litre volume of the V8 models and emptying is achieved in the same way – namely pulling up the big red handle on top. It’s not meant to replace a corded vacuum cleaner, such as the Dyson Light Ball Multi Floor or the Dyson Ball Animal 2, but it is a step up from the Dyson V6. The trigger makes you switch off when you’re moving between rooms, straightening the cushions or answering the door. Given that Dyson’s motor is spinning at over 120,000rpm, and the machine delivers mains-like suction power on this higher setting, that’s mighty quiet.

A good mains cleaner (or the V7 on Max) will do a better job of deep-cleaning deeper-pile carpets, but with a little and often approach, normal power proved fine for daily dust, debris and pet-hair cleaning.The majority are sucked straight into the bin, with a few longer pet and human ones becoming wrapped around the brush as per usual.

It doesn’t quite have the all-round power of the company’s flagship Cyclone V10 Absolute cleaner, which is designed to replace a corded cleaner. A single pass on our carpet test area on Max power gave a good account of the V7’s carpet cleaning abilities. This doesn’t lock, so switches off the suction as soon as you release the trigger – the theory being that the spring trigger encourages you to stop the motor between cleaning duties (say, moving between areas) so best preserves run-times. On normal power mode a few more passes were required to fully deep-clean the carpet, and there were noticeable grains of the heavier carpet-cleaning powder deep in the pile. If you need tougher cleaning, the 6 minutes of mains-like cleaning power on Max mode is a superb bonus.

Needless to say, ramp up the V7 to Max power, and the suction is fantastic and all particles were cleaned up in a single pass. Dyson’s class-leading V-series handheld cleaners get even better with the powerful, lightweight and pet-hair-busting V7 Animal. hours, either freestanding directly connected to the wall charger or sat in its excellent wall dock. litre bin is extremely easy to empty, too: by simply pulling the lever at the top, the bin door flips open and the main body of the V7 motor unit slides up, pushing out dust and debris.