Dyson V7 Animal Cordless Handheld Vacuum Cleaner, Purple, Medium

Product Information

So no surprise then that the V7 is properly brilliant on stairs. It handles well, cleans superbly and is quiet while doing so. We can do a large flight of awkwardly shaped carpeted steps on Max power with ease in the allotted 6 minutes if we need more serious cleaning gumption too. As with all vacuum cleaners, you’ll need to remove and clean the filters from time to time and these are easy to access by simply pulling the pin on top. The 0.54-litre bin is extremely easy to empty, too: by simply pulling the lever at the top, the bin door flips open and the main body of the V7 motor unit slides up, pushing out dust and debris. This not only makes it easier to empty than the V6 but also makes it a breeze to remove hairs that might have become tangled inside. For comparison, we measured the V8 at 75dB on Max power. As decibels are measured on a logarithmic scale, that 10dB difference is huge. Given that Dyson’s motor is spinning at over 120,000rpm, and the machine delivers mains-like suction power on this higher setting, that’s mighty quiet. Those figures are way, way down on the previous models and make this cleaner very pleasant to use indeed.

READ NEXT: Best cordless vacuum cleaners: Banish dust and dirt without the wires Dyson V7 Total Clean vs Animal vs Motorhead: What’s the difference? The main floorhead’s fairly soft-bristled brush make it safe for use on softwood hard floor steps, but you might find the larger dusting tools even easier if you’re cleaning simple dust, dirt and pet hairs. On normal power mode, the V7’s run-time is claimed to be around 30 minutes with the powered head attached, some 5 minutes longer than the V8. The trade-off is slightly lower suction power of 21AW (airwatts) compared to the V8’s 28AW in this mode. Punch both models up to Max power and they’ll run for about 6 minutes, the V7 delivering 100AW while the V8 has 15% more at 115AW. The old V6 also delivers 100AW on Max power for around 6 minutes, but its higher 28AW on normal power means it’s good for only 20 minutes run-time. Got all that? No, me neither – so here’s a comparison table.

Write a review

As with all Dyson handheld cleaners, the power is offered in two stages – normal and Max – and is selected with a slide switch on top. Run-times for the V7 Animal are promised at 30 minutes and 6 minutes respectively.

A single pass on our carpet test area on Max power gave a good account of the V7’s carpet cleaning abilities. The mix of carpet powder, baking powder and talcum powder was well cleaned in just one pass, leaving behind only a few finer grains of the heavier carpet powder. Give it a couple of passes as per normal cleaning and the V7 Animal cleans brilliantly on this setting, getting remarkably good edge cleaning results too. READ NEXT: Dyson V8 Animal review: A cheaper alternative to the Cyclone V10 Dyson V7 Animal review: PerformanceHaving used the Direct Drive floorhead and the Mini Motorised Tool on previous Animal iterations of Dyson’s handhelds, we knew furball tumbleweed and pet hairs ground into the carpet didn’t stand a chance. We’ve been big fans of Dyson’s V6 and then V8 models, and the V7 Animal simply builds on the versatility and convenience of the breed. Performance is just as good with the same superb design, fabulous engineering, ideal pet-hair tools, and excellent features throughout. The V7 simply trades a little suction power for longer run-times than its siblings, and lighter weight than the flagship V8.