VAX VZL-702 Review

Overall Rating

Good suction and tools set, cyclonic action

Terrible incomplete instructions, messy to empty, unclear on filter cleaning, apparently no replacement filters, takes up lots of space

Summary:
This is a cylinder bagless cyclonic action vacuum cleaner with flexible hose, extending metal tube & five tools including a turbobrush & turbotool.
I bought this after my old cleaner finally packed up, plus I liked the idea of a cyclonic action one without the high price of a Dyson. I bought from Tesco as they had it at half price, (£75) though I wonder if there was a bit of deception on their part here, as a net search revealed average price of £80, plus VAX price of £100, so how Tesco got a full price of £150 is anyones guess.
Operation:
The cleaner works well though it seemed clear to me that it did loose some suction after a few uses, though much less than other types, so I'd dispute their claim of 'no loss of suction'. The turbbrushes work by using the air flow to rotate the brushes, this does work well and the cleaner certainly removes more lint off my kitchen carpet than my old hoover ever did. There are two controls on the machine, on/off on the left & cord rewind on the right, these are OK but seem the wrong way round to me.
Dirt Removal:
The dust chamber does need emptying more often than my old unit, and its quite a messy process as you have to take the chamber apart then remove a bung to empty the inner section. There are a series of filters which the instructions say can be washed when dirty, though things are far from clear here, as the booklet says they can both be washed, but there actually three, there are two pre-motor filters & a note on the machine indicates you should only wash the first one!! The box claims as the filters are washable you should never need to replace them, but it seems to me that they would need to be replaced at some point, however I cannot find any source for replacements.
Storage:
There is some tool storage, though nothing in the instructions about it. The brushes & crevice tool store in the hose & there is a clip for the turbobrush on the main unit, so the tube can then slot into the brush in its place, there is no storage for the remaining two tools and I would say the whole unit takes more space than an upright, so beware if space is limited.
Instructions:
The instructions are poor and incomplete to say the least, I suspect they are a generic set, & vax couldn't be bothered to update for this model.
Conclusion:
Overall the unit works well, but I suspect there could be trouble if I ever need spares, Vax only have an expensive 0870 number for contact, so recommended but with caution.

Members' Comments onFreeky's Review

• Freeky on 13th Feb 2008

  I should make it clear this is a review of the VAX VZL-702U, I believe the extra U means additional tools, its red in colour not blue & it has the word ultima printed on the side of the casing.
  
  I did originally put VZL-702U but someone has removed the letter U from my review!!