I have found the Miele Revolution 500 vacuum cleaner superb! My place has never been so tidy! Forget those plastic nightmares made by Dyson.

The Miele Revolution 500 is as effective on carpets as most uprights, and much easier to haul up & down stairs. It is much quieter and more manoeuverable than the Dyson cylinder it replaced. The Electrobrush & variable power settings provide excellent control of suction.
There is a promotional offer, until end-2001, of a free car-clean kit, worth £40, with each Revolution 500 purchased.

You will struggle to find one of these cleaners, not because they don't make many but because they sell out so quickly. I decided to apply my engineering background to the choice of a new cleaner - the biggest problem being lint from socks and cat hairs on the carpets.
This machine has a seperate electric motor in the head that powers a brush to sweep the carpet. You also get a pretty big 1600watt motor to suck it all up, so as a package it's very efficient.
Unfortunately, the bags don't last too long because it makes such a good job of vacuuming but hopefully that will change as we use it more. In fact it is a pleasure to use as you can almost see the difference as you go around the house.
As the lady said in the shop, they sell out so quickly because these cleaners work! She is dead right. They are pricey though but a web search can save you as much as £40 so do try that.