Gen5Detect does not roll off the tongue the way the name of its predecessor V15 did, but the clumsy moniker hardly matters when this Dyson machine is so impressive.
It follows the tried and trusted cordless stick formula: an extension wand connects a handheld unit to one of two-floor heads, one for vacuuming carpet and the other laser-guided tool for vacuuming hard floors.
Gen5detect enhancements
The 128cm long Gen5Detect comes with some neat improvements, especially in the tech on board. The biggest boost for me is the addition of a simple on/off button so you no longer need to hold down a trigger when using the vacuum.
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Another huge help is the extended battery life – you can now get up to 77 minutes of run time, depending obviously on what power mode you use the stick in – Eco, Med or Boost – and depending on what cleaning head is attached. The motorised heads use more juice as you’d expect.
And the suction power is boosted to 262AW (airwatts) from 240AW on the V15 – which makes it almost 25 percent more powerful than the 210AW of the super powerful Samsung Bespoke Jet cordless.
I’ve no way of measuring the AW output but in everyday use the Gen5detect is the most immensely powerful vacuum I’ve ever used – corded or cordless. And it can pick up particles as tiny as 0.1 microns.
Gen5detect is equipped with a new extension wand which has an integrated dust brush and crevice tool. As soon as you remove the vacuum cleaner rod from the Gen5 Detect, an extendable dusting brush appears.
The enhanced Fluffy Optic floor brush places the laser lighting lower in the floor brush, so now you can detect up to twice as much dust on the floor than before. Seeing dust disappear into the fluffy roller is a delight.
The LCD display is more detailed and informative than on V15 – it will tell you when a surface is clean enough, for example, or when a lot of pollen is detected.
It uses a piezo sensor that counts and sizes particles 15,000 times a second. The information is separated into four different particle groups based on size and it is colour coded to show how clean an area is.
Gen5detect’s main Digital Motorbar cleaning head for carpets is brimming with two types of bristles that spiral around it and work with built-in combs to keep long hair from getting wrapped around the bar.
The other attachments are the classic combination tool (a nozzle and dusting brush in one) and the hair screw tool (a mini-motorised head designed for handheld use) that’s as good at staying clear of hair tangles as the main cleaning head.
Incidentally, older non-motorised attachments such as the Extension Hose, Pet Groom Tool and Combination Tool are compatible with the new vacuum.
Other Gen5detect features
The HEPA (high-efficiency particulate absorbing) filtration system is as effective as you’d expect from Dyson. It captures 99.99 percent of particles up to as small as 0.1 microns.
The bin has a capacity of 0.77L and you can see when it’s full. To empty, point the nose of the cleaner into the bin, push the red release button, and you’re done. Simples.
To charge the battery, incidentally, takes 4.5 hours and you can use a cord plugging into a standard outlet or you can mount a holder onto a wall and feed the cable through. Setting it up is easy.
The only downside to this Dyson is the additional heft – Gen5detect weighs 3.5kg which is 220g more than the V15. But to me the upsides far outweigh this negative.
This is not just a vacuum cleaner, it’s an incredibly powerful piece of precision-engineered high-tech kit that is by far the best in its class.
And you can get it in Prussian Blue / Copper colours to match your Dyson Zone.
Dyson Gen5detect Absolute costs €949.99 from Dyson.
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