I was also considering a Dyson and did "test drive" one and have it demonstrated for me.

Here's why we didn't buy the Dyson:
I found it to be heavy and awkwardly-shaped. We have two flights of wood stairs that we vacuum every week. I didn't like the way the Dyson had to "perch" on the stairs, kind of hanging over the edge.

Seeing the Dyson demonstrated made me realize that I much prefer a bagged vacuum.

I hadn't realized this before, but you have to periodically clean internal parts (filters?) on the Dyson.

Also dumping out the dusty contents seemed way too messy for me. We live in a city where the trash cans are outside in an alley behind our house. I didn't want to have to carry the whole unit outside to empty it.

For us, bags and replaceable filters were a better option.

The exterior of the Dyson is badly designed, in my opinion. Where most canister vacuums are smooth, the Dyson has all sorts of nooks and crannies and projecting plastic parts. It just seemed like the machine itself would collect all sorts of dust and dirt. It seemed unnecessarily complicated to me.

The feature that was the deal-breaker for us was the rotating brush on the head of the Dyson. We have mostly hard wood floors and Miele had the perfect tool for us.

We ended up buying a Miele canister and are extremely happy with it.

Hope this helps.

I have a Dyson canister model, it was the first version sold in the US (2004) and has an air driven beater bar. The newer models have a motorized beater bar, which is better.

What I like most is that it is bagless. I don't think there are any other bagless canister vacs on the market, except for shop vacs. It has great suction. With all the dog fur I pick up, I save a fortune on replacement bags. It is easy to empty, you just hold it over the kitchen garbage can, press a button, and the stuff goes in the can. I like that it is lightweight and compact and rolls easily, never tipping over because of a low center of gravity. It sits easily on a step while I clean the staircase. In addition to using it to clean floors and furniture, I use it almost like a dry shop vac, picking up wood dust and drywall repair dust. That's when the washable filter comes in handy. I rinse it out in the kitchen sink, squeeze it dry, and let it air dry overnight.

Dislikes: I like the automatic cord rewind, but the cord is so short that I have a dedicated extension cord for the machine. The roller brush is easy to turn off, you just give it a kick with your foot, but sometimes it starts turning again. However, most of my cleaning now is on hardwood, so I don't use the roller brush attachment much anymore, I use a hardwood floor brush. The biggest downside I see is that I don't believe this canister vac cleans carpet as well as an upright.

As a long time owner of a Dyson canister vaccum, I have to agree with everything Graywings stated in her thoughtful post. I actually think the shape makes it easy to pull around the house and I prefer the bagless. I have mostly bare floors (hardwood, vinyl and tile) in my home and I think it does a great job on them. It works well with the dust brush for vacuuming baseboards and window sills, etc. And it works well with the upholstery attachment when I vacuum the furniture. Mine also has a feature that when I pull (squeeze??) a lever the suction is reduced to the point that I can vacuum my drapes. It does NOT work well on carpet. For those areas I use my upright. And yes, the cord is too short. (What were they thinking??)

How long is the cord?