I was in the market recently to replace my aging Bissell bagless upright, which was a mediocre product even when brand new. I did a bit of research and purchased a Dyson DC17 Animal - what I thought was a top of the line vacuum. I used the Dyson for 2 days before returning to Amazon - I was very disappointed with the product - it was bulky (though this was known before I bought it), poorly constructed, and was too harsh on my floors and rugs - the harsh beater brush frayed one of my rugs after 2 uses, a design flaw in my opinion. I had never heard of Miele before seeing the name mentioned a few times while researching the Dyson. Also, a friend had the S4212 Neptune and recommended it. So I went with the Miele (ordered via Amazon) to replace the disappointing Dyson.
To give a quick background - I have a 2000 sq ft single story house, with mostly wood floors and rugs and some tile (kitchen and bathrooms), and I have a dog that sheds profusely. While I did not realize it at the time, it turns out the Miele-style canister vacuum is much better suited to a situation like mine, with hard floors and rugs (as opposed to wall to wall carpeting, which I don't have anywhere in my home).
The Miele is an excellent product. I find that it has strong suction power, but the ability to turn the power down for small area rugs, drapes, and furniture is a huge advantage. It's extremely lightweight and maneuverable, and I can get into tight spaces and under furniture that would be a big problem for an upright (and would require transitioning to the wand, which is a pain). The included parquet attachment does a great job on my hard flooring, and I don't have to worry about it scratching my wood floors. The turbo brush is powerful enough to pick up the dog hair from my rugs, yet not so strong as to damage them. The build quality is solid, the included attachments are useful, and (unlike the Dyson) the Miele includes very useful and easy to follow instructions.
Pros:
~ Strong suction
~ Adjustable suction (huge plus), allows it to be used on delicate items like small rugs, curtains, some furniture etc. without damage
~ Retractable power cord (much more convenient than having to fumble with the cord on an upright. Some complain the Miele power cord is too short, I find the ability to retract it is a worthwhile tradeoff)
~ Small form factor, easy to store and easy to lug around
~ Relatively quiet
~ Extremely maneuverable - follows me with no problem, parquet brush gets in corders and under furniture with ease
~ Excellent build quality, construction materials, and fit & finish
~ Excellent included tools - Parquet attachment for hard floors, turbobrush for rugs, and a dusting, furniture, and crevice attachment
~ Excellent aftermarket support - company has been around for a long time, shouldn't be hard to get parts if anything breaks, attachments, bags, filters etc.
Cons:
~ Lacks the capability to accept a powered attachment. Because the S4 cannot accept powered tools (like the powerbrush), it's probably not the best choice if you have wall to wall carpeting. In that case, I'd look at the
Miele S2180 Titan Canister Vacuum - Chili Red, which includes the powerbrush. The lower tiered S2 lines don't include a power-brush, but unlike the S4 they are compatible with the power brush if you decide to purchase one in the future
~ The biggest con is, IMO, Miele has too broad and confusing of a product line and it's difficult to figure out which one best suits your needs. The S4 line does not allow for the use of a powered attachment (like the powerbrush), while the similarly priced S2 does (the S2 also accepts bigger bags - why doesn't the S4?). But the S2 has a shorter cord. Aside from those differences, I can't even figure out what else is different between the S2 and S4 lines - seems like it would have made more sense to just combine the two into a single line, with the ability to accept powered attachments across the board, and not make the customer pick and choose between pros/cons in a similarly priced product (do I want the bigger bag or the longer cord?? ... why can't I have both?). On the other extreme, some of the S5 models are extremely expensive, and I can't quite figure out exactly what makes them worth the premium vs. the S2 and S4. In short, they have too many models and they don't make it easy to compare them to one another.
Overall, the Miele Neptune is a 5 star product. The product line is a bit confusing, with some Miele's better for hard wood floors and others better for carpeting. If, like me, you have mostly hard floors with some area rugs (including large area rugs), the Neptune is an excellent choice. If you have a lot of wall-to-wall carpeting, you may want to consider a model that includes a powered attachment option, such as the S2 Titan.
