With that in mind, if you’re going to buy a Dyson V11, you might as well go the whole hog and get the Absolute. Otherwise, you’re missing out on one of its key new features – the pressure-sensing automatic suction mode enabled by the High Torque head.

V11 Absolute review | TechRadar Dyson V11 Absolute review | TechRadar

The V11 Absolute also makes light work of the normally onerous task of cleaning stairs, with the mini motorized tool powering up our test flight with ease, and cleaning right into the corners Cornflakes, rice and leaves were gone in a single sweep, as were sand, toast crumbs and washing powder, leaving Alison's floors look spotlessly clean. In comparison, the Bissell Icon 25V left large bits of debris behind. How does the Dyson V11 Absolute cope with pet hair? That said, unless noise is a particular issue for you, the advantages of this vacuum cleaner more than outweigh its volume levels.That’s not all, though. The Dyson V11’s vacuum motor is also more powerful, delivering 185 Air Watts of suction power in Boost mode, up from the V10’s 151 Air Watts of power in Max mode.

|Dyson V11 Absolute Cordless Vacuum Cleaner, 760 milliliters, Blue Dyson V11 Absolute Cordless Vacuum Cleaner, 760 milliliters, Blue

As it’s cordless and handheld, there’s no need to tug at any cords or balance the Dyson precariously on stairs. As a result, Alison found the V11 Absolute much more efficient on stairs than other vacuums she tested. With the Dyson, battery length is shown on its LCD screen in actual minutes so you know exactly how long you have left – it shows three times depending on the level of power you’re using. Our tester couldn’t fault the Dyson’s performance on carpets. The main head allowed her to reach the very edges of each room, and there were plenty of tools to make this even easier.

The Dyson also won't disturb or upset any nervous pets. How easy is the Dyson V11 Absolute to keep clean? With around an hour of run-time, you should have enough power to whizz round an entire house. After all, with the trigger action, you’re only using battery power while physically vacuuming. Those with larger houses may find that the run-time isn’t quite enough. With 4.5 hours for charging, some people may need to change their cleaning schedule a little to get a full clean.

Dyson V11 Absolute Review | Trusted Reviews Dyson V11 Absolute Review | Trusted Reviews

Moving seamlessly between floor types, the Dyson V11 Absolute is a breeze to use on a day-to-day basis. The suction adjusts automatically depending on floor type to ensure optimal battery life and efficient cleaning – there's 185 air watts of suction power in boost mode. For most uses on the lower power modes, you can actually hear other people over the V11’s powerful motor – and it isn’t a distracting noise.Alison found the mini motorised tool useful for pet bedding, the dusting brush great for blinds, curtain poles, light fittings and skirting boards, and the crevice tool a must for upholstery, for reaching the spaces between kitchen appliances and for other hard-to-reach nooks and crannies. Turn on the V11 Absolute and you’ll find that it isn’t as loud as you might have thought. From head height, measured with the motorised brush in Eco mode, the vacuum comes in at 71dB. On standard mode it’s 74.6dB, and on Boost it’s a whopping 84.6dB. Dyson's V11 Absolute takes a whopping four-and-a-half hours to fully charge for up to 60 minutes of runtime. You’ll need to fully charge the vacuum cleaner before first use, which means you won't be able to get going straight away.

V11™ cordless vacuum cleaner – Overview | Dyson V11™ Overview Dyson V11™ cordless vacuum cleaner – Overview | Dyson V11™

The display also rids another problem: battery anxiety. While the old V10 had only a basic display on the battery to show a rough level of charge, the V11’s screen shows a countdown timer, so you know exactly how long is left.

The only real issue she experienced during testing was having to continuously hold down the power button. This is to preserve charge so that you’re only using power when you’re actually vacuuming. While we can see the point of this, Alison has arthritis in her fingers and holding the switch down became uncomfortable after a time. Switching to the Soft Roller head – which is really designed for this job – and everything was gone on Eco mode, showing the true power of this vacuum cleaner and its well-designed heads. The battery is designed to last for an hour in Eco mode, operating with or without a motorised brush. That’s the same as the V10, because the V11’s larger battery has the more powerful motor for increased suction.