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Dyson V16 Piston Animal: two-minute review
The V16 Piston Animal is Dyson‘s brand-new flagship stick vacuum, and it boasts a number of upgrades over its predecessors. Based on specs, this is the best Dyson vacuum on the market – and it should be one of the best cordless vacuums from any brand. I’ve been testing it out for a couple of days now, and I have lots of thoughts.
Based on my first impressions – I’ll be writing a full review when I’ve had more time with it – the V16 Piston Animal an incredibly good vacuum, but with one particular issue that could be a deal breaker for some potential buyers.
Let’s start with the good bits. The dust compactor works extremely well and is a logical, solidly useful addition. It gives you more cleaning time without having to empty the bin so often, and when you do come to empty the bin, the same mechanism expels the contents easily, with no need for fingers to get involved.
Dyson has redesigned the attachment mechanism so that you can connect and release attachments on the end of the wand without having to bend down. This seems like an effort-saver, and should also help those with mobility issues.
It almost goes without saying that the suction is excellent, and the battery gives you ample cleaning time without having to stop to recharge. Like its predecessors, the Gen5detect and V15 Detect, there’s an Auto mode that offers intelligent adjustment based on floor type and dirt levels. On the V16, though, it’ll adjust not just suction but also roller speed, for the most effective, battery-efficient clean.
Dyson has also given the floorhead an entirely different design – and this is where my main issue lies. The conical rollers do work well to prevent hair tangles, but the tapered shape means the floorhead comes to a slight point on the front side, which is a pain when you’re trying to clean along the straight edge of a room.
Read on for more information about the new Dyson flagship and my experiences with it so far, and check back in a week or two for my full and in-depth verdict.
Dyson V16 Piston Animal review: price & availability
- List price: £749.99 / AU$1,349 (US TBC)
- Launched: September 2025
- Available: UK and AU now, US sometime in 2026
The V16 Piston Animal was unveiled at the start of September, and is on sale now in territories including the UK and Australia. It will be available in the US, but not until sometime in 2026.
The regular version has a list price of £749.99 / AU$1,349 (the US list price will be released closer to the launch date). A Submarine version is also available, with an extra mopping floorhead, at a list price of £899.99 / AU$1,599.
For comparison, this model’s predecessor, the Gen5detect, is £769.99 / AU$1,549. The model down from that, the V15 Detect, is £649.99 / AU$1,449.
Those prices position the the V16 firmly in the premium price bracket, and make it one of the most expensive vacuums on the market. It’s interesting to note that it’s actually slightly cheaper than the Gen5detect in the UK (although that older model will attract more discounts).
I’ll make a final call on value for money once I’ve had more time to test the V16 out, but on first impressions, it looks and feels premium. It has been meticulously designed and is packed with features – including some you can’t find anywhere else on the market. I’m not going to pretend it’s not an awful lot to spend on a vacuum, though.
Dyson V16 Piston Animal specs
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Weight: |
7.5 lbs / 3.4kg |
|
Bin size: |
1.3L |
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Max runtime: |
70 mins |
|
Charge time: |
3hrs 30 |
|
Dimensions (H x L x W): |
10.2 x 51.1 x 9.8 inches / 25.9 x 129.8 x 25cm |
|
Filter: |
99.9% to 0.1 microns |
|
Max suction: |
315 AW |
Dyson V16 Piston Animal review: design
- Redesigned anti-tangle floorhead with conical rollers
- Manual compression lever on bin
- Automatic power and roller speed adjustment based on floor type
The V16 Piston is a premium cordless stick vacuum with a number of useful features, many of which are brand new to this machine.
Key amongst these – and the reason for the ‘Piston’ of the name, is a compression lever on the dust cup. This can be pushed down to squish dust and hair and increase dustbin capacity, and is also designed to wipe fine debris off the inside of the cup, and to be helpful in efficient emptying.
A second addition is the red cuff at the top of the vacuum’s wand. This can be pushed down to release the floorhead without having to bend down. The docking section of the floorhead is designed to sit upright at an angle, so you can also snap it on the wand from a standing position.
Speaking of the floorhead: this looks very different to anything I’ve seen before. Rather than being tube-shaped, the rollers here are conical. The idea is that the tapering shape shifts long hair down to the narrow end where it can be sucked up, rather than leaving it to tangle. This floorhead is designed for both hard floors and carpet, and is kitted out with a laser to illuminate dirt that might otherwise be missed.
The main body of the vacuum has a matte finish, and Dyson has added a padded section above the hand grip for added comfort. It switches on with a button rather than a trigger, and the battery is removable and swappable.
This is the first Dyson vacuum to be properly ‘connected’, with the companion app providing cleaning summaries and offering advanced setting options. There’s a screen on the machine itself to deliver information, including how long you have left on the battery.
The screen will also provide you with real-time reports on the size and number of particles you’re sucking up, as you clean. This works with the V16’s ‘Auto’ mode, where the vacuum will automatically adjust suction and (newly) brushroll speed based on the kind of floor it’s on and how dirty it is.
Detail tools will vary slightly depending on which model you opt for, but there are a couple of notable upgrades. The Hair screw tool now has a rubberized band across the front to help loosen hair that’s ‘stuck’ to upholstery fabric. Hidden inside the wand are two stubby Crevice tools – one at the top, attached to the main part of the vacuum, and the other at the bottom of the wand, revealed if you remove the floorhead. Because of the redesigned docking mechanism, none of the tools are compatible with other Dyson stick vacuums.
Dyson V16 Piston Animal review: performance
- Dust compaction is great, and design makes emptying super-easy
- Suction excellent, but not notably different to previous models in practice
- Angled floorhead is a pain for vacuuming the edges of rooms
After one whole-house clean with the V16, I’m impressed in some ways but less so in others. I’ll start with the general suction performance. As I expected, this is excellent. I tested the vacuum in a four-floor house with hard floor, plenty of carpets, and a black Spaniel, and it had no trouble sucking up impressive volumes of dust, dirt and hair.
In Auto mode, I could hear the power and brushroll ramping up and down as I moved into different areas and onto different floor types. I found the on-screen dust reports as mesmerizing as ever, although I’m still not sure they’re that useful.
Officially, the V16 has the most suction of any Dyson stick vacuum, but on first impressions, I didn’t really notice a difference in cleaning power compared to cleaning using the V15 (this house’s usual vacuum, and two models down from the V16 – despite what the number might suggest, the Gen5detect sits in the middle). I’ll run some side-by-side suction tests with all three to see if there is a difference I’m not seeing.
The V16 feels a little weighty in the hand, but the padded section above the hand-hold is a welcome addition and does help boost comfort. I’m in two minds about the button operation. For longer cleaning sessions, it’s nice not to have to continually compress the trigger, but for quick cleanups, it’s a bit cumbersome to have to keep a hand free to turn the machine on and off (you can’t reach the button with your gripping hand).
I’m also not entirely sold on the new floorhead. While it does work well to siphon off hair, the new design requires the front long side of the floorhead to come to a slight point rather than being in a straight line. This means you can’t approach the edges of rooms front-on – instead, you have to go in from the side. That quickly becomes very annoying.
Otherwise, it pivots well but feels a little harder to push than previous Dysons (and other vacuums I’ve tested). I did find the laser useful for highlighting dust in dingy corners, though.
The quick-release works well and is an effort-saver, but the joints in general are a little stiffer than on other Dyson stick vacuums I’ve used. It’s also a shame that existing attachments won’t work with the V16.
More of a success is the dust compactor. This is a solid win; the mechanism works a treat, and means you can fit in more cleaning without having to make so many trips to the trash. It also makes it far easier to empty than most cordless vacuums I’ve used.
Those are my thoughts so far – check back for the full review, including the results of TechRadar’s official suction tests, when I’ve had more time to put the V16 Piston Animal through its paces.
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