Dyson V15 Detect Absolute+ review

We run various tests in the Saga Exceptional review lab to put the latest appliances through their paces.

To test the effectiveness of the Dyson V15 Detect Absolute+ Gold’s pick-up across both carpet and hard flooring, we used it to vacuum a range of dirt and debris including ground coffee, Cheerios, dog hair, oats, rice, sand, wool and synthetic hair. 

To test comfort, battery life and usefulness of the attachments, we also used it daily in a domestic setting over two weeks in a four-bedroom house that includes wooden floors, carpet, Persian carpet and tiles. We then rated its general performance and how easy it was to empty.

Aesthetically, Dyson V15 Detect Absolute+ Gold is a vacuum that you probably won’t mind leaving on display on its wall mount rather than hiding it under the stairs. There are various versions of the Dyson V15 that are all slightly different in their tech and colour finishes, but the Gold version is, we think, one of the most stylish. 

In the kit you’ll find two heads designed to tackle different areas effectively. There’s a high-torque digital motorbar cleaner head to powerfully suck up dust and hair from hard floors, tiles and carpet.

It features Dyson DLS technology that monitors brush bar resistance 360 times a second so it can adapt power automatically across different floor types.  There’s also an illuminated cleaner head that highlights invisible dust so it’s easier to clean. 

In the box, you’ll also find eight attachment heads to tackle awkward corners, car cleaning, mattresses, sofas, pet hair and more. You can buy more attachments as you go if required – although there is more than enough in the box to cover the essentials and then some.

Setting up the Dyson V15 Detect Absolute+ Gold is easy, but there is quite a bit of cardboard packaging to get through when taking all the attachments out of the box. 

It’s easy to assemble the vacuum and click the attachments to the main section of the vacuum, which then needs a full charge before you get going. The battery is easy to slot in and can be charged via a cable when needed.  

At 3.1kg (6.8lb), the vacuum is quite heavy and the maximum the head could comfortably pivot was around 40 degrees from left to right. It sometimes felt a little top-heavy – particularly after it was used for a whole room – and wasn’t easy to balance up against the wall. 

The wall-mount attachment that comes in the box connects to the plug socket so that whenever you return the vacuum to its home it will automatically recharge while keeping things neat. 

While the vacuum is beautifully crafted, we would have liked an On/Off button that doesn’t require you to continuously hold the trigger. This could turn out to be annoying and even painful on the finger if you’ve got a lot of rooms to vacuum.

Emptying the bagless bin is a tidy process, but it does take practice as you’ll need to get the knack of detaching the main body of the vacuum from the handle. Then you simply push the red lever away from you a few times to shake the dirt and debris into the bin.  

First impressions of the Dyson V15 Detect Absolute+ Gold were that it was very smooth to use on both wooden flooring and carpets. We were also pleased to see there were eight attachments included in the box to tackle various surfaces.

We started by cleaning the wooden floor using the “Fluffy optic” illuminated head. Although we were slightly horrified to see so much dust highlighted, we were relieved at how well the vacuum head and suction power worked to remove it.

In Auto mode, the vacuum automatically adjusts the suction power depending on how much dirt and debris there is to pick up. The digital motorbar head has detangling technology and this worked particularly well on carpet.

We really appreciated this as it meant we didn’t have to remove too many strands of hair left in the brush bar, as you do with some vacuum cleaners. A specific “hair screw” tool will pick up long hair and is ideal if you want to clean a dog or cat bed. 

The mattress tool was smooth to use when giving the bed a spring clean. We used this tool to vacuum the top of the curtains, where a lot of dust can gather, and it was effective when used with the gentler Eco mode. 

We also used it on Eco mode while gliding over the Persian carpet – carefully avoiding the tassels – and were pleased with how effectively it cleared up biscuit crumbs and pet hair. 

We did encounter the odd bit of larger debris – such as torn sweet wrappers and the odd dried cornflake from breakfast – that seemed to block the main airwave on the brush bars, but these were easily removed and our vacuuming generally remained uninterrupted and impressed us with its effectiveness. That is, until the digital display reminded us how little cleaning time we had left until we needed to recharge. 

In our lab test, the vacuum did particularly well at vacuuming up finer debris such as ground coffee when in Auto mode. It did get a little stuck when picking up larger debris, such as the Cheerios, from the carpet as the power became too great and caused the brush to stop rotating.

You can adjust the head air gap, however, and once we’d done this and lowered the power to Eco mode, performance improved.  

One other thing to note is that the vacuum can get noisy when used in Boost mode, but we’ve yet to find a vacuum cleaner that is whisper-quiet with top performance.

Overall, the brush bars remained surprisingly clean and clear from debris after use and the bins were easy to empty. 

The boost mode on the Dyson V15 Detect Absolute+ Gold can guzzle up the battery life a lot more quickly than the Eco mode, so where possible we tried to stick to the latter when cleaning carpets and hard floors. 

The Dyson website states that this cordless vacuum can last for up to 60 minutes on a single charge, but our lab tests put this closer to the 35 minutes mark on Auto mode.

It also took us 3 hours and 46 minutes to recharge fully from flat, which is not out of the ordinary for a cordless vacuum cleaner, but could be rather annoying when you’ve got a full house to vacuum and are stuck for time.

Dyson sells a wide range of cordless vacuum cleaners, with the Dyson V15 Detect Absolute+ Gold being one of the premium models. We think its clever technology, excellent performance and good selection of attachments included in the box makes it good value for money. 

One of the main drawbacks of the Dyson V15 Detect Absolute+ Gold is that you have to hold its On/Off trigger continuously for it to work.

And if you’re going to be spending over £500 on a cordless cleaner, you may want to consider the similarly high-performing Dyson Gen5detect that has a power button instead of a trigger.

There’s a sea of Dyson wannabes out there, but little come close to matching Dyson’s head-turning style and unique performance. Still, you may want to consider the following…

If removing hair from the brush bar isn’t on your list of fun jobs, you may want to consider this excellent design from Shark. Like the Dyson it has technology to combat the dreaded hair tangles and removes hair from the brush-roll automatically so you don’t have to.

It also has up to 60 minutes of runtime with the removable battery included in the set.

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Shark Stratos IZ400UK Anti Hair Wrap Plus Cordless Vacuum

RRP: £449.99

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While it costs considerably more than the Dyson V15 Detect Absolute+ Gold, the Gen5detect is Dyson’s most powerful cordless vacuum with Hepa filtration. It gives you a runtime of up to 70 minutes, depending on cleaning mode, and has a low-reach adapter to clean deep under beds and low furniture.

It also has an On/Off button so there’s no need to continuously hold the trigger.

Featured product

Dyson Gen5detect

RRP: £849.99

Check price

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Overall, even though this wasn’t the best cordless vacuum we’ve tried, we really enjoyed using this device at home. The vacuum feels built to last, it’s easy on the eye and the control panels are easy to use. It worked most effectively across hard flooring with the illuminated head where we could see the results instantly, but its Auto mode did well to tackle finer dust and smaller debris across carpet too. 

The detangling technology kept the brush relatively clean, with us only having to intervene a few times to de-clog larger debris.

The fact that the LCD display shows the runtime remaining and lets you easily switch between Eco, Auto and Boost mode is ideal, but while the display that gives proof of a deep clean is reassuring, the detail does feel a little superfluous and we’re not quite sure what we were meant to do with it.  

With a little DIY skill it was easy to mount the vacuum on the wall, where it sat happily charging when not in use. It would be nice to have a clearer indicator to show when the battery is fully charged so it can be switched off at the plug.

As with all cordless vacuum cleaners, a longer runtime would be nice, but we were generally happy with this design that, depending on mode, gives you up to 60 minutes of use on a full charge.