I bought this vacuum 2 years ago for around $100 and I've had nothing but problems with it. First of all, I don't understand the appeal of the "bagless" function. Every time you empty the dirt cup, dust flies in your face, and this can really only be done outside to avoid a mess and having to vacuum all over again. This machine has 2 other filters which are just as dirty and gross to clean as emptying the dirt cup. The inside of the dirt cup is supposed to twist off so as to empty the innards of the dirt tank but I could never get it to twist off. The attachments are okay except for the furniture brush, which was pretty flimsy and broke a few times. I went through a couple of belts too during the life of it. 2 years later the thing won't run for more than 5 minutes without overheating even though I've replaced the filters. My theory is that the bagless function doesn't allow it to trap dirt very well and so the innards of the vacuum get clogged much more easily. Our next machine is NOT going to be bagless, I'm done with bagless vacuum forever.

Bottom line: When it worked, it worked well and sucked up lots of dirt. But lots of my time was spent trying to make it work.

I had been contemplating an expensive cyclone vacuum, and based on reviews (and mainly price) I decided to give this unit a try. I can not personally compare to the more costly competitors, but I am well pleased with this model. The suction seems to be adequate for both my carpet and hard wood floors. The dust area is easy to empty, but pet hair or carpet fuzz still required manually pulling from the canister if goes into the upper section. The suction powered attachment brush seems to work well on stairs and furniture.
Only draw back is the cord wrap "hook" is recessed so not as easy to wrap cord up on unit, but that is not a negative just something I noticed.

I have already broken two belts on this vacuum after only 2 months of use--one because of a sneaky shoelace and the other because of a drop cloth. After finally finding replacement belts (I had to go to a specialty store), I discovered that they cost around $4 each. Judging from the look of shock on the salesperson's face when she saw the price, I'm guessing that this is a lot to pay. So, if you never accidentally suck up something you shouldn't, then you can save some money with this vacuum. But, I've owned cheaper machines that never broke when I made a mistake. It's up to you, but the way we're going in my house, we might as well buy the belts in bulk since they break very easily.

This vacuum is great!

I have long hair and it falls out a lot. My old vacuum's rotating brushes would always get clogged with hair. Not this vacuum!

It is true that you have to empty the canister a lot because it picks up so much dirt and hair!

I had really bad allegeries and while they are not 100% gone, the vacuum has picked up so much dust and dirt that all my other vacuums left behind.

I can't believe of great price of this vacuum compared to Dysons.
This is my best purchase on Amazon.

I love my new Dirt Devil. After I used it a few times I discovered that the brush attachment, when you use it is like a small dirt devil. It's so easy to use and makes vacuuming furniture a breeze without having to switch to a small hand held vacuum.