Dyson V6 Review

The Dyson V6 scored well throughout the test, but simply lacks the cleaning chops to be a top contender. This also makes it hard to reconcile the price, as less expensive models cleaned significantly better without a ton more hassle.

Convenience

You can use the V6 with the extension for reaching hard to reach places, or without for counters or tables. However, the V6 has significantly fewer included attachments than the V8 or the Shark Rocket, reducing its versatility.

It is very easy to swap attachments in and out, using the locking button system. The V6 is pleasantly light, weighing in at 4.7 lbs, comparing quite favorably with the rest of the group.

This is a cordless vacuum, making it quick to setup and use. Unfortunately, this model didn't have a stellar battery life, lasting for less than 7 minutes on max power.

This model takes about 3 hours to completely recharge. Finally, this vacuum is not stable enough to stand on its own and must be stored in its wall mount.

Hard Surface Cleaning

This model did collect all the rice in two passes, but it failed to collect any when pulled over the rice; it was only effective when pushed forward over the debris. This was on the normal suction mode. However, the V6's performance underwent a dramatic increase when it came to cleaning up flour. It only took two passes to completely clean the area, even extracting flour up from the cracks between boards. This performance earned the V6 top marks for this test, tying with the V8 and the Rocket.

Unfortunately, this top performance was not sustained into the cereal collection test, with the V6 tying for the worst score of the entire group. The V6 became clogged, failing to pick up the Cheerios at all. This vacuum did bounce back a bit when it came to pet hair, tying for the top spot, but performance again plummeted when it came to sucking up oats. It took multiple passes, failing to efficiently collect the oats, primarily piling them up or spreading them around — in some cases, it even expanded the area of the original mess.

Ease of Use

There are two power modes: high and low power mode — a handy feature for conserving battery life when the mess you are cleaning out doesn't warrant maximum cleaning power. The V6 does a great job of cleaning near edges, even without a specialized attachment, and performs the best of the bunch.

It performed similarly at cleaning under furniture, tying for the best score of the bunch and reaching the entire distance under our simulated testing sofa.

Although this was one of the louder vacuums tested.

It can hold two attachments on its mount and has swivel steering.

Carpet Cleaning

The V6 did an acceptable job at collecting rice on the flat carpet, again suffering from the same issue where it failed to pick up rice when pulled over it. The V6 looked like it did a decent job on the fluffy carpet, but the cleanup vacuum immediately began picking up a non-trivial amount of rice when it was run after the V6. It did redeem itself a bit in the next test, tying for the top score overall when it came to collecting flour from the low-pile carpet.

For the next test, the V6 gave a poor showing. It again clogged when tasked with collecting Cheerios from the flat carpet. It didn't clog when sucking up the Cheerios from the fluffy carpet, most likely because it barely collected anything. However, it did redeem itself in the final two tests. The V6 tied for the top position when it came to collecting pet hair, as well as meriting the runner-up position for oat collection.

Value

The V6 isn't a great value, offering medium cleaning power at a premium price.

Conclusion