A big improvement on the old V8 in almost every way.
Don’t be fooled by the name, the Dyson V8 Cyclone is a revamped and redesigned vacuum cleaner, with more power, better battery life, an anti-tangle floor head and a redesigned control system. It’s a little basic in some regards, and doesn’t even have a basic battery life meter, but this cleaner is light, easy to use and cleans well. If you’re on a tighter budget or have a smaller home, this cleaner is a great choice.
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Cleans brilliantly -
New control system is easier to use -
Longer battery life than old V8
Key Features
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Swappable battery
A larger battery provides more run time compared to the old V8, and you can easily swap an old battery for a new one. -
Anti-tangle
New floor head is designed to prevent hair getting stuck around the roller.
Introduction
The Dyson V8 Cyclone might sound like an older product, but it’s more than just a paint job on an older cordless vacuum cleaner. A more powerful motor, larger battery (also replaceable) and redesigned controls make this a completely different vacuum cleaner.
It’s a little more basic than Dyson’s more powerful vacuums, such as the Dyson V16 Piston Animal, but it’s light, easy to use and cleans exceptionally well.
Design and features
- Redesigned control system
- Replaceable battery
- Clean ejection system
This isn’t the first time that Dyson has revisited the V8 platform: the Dyson Car+Boat was effectively a V8 only without the wand and floor head, designed for spot jobs. However, the Dyson V8 Cyclone doesn’t just take the old model and give it a new paint job (a nice sage green), and it’s actually a complete redesign and rethink of the older cleaner. Perhaps V9 would have made a better name.
While the handheld unit looks very similar to the original V8’s, there are some changes around the body. First, the control system has been changed. Older Dyson vacuum cleaners used to use a trigger that had to be held continuously. That was fine as a concept when battery life was relatively short and a cordless cleaner was seen as a spot cleaner, complementing a plug-in vacuum.
Today, cordless cleaners are the default, capable of cleaning an entire house, so a trigger is tiresome to use. Fortunately, the Dyson V8 Cyclone has a simple on/off button on top, and then a mode select button that cycles through the three modes, with a LED colour change highlighting the mode: green for eco, blue for standard, and red for boost.
This vacuum cleaner also has a larger battery, which is replaceable. Given that batteries fade over time, being able to quickly swap out an older battery for a new one makes a lot of sense.
What is missing from this cordless cleaner is any sense of how much battery life is left. I wouldn’t expect a fancy screen with battery life displayed in minutes, but a simple set of LEDs to show the rough remaining battery life would have been nice. The only indicator is a small blue LED that flashes as the Dyson V8 Cyclone charges.
Charging can be done by plugging the power adaptor straight into the vacuum, or you can attach the power adaptor to the wall-mounted dock. I like the latter as an option, as it makes sure that the Dyson V8 Cyclone is ready to go at any point.
In the box, you get the basic accessories: a crevice tool, a floor head and a mini motorised tool. The mini tool is not an anti-tangle model, unlike the newer versions shipped with more expensive cleaners, such as the V16 Piston Animal.
Dyson has upgraded the floor head so that it has Hair Removal Vanes: effectively small combs that channel hair straight and prevent it from wrapping around the brush bar.
You can also use any existing V8 tools that you have, so this vacuum could be a good upgrade for existing V8 users.
A little more tool storage would have been nice. While the docking station can take two accessories, the mini motorised tool is so wide that it blocks the second accessory port, so I had to choose whether I wanted to store the crevice tool or the mini motorised tool. Given I have the default box and tools, a slight rethink of the docking station to allow both to be clipped out of the way would have been nice.
Using the Dyson V8 Cyclone is easy. At just 2.7kg, this cordless vacuum cleaner is extremely light and versatile, whether that’s pushing it around on the floor, cleaning out the car or vacuuming cobwebs around the ceiling.
Dirt is sucked into the 0.54-litre bin, which should be just about big enough for standard clean. This bin has a neat ejection method: the handle at the back slides the top filter and cyclones up, and the bottom flap opens to eject dirt. Line the vacuum cleaner up with a bin and most dirt will drop into it without spreading too far. The entire bin can be removed for cleaning, which is neat.
