This vacuum cleaner was designed for one purpose - cleaning carpets. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles, no attachments, no cooking or serving breakfast. Built for long-term efficient use, ease of operation and repair, it performs its one function better than any other. That definitely goes with it. I've had Dyson, Sharks and a few others but they just don't work as well as the Sanitaire. As I said, this is a limited edition car, a utility vehicle that you will have for years to come. It's very reliable, easy to build and all the parts are available from Sanitaire should you need them. Most parts are interchangeable between different models as they are designed for intensive continuous operation without downtime. Not the prettiest vacuum on the market, but it's not made for vanity. This is a workhorse. The performance was fantastic. We also have a shark rotator that we used very carefully before this came out. After a five minute process, my wife used the Sanitaire to clean the entire house and was surprised at how much material came out of the carpet. The Shark works well but can't quite match the Tech's ability. The Shark is useful when you need a crevice tool or a blind cleaning tool, but when you need to run a regular vacuuming cycle, the Sanitaire is the go-to choice. When deciding between Sanitaire models, I recommend you visit the Sanitaire website to see what is available and what the difference between the models is. There are subtle differences, but determine what the important features are. One thing to consider is garbage collection. This model uses a paper bag disposal bag (ST bag) but you can convert it to a "shake bag" if you prefer. It really depends on how sensitive you are to airborne allergens. If you buy the shake bag model you can also convert it to a paper bag for disposal, but you will use an FG bag instead. Like I said before, do your due diligence so you know what you're ordering. A few things worth mentioning. This model has a 50 foot cord. The cord has a heavy sheath, so once wrapped around the magazine clips it becomes very bulky. It's not really a problem, but I took it off and used a lighter 50ft cable and it works much better. This model only came with a 50ft cord so I had no choice and a commercial vacuum should have a long cord. The cord has a pigtