Miele Compact C1 Turbo Review

The Miele Compact C1 Turbo stood out by being an overall exceptional vacuum. It handled our test messes easily, delivering noteworthy performances at cleaning carpets while being easy to use. This model is also on the lighter side, so it's easy to move and particularly adept at cleaning cluttered areas.

Performance Comparison

Carpet Cleaning

This metric accounts for 35% of the final score for each vacuum. To evaluate the performance of each product in cleaning carpets, we used four different debris types on both low and medium-pile carpets, comparing the amount of material collected. The Miele Compact C1 Turbo did very well compared to others in our lineup of canister vacuums.

The Miele Compact C1 Turbo did very well at collecting rice on flat carpet, only taking two passes to collect all of the whole and partial grains, with an additional third pass to get the remaining dust and small pieces. This model does its best work on low-pile carpeting.

This vacuum did an exceptional job in our flour collection test. The Miele Compact C1 Turbo was among our better contenders for this finer debris on both low and medium-pile carpets.

The oatmeal collection test was next, and again we saw a great performance. The Miele Compact C1 vacuum collected all of the debris laid out, taking just three passes to do so. Oatmeal is one of the more challenging debris to clean up since it breaks into little pieces and creates dust. So, we were impressed with its oatmeal performance.

When vacuuming Cheerios, this model did OK on the flat carpet, occasionally crushing the cereal instead of collecting it, but we found that angling the head over the debris helped with this. The Miele Compact C1 Turbo didn't do as well on the medium-pile carpet, grabbing only one or two of the Cheerios at a time, which meant making many more passes.

Ease of Use

This metric — accounting for 25% of the overall score for each vacuum — consisted of evaluating the ease of swapping between different types of flooring, how well each model could clean close to edges and under furniture, as well as assessing the maximum reach of each model.

The Miele Compact C1 Turbo requires a little bit of work to switch between hard and soft flooring types, as you have to manually switch out the brush heads between the hard floors and the carpets. You use the brush in the head for the carpeting, but then you'll need to take it out for the hard floors. We found this to be quite the inconvenience, especially for such an expensive vacuum. When we got to the edging test, the Miele Compact C1 did well above average, leaving some rice behind, but not much.

The Miele Compact C1 did a fantastic job of vacuuming under furniture. It managed to clean the entire area underneath our simulated sofa. Its maximum reach from an outlet is about 30 feet — a respectable length in line with some of our top-performing models. Having a vacuum cleaner that can reach all the way under your furniture and clean effectively may be well worth the money for some.

The Miele spanned a range of decibel levels regarding its measured noise. With regular use, it was one of the quietest models in the group, both in the opinions of our rating panel and the levels that we recorded with an SPL meter. It measured just 70 dBA (decibels) with normal use but reached up to 81 dBa with the suction reducer fully open.

Handling

This metric made up 20% of the final score for each vacuum, encompassing a series of tests that included the required effort to push and pull, overall maneuverability, and how easy it was to clean a flight of stairs.

The Miele Compact C1 Turbo handles decently and is great at getting into tight spaces. However, several other models were a little more agile and less prone to becoming entangled or tipping over. At 14.2 pounds, the Miele lands right about in the middle of the pack — pretty light, but nowhere near the lightest of our tested models.

The Miele C1 Turbo has a great reach for cleaning stairs, effectively cleaning almost eight steps before relocating the plug. We also enjoyed pushing and pulling this vacuum on hard surfaces, as it easily glides along the surface.

Hard Surface Cleaning

Accounting for 10% of the final score, this metric is one where the Miele Compact C1 Turbo did not shine. Four tests were given in this metric: flour, oatmeal, rice, and cereal collection from a hardwood floor.

The Miele Compact C1 has a less-than-stellar performance on hard floors. We found that the Miele often plows the debris around or spits them back out for all four types of debris. When we tested it on hardwood flooring, it was not able to get into any cracks or crevices. If you are looking to clean primarily hard surfaces, we recommend other vacuums in our lineup.

Pet Hair

The Miele Compact C1 Turbo finished out our tests with a very good performance in pet hair collection. For this test, we weighed pet hair out to exactly 50 grams. Then, we placed it on the medium-pile carpet. We then vacuumed, emptied the cup or the bag, and weighed how much of the pet hair was picked up. The Miele picked up 86.80% after just four passes — a satisfactory result.

Should you buy the Miele Compact C1 Turbo?

To us, value is measured by how well a product performs in addition to its price. The Miele Compact C1 Turbo will have value for some, but not all. We highly recommend this vacuum if you have loads of carpeting to clean and a lot of pet hair. But, if your home is full of hard surfaces, we recommend saving your money and looking for other models that do better on hard flooring.

What Other Canister Vacuum Should You Consider?