I just bought this to replace my Hoover Agility which had stopped suctioning as well as it used to. I had tried a Bissell in the distant past, before my Hoover, and it had some flaws that made the Hoover seem like a clear winner at the time. Having had the Hoover for two and a half years (yup, that's all it lasted!), I learned that the Hoover, too, has its flaws - which means that, when picking a carpet cleaner, rather than think about which desirable features you would like, you have to decide which undesirable features you want to live with.
The number one thing I dislike about the Bissell is the water tank. Whereas the Hoover has two hard plastic tanks side by side (one for clean, one for dirty), the Bissell has one hard plastic tank with a vinyl bladder inside. You fill the bladder with clean water and it cycles back into the tank body, outside the bladder, when it is dirty. I think this give you slightly less capacity for clean water, meaning you need to fill the tank more often - I could do my whole living room with one tank with the Hoover; I needed to refill once with the Bissell. Plus it is hard to just glance at the tanks and know you need more water; instead you need to glance at this little spinny whirly thing that tells you water is flowing OR realize the carpets aren't getting wet while you clean. So that's my number one gripe. I don't like the tank!
Here are how the machines compare in some other ways:
The Bissell is heavier, which is not a huge deal as you are pushing it, not carrying it around. Maybe a small issue if you need to go upstairs (we don't) but on the whole, not a problem. Maybe even a perk as it makes the machine FEEL sturdier and weigh down more on the dirt.
The Bissell has a higher profile due to the water tank being in the part of the machine that rides on the floor rather than in the handle. The Hoover allows you to go a little ways under certain bits of furniture - for example, you can get maybe an inch or two under the front of your couch. For the most part I don't notice a problem but it is a consideration.
The Bissell is quieter than the Hoover. Not that you need ear protection with the Hoover, but my husband and I both noticed a difference in the noise level between the two machines.
The attachments for the Bissell are securely attached to the back of the machine on a rack - very nice. The rack on the Hoover is removable and was ALWAYS falling off so that I just kept it in the closet.
The hose on the Bissell is permanently attached which is nice - it has to be removed when using the Hoover for floors. With my Hoover I had a lot of dripping issues in the back of the machine and the hose was a real leaker whenever I used it. I don't know if my machine was defective or if this is common but I did not like that set-up. It was a small point, though, because I found the Hoover tools cumbersome so I rarely used them. I have not used the Bissell tools yet (sorry!) but they seem a lot more user-friendly.
No leakies with the Bissell! (Even when not using the hose, my Hoover left puddles behind it)
The brush system on the two machines is very different. On the Hoover there are 5 circular brushes in a line that spin against your carpet like a car buffer or an electric toothbrush. The Bissell has two horizontal brushy cylinders that work more like a standard sweeper. In theory it seems to me like this would do a better job to lift dirt out of your carpet. Truthfully, based on the filth in the water after using both machines, I'd say they do about an equally good job. The Bissell does have a tendency to toss these little clumps of dirty fibers here and there, though, which makes me wonder if it is getting more stuff out. It might also mean the Bissell is rougher on carpet and the Hoover is better for delicate carpet or low, nubby types of carpet (where grooming up doesn't make sense).
With the Bissell, the area between the front of the machine and the wall where dirt is "safe" seems to be smaller than with the Hoover. The Bissell also has these little brushes on the side which are supposed to eliminate the side "safe" zones but they don't seem to move or get wet at all so I don't know if they do much besides groom the carpet and eliminate the look of missed spots. However, the Bissell comes with a super narrow crevice tool so if you were so inclined to get every inch of carpet all the way to the baseboards obsessively clean, you could.
I think both machines (when working properly!) suck about the same amount of water back out of the carpet. I have to agree with the other reviewers that the air dryer doesn't seem to do much, though it does add a funny sort of raced-out look to the machine (like an extra-wide muffler).
The Bissell has you load clean water and solution seperately, as opposed to the Hoover which has you mix them. This is a nice feature because it allows you to do a rinse immediately after you clean a section rather than have to go and refill the tank with plain water. Supposedly you do not need to do a rinse because the solutions you can buy today are made not to leave residue but based on personal experience, I do not believe this. When I first started using my Hoover, I mixed solution and water as directed and did not rinse. In days, my carpets would be as dirty as ever. In time I switched to using HALF the amount of solution they told me and I had better results. Then later I switched to JUST boiling water and who knew, the machine still got my carpets amazingly clean and they'd stay that way the longest. I would use a weak solution mixture some of the time,for nasty jobs, just water most other times. So a rinse IS important, IMO.
With the Bissell, if I am using solution, I will fill the solution tank with half solution and half water, and I will do a rinse afterwards. You can't use boiling water in the Bissell because the directions say that could destroy the bladder - the hottest tap water I can get + trusting the heating device seems to work well.
All in all, both machines are good. I think I went with the Bissell because I wanted a change and hoped to get a longer life out of the machine. The other thing that sold me, though, is like another poster, I needed a machine NOW. We had just thrown the Hoover out and my son peed on the living room carpet! I was able to get this at Linens and Things with those wonderful coupons houseware stores like to send out ;-) and, as another reviewer mentioned, you can find rebate info from the manufacturer if you look. A sweet deal. A good machine, very happy with it.