★★★★★ 4
Close to perfect
This model is among Miele's most recent ones, and benefits from a few small but significant improvements on that account. I'd say that all but one of the components are both beautifully made and beautifully conceived. The floor head initially strikes me as problematic, and for exactly the reason that's suggested by a great many customer reviews of Miele floor heads, which is that when attempting to vacuum even low pile carpet there is a dramatic tendency for the head to essentially glue itself to the carpet. The vacuum power needed to be set on the second lowest of four settings to be able to slide the head over the carpet at all, with either of the two settings of the floor head (carpet or bare floor). So it seems to me that Miele still hasn't figured out how to make a single, multi-purpose floor head, or at least one that isn't electrically powered with a motor in the head to rotate a brush. They do also have air-turbine powered head brushes and models with no rotating brush like the one that comes with the Guard M1. Many types in all. The noise level of this model is even lower than I had hoped and this is one feature that has been further improved - excellent. Also, note that you can replace the default exhaust filter with a separately purchased HEPA filter if that's what you want: 99.999% filtration of the bag plus the HEPA exhaust filter rather than 99.99% filtration of the bag plus the standard, thin, provided, cheaper exhaust filter. This could be important for either allergy issues or safety vacuuming where rodents have made a mess, which can be quite dangerous. Best to lightly spray with dilute chlorine bleach first. There are four exhaust filter grades to choose from. The most basic is the supplied one. Miele desperately needs to improve their documentation to help customers figure out all the variables in their very complex system of models and features. I like this machine a lot. I just need to figure out a better way to vacuum flat surfaces (floors) which are both bare and carpeted. We have almost no high pile or shag rugs (one), so I figured this basic head would be a good choice but I'm concerned that I might never choose to use it on our carpets. Not sure yet. Otherwise close to perfection. One other thing: it's too easy to attempt to insert the bag backwards and not realize it! Oh, one other thing - The cover door for the motor protection filter was stuck closed. It's supposed to snap open when pulling on the handle with modest force but a strong pull didn't to do the trick. There's a slight defect in the mold of one of the two parts where the latch functions. I eventually got it open and used a jeweler's file to very slightly take the edge off the stationary part and now it's fine, but a person could break the cover door trying to overpower the latch. This is a factory defect that's tiny but with potentially very large consequences.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2026
