The Avalir model I purchased has outstanding suction power (the best I’ve seen ever in a vacuum), which is key for my family - 4 kids and 3 Great Danes. We’ve destroyed 4 Dyson’s in 15 years, so I need something that actually is tough enough. We love the metal design, and my kids think it’s super-cool! Why do others use cheap plastic? Shipping process was excellent, and the value for the price paid is truly worth it. Just a few issues that kept this from a 5-star review:
- The metal surface was pretty dirty and needed a heavy amount of polishing.
- The right rear wheel skips quite a bit when vacuuming my tight weave carpets. I will try to clean the wheels and give them a little grease.
- The neutral and drive pedals seem a little loose, which sometimes means I need to lean over to double-check that they are still in the right setting. Maybe they just need to be tightened up.
- The floor height pedals are difficult to push and seem to stick quite a bit. Not sure what is going on here.
- Switching to hard floor mode with the roller turned off is cumbersome but is part of the design. Honestly using a small cordless vacuum for hard floors is a lot easier, but nothing beats the Kirby for carpets.
- The plastic handle feels flimsy to me especially in comparison to how rock solid the overall machine is. It would be great if Kirby had a more rugged handle version that could be substituted for this one.
- My biggest concern is the slight whistling noise the motor is making when turning it off after only the 5th time using the vacuum. I’m concerned that there could be an issue with the bearings, but I’m hopeful that this will correct itself with some more usage and cleaning.