Miele S380 Review

Overall Rating

Robust, powerful, easy to store, easy to use, basic spec, quiet, great quality for the price.

Heavy because its an older vacuum model in Miele's range.

The Miele S380 came in when my fairly old Sebo K1 cylinder vacuum decided enough was enough, I couldn't wait to get rid of it for something a bit more practical and versatile. Whilst the Sebo was great at being compact it suffered from an auto cord rewind function that gradually wore down the fitted plug and dangerously exposed the wires. Short of replacing the plug instead of sending it back to Sebo I was stuck with two choices; either wait for the machine by post for Sebo to fix it at an additional cost since it was out of its guarantee or look for another Sebo K series since the last one had done me great service.

However I was really shocked at the prices brand new for a Sebo K1. I had read a few reviews regarding the Miele S380 since I had bought the lighter and more modern compact cylinder vacuum cleaner a while back for my mum (S4210). Briefly whilst Miele have replaced the S380 in Germany with their new S2 range, the UK still soldiers on with the heavy but no less functional and powerful S380 which can go back to 1998 and beyond on its basic design. Over the S4210/S4211, the basic "starter" of Miele's expertly designed cylinder vacuums means I get a fixed height, two set of stainless steel pipes and a long hose armed with the same excellent quality handle and excellent quality tough PVC floor head and fittings similar to the 5kg S4210.

The difference is that whilst it has the same beautifully quiet 1800 watt motor, it weighs in around 7kg which is a lot heavier! However it has a funky blue colour, can use additional filtration cost optionals such as a Charcoal air filter, HEPA air filter or Miele's basic Super Air clean filter which comes free with Miele's 5 pack bags. Carrying it around is clearly more difficult since it is heavier but over my mum's more modern S4000 range cylinder, the Miele S380 has a tool tidy storer where the door rises beautifully on well precisioned hinges to show three cleaning tools that fit snugly into their own carry space. On the S4000 I find that in use the smaller tools fling off from the pipe carrier whilstt the S380 does it job without anything falling off. There is a large bag fill indicator to show when the bag needs empty, auto cord rewind of 8 metres power cord which is welcome against cheaper cylinder/pull along vacuums that have 5 or 6 metres of short cord travel and two park positions which makes storing this vacuum a lot easier.


If there is one consideration alone however to Miele's older S380 its the price. At £99 from Comet I consider this a veritable bargain even though its not a Sebo, it has the same motor rating as my previous German made vacuum and has the same type of ease when pulling it behind me but has increased ease of use thanks to a proper auto cord rewind pedal, a quieter motor thanks to its variable suction dial and thanks to Miele ownership and cost options I can make later on, the facility of upgrading the Miele S380 to a suitable level that puts it on a par with Miele's more expensive models that feature the HEPA filter as well as many floor tools including a main turbo brush.

Performance however from the S380 is great; it has the same three castors on the rear side which means this Miele like all the other cylinder vacuums in the family can twirl around and with rubber castors means less wear and tear on surfaces. Armed with the same large 1.5 metre hose and long stainless lockable pipes, the S380 doesn't disgrace itself on practicalities, able to get into nooks and crannies helped along by its well made three smaller cleaning tools whilst the bigger bin capacity allows you to take full advantage of its cleaning power and 4 litre dirt capacity in Miele's high filtration disposable dust bags. Currently Miele have also launched a series of newer material bags called HyClean that have seals built into them that allow me to close the seal over and take out the bag without worry of dust entering the air - the Hyclean series also has more space in the bag allowing more dust to enter and less bags to empty from one pack.

So if you're looking for an all in one complete vacuum cleaner, the Miele S380 is a good purchase even though it uses disposable health benefitting dust bags.