is back but they call it Sheared Berber. The next thing will be tye-dyed clothing and Shag, hair cuts! If that happens I have lived way too long! LOL Good luck!