Sebo X4 Bagged Upright Vacuum

Pros: Light, very quiet, auto height adjustment, S-class filtration, bagged vacuum/easy change, great tool design.
Cons: Only two minor "cons": no headlight, no auto-cord rewind.

I subscribe to Consumer Reports and trust their recommendations. However, after personally trying out all their top vacuum choices, I chose the Sebo X-4 for its combination of features, performance, and user-friendly design. This was after trying top-rated vacuums like the Dyson (bagless mess was unacceptable to me; it's also quite noisy), the Kenmore (way too bulky and heavy for my wife), the Eureka SmartVac (also harder to handle and noisy), and the Riccar Ultralight (very light, but also rather noisy). Of course, all these vacuums (and a dozen more) would be "acceptable," but I was looking for a great vacuum that might actually even make you look forward to vacuuming.The X-4 is light, quiet, has a great tool design, is bagged (no exposure to dust/allergens; easy to change bags), cleans well (and its auto-height adjustment works flawlessly).

Pros: Absolutely rock-solid reliable, fantastically durable and does an EXCELLENT job cleaning.
Cons: Costly but worth every penny.

We got one of these about five years ago. Between us and our housekeeper we've done everything BUT be gentle with it. It's still working like it was brand new. This thing is darned near indestructible. While it's considerably more expensive than typical mass-market brands, it's been WELL WORTH IT for reliability and it's cleaning capabilities.

If it were ever to die I'd most certainly buy another Sebo in a heartbeat. But at this rate it might outlive me!

Pros: Construction is top notch (do some homework and you'll see).
Cons: It will take some time for investment to pay for itself.

Very well constructed, very high-quality feel to it when it’s running - and it's pretty darned quiet for a vacuum. You can tell there are good bearings and motor mounts in it just by how smooth it runs; the thing doesn’t vibrate or shake your hand like a cheap vacuum. It's also easy to clean the brushes and change the bag.

Pros: Reliability, Great vacuum features--automatically detects bare floor and rug and adjusts, durability, long term value
Cons: nothing really

If you are looking for quality, reliability, excellent customer service, i.e. great vacuum, you found one!
I reviewed many vacuums, but decided on this one, because it lasts a long time. Sebo bags are not more expensive than Hoover bags. It is extremely well designed--you can reach brush with ease if something gets stuck in it, just excellent overall value and ease of use. Hepa filter lasts year or longer. This vacuum lasting power will impress everybody. I would recommend to purchase also extention hose for stair and upholstery tool (if they don't come with vacuum). This is the best value out there. My husband actually vacuumed all house and said it is a joy to vacuum. Give a guy a gift and put your feet up.

Pros: Great design, compact, versatile.
Cons: Incompetent dealer network, horrible aftermarket service, cost

In fairness to the Engineers - this is a well designed product with well thought out features. So, I would have given it a five-star rating - if not for the reliability and service nightmare.

My problem is that after investing nearly $800, I expected a longer than average service life. Because of the modular design, I also expected that anything that failed would be easy to replace. NOT!

The dealer network is HORRIBLE! Sebo does not stand behind their product, and they are nearly impossible to contact directly. They would not provide parts or service, only referrals to local shops. Over the past six months, I have tried to use four different local shops. Two went out of business during the process, and one moved out of town. I had the vacuum back 3 times for the same issue, and was assured that it was fixed each time. It worked for one day, then began spontaneously shutting down and not turning back on. Do not buy Sebo expecting above-average service life - 4 years max.

Pros: Light, good suction ease of use
Cons: Reliability

In many ways the Sebo X4 is a first rate product. It is light to push has good suction and is easy to operate. We have owned one for about 5 years and bought it from a local store and paid a lot of money for it. We were prepared to do this as we thought we were buying into a reliable product. What a mistake! In the five years we have owned it it has been returned to the manufacturer once for the drive shaft to be replaced at a cost of £50/£60 and now the same fault has arisen again. We have now decided to ditch the product and put the £50 or so towards another product.