It’ll also be compatible with Dyson’s new docking station, the Auto-empty Dok, hopefully out later this year. Only the V10 Konical and the V16 Piston Animal ($980) are currently slated to work with it.

Comparison Game

Photograph: Nena Farrell

What made me like the Dyson V10 Konical so much was how well it did in my testing rounds. I tested it with sand and cereal on rugs, followed by litter on hardwood, and then carpeted stairs and bedrooms. It did better than many Dysons in its overall score, beating the V15 Detect, V16 Piston Animal, and V8 Cyclone with its score.

My scoring criteria ran 1 through 4 on five tests—sand, cat litter, Cheerios, general vacuuming, and handheld mode—with 4 representing the best performance and 1 being the lowest. The V10 Konical walked away with a 14 out of 20, while the V15 came behind it with a 12 out of 20. The V10 came in second overall out of five Dyson vacuums, with only the Gen5Detect beating it with a score of 17. The V10 pulls ahead of the Gen5Detect if you’re looking for add-ons, though, as the V10 will be compatible with Dyson’s self-emptying docking station that will release later this year.

While testing, I was particularly impressed with how well it picked up sand for its lower suction power, and it did a great job sucking up an intentional mess of Cheerios I created. I was less impressed with the hard floor results, but since the V10 doesn’t work with the Fluffy Optic head like Dyson’s high-end vacuums, it was never going to be as effective as vacuums that can switch to a head made for that surface. Still, it’s not bad—it was still able to vacuum up the litter I scattered on hard floors as a test. It just needed a couple of passes instead of a single pass to get it all, and it didn’t shove it into a pile like the cheaper V8 Cyclone did. The V10 does well in handheld mode and on carpet and rugs, and it felt a little easier to push around on a low-pile rug than the V8 did with its Digital Motorbar head.

Overall, I’d recommend this vacuum if you’re set on a Dyson and have a home full of mostly carpets and rugs. It’s a better buy than going for the cheaper V8, and I found it a better all-around experience than some of the more expensive Dyson vacuums out there. I still wouldn’t call it better than the Shark PowerDetect, but if you’re set on a Dyson, this is the best buy on the affordable end of Dyson’s scale.

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