I tested the cleaning powers of Dyson’s new flagship vacuum against two older models, and I couldn’t believe the results

Dyson has released a new flagship cordless vacuum, and on paper it’s extremely impressive. The V16 packs 315 AW of suction, making it officially the most powerful Dyson cordless vacuum.

After testing many of the best vacuum cleaners on the market, however, I’ve learned that it’s not always all about suction. Multiple factors play into how well a vacuum cleans, including the design of the floorhead and the way the different settings function.

When I was trying Dyson’s newest addition out for my V16 Piston Animal review, I felt like it was doing a good cleaning job, but it didn’t feel noticeably more powerful than its predecessor, the Gen5detect. In fact, it also felt quite similar to the model before that, the V15 Detect (confused about Dyson’s naming structure? I hear you).

So I decided to conduct some side-by-side suction tests to see how the three vacuums performed relative to each other. And I was shocked by the results. Short version: the V16 was the worst of the three, in all parts of the test.

The suction tests

For my tests, I sprinkled piles of oats (to represent chunky debris) and dry tea (to represent fine particles) on a carpeted floor. I then vacuumed the oats and one pile of tea with each vacuum in Auto mode (where the vacuum should intelligently adjust based on floor type and dirt levels). I vacuumed the final pile in Boost mode.

Below from left to right on screen are the V15 Detect > Gen5detect > V16 Detect Animal. You can see how each vacuum handles different kinds of spillages.

The V15 Detect and Gen5detect both cleared the oats and visible tea on first pass in Auto mode, and performed similarly well in Boost mode. The V16 Piston Animal doesn’t fare nearly as well. It scatters the oats in the first forwards pass, catching most (but not all) on the return stroke. In both Auto and Boost modes, a strip of tea is left where the center of the floorhead has passed over it.

For the sake of thoroughness, I repeated the test, with very similar results. You can watch the video below. Here, the vacuums are in the opposite order (left to right on screen: V16 Pistol Animal, Gen5detect, V15 Detect). You can tell which one the V16 is from the differently shaped floorhead.

Why did the V16 perform the worst?

I have a strong suspicion that the weaker performance of the V16 Piston Animal isn’t down to a lack of power, but instead a result of the new floorhead. Dyson completely redesigned its main floorhead for this model, swapping the Digital Motorbar head for the All Floors Cones Sense head, which not only has a stupid name, but is – in my opinion – a downgrade all round.

The new floorhead swaps standard rollers for conical ones that are designed to prevent hair tangling. It follows the same principle as the popular Hair Screw mini tool: long hair naturally makes its way to the smaller end of the cone, where it can be whisked away into the suction tube.

Dyson All Floors Cones Sense cleaner head (left) and Digital Motorbar head (right)

Dyson All Floors Cones Sense cleaner head (left) and Digital Motorbar head (right) (Image credit: Future)

In theory, it’s not a bad idea. The practical application is where it all falls down. There’s a gap between the two conical rollers, which means a gap in suction – hence the strip of tea left in my suction tests.

The border section around the roller also seems wider and grippier on the new floorhead, creating more of a suction seal. That might help with pickup in the roller area, but it can also cause issues when trying to clear up chunky debris. That’s the reason I think this floorhead tends to push things like oats around rather than sucking them up.

(Incidentally Shark has an ingenious solution to this. It has added a flap to its PowerDetect Cordless vacuum, which mechanically lifts to allow large particles to pass under it when the floorhead is pulled back over the spillage, and flips back down to retain the suction seal when the floorhead is pushed forwards.)

Dyson V16 Piston Animal, Gen5detect and V15 Detect on a sofa

(Image credit: Future)

Those aren’t my only issues with the All Floors Cones Sense floorhead. The angled front side makes cleaning up to the edges of rooms far more complicated than it needs to be, especially if you can’t approach the area from the side.

Overall, it’s a bit of a shame, because there are so many other good things about the V16 Piston Animal. But ultimately, if the cleaning powers aren’t as strong as on the cheaper, older models, it’s difficult to recommend.