There are then two washable filters: one at the top, and one at the back. If you want to keep vacuuming, then buying replacements is a good idea, so you can have one fresh set ready to go at any point.
Performance
- Powerful suction
- Excellent dirt pick up
- Extended battery life
For the V8 Cyclone, Dyson has promised more suction power over the older V8. I recently tested the Dyson Car+Boat, which is an old-style V8 in all but name. Testing suction power in air watts (AW) at the handle, I found that the Car+Boat managed 211AW on Boost, compared to the 297AW that the V8 Cyclone managed.
Low power modes were identical for both models, at a gentle 45AW. While the Car+Boat only had two power modes, the V8 Cycle also features a standard power mode that generates 79AW, which is sufficient for most regular household tasks. With this standard power mode, the V8 Cyclone is a more general-purpose vacuum cleaner, aimed at whole-home cleaning.
To see how well the V8 Cyclone cleaned, I put it through my standard real world tests, starting with the carpet test, where I added 20g of flour to the floor. Giving the cleaner a single pass backwards and forwards through the mess on standard power, I found that the cleaner managed to leave a nice clean-looking strip through the mess.
I then vacuumed the rest of the carpet until it looked visually clean. After I was done, I measured that the V8 Cyclone had collected 94.85% of the dust, which is an excellent result. That’s very similar to the Shark IZ380UKT.
Next, I added 10g of flour to the edge of the room, and ran the V8 Cyclone along the skirting board. For this test, I had to use the Boost mode to really suck the dust out. There was a little bit of flour left next to the skirting board, but overall the cleaner picked up 85.9% of the dust. That’s a good result for a mid-range cleaner like this.
Finally, I added 20g of rice to the hard floor and then vacuumed it up. While the rice was all initially collected, a couple of grains dropped out at the end, so only 99.05% of the spill made it into the bin.
Next, I combed cat hair into the test carpet. This test was easy for the V8 Cyclone, which easily pulled out all of the mess.
I finished off with my human hair test, dropping strands of hair onto the carpet. The V8 Cyclone managed to collect all of the mess. Turning the floor head over at the end, there were just a couple of strands of hair that didn’t get sucked up, but these were very loosely wrapped around the brush. Repeated vacuuming normally saw these loose hairs get sucked up eventually.
In terms of sound, the Dyson V8 Cyclone is about average for a cordless cleaner. On its lowest power setting it’s quite quiet at 64.1dB, but the 68.8dB on standard power is standard, as is the 75.6dB on Boost.
Battery life has been improved. Testing with the floor head on carpet, I found that battery life was 7m 52s minutes on Boost, which is enough for those tough spots you can’t shift with the standard mode. For regular cleaning on standard mode, I saw the battery last for 26m 16s, which is about average for a plug-in cleaner.
With this kind of battery life you should be able to clean an entire flat on a charge, but those with multiple floors in their home made need a recharge to complete a whole-home clean.
Should you buy it?
Buy if you want a light but powerful vacuum cleaner
A simple, easy-to-use cordless cleaner, the V8 Cyclone is very easy to use and has a lot of power.
Don’t buy if you want more features or power
If you want a battery meter, an automatic mode or the highest suction power, look for a more expensive vacuum cleaner.
Final Thoughts
A surprising revisit to an older vacuum cleaner, the Dyson V8 is a simpler, more basic vacuum cleaner than the company’s more recent models, such as the V16 Piston Animal. By improving suction power and battery life, Dyson has revamped the V8 making it suitable for whole home cleaning. For those on a budget or with a smaller home, the lightweight V8 Cyclone is a good choice. If you want a bit more power or more features, then check out my guide to the best cordless vacuum cleaners.
How we test
We test every vacuum cleaner we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
- Used as our main vacuum cleaner for the review period
- Tested for at least a week
- Tested using tools to measure actual suction performance
- Tested with real-world dirt in real-world situations for fair comparisons with other vacuum cleaners
FAQs
The Cyclone has more power, a bigger battery and redesigned controls.
Yes, the main floor head has built-in hair vanes that stop long hairs getting wrapped around the brush bar.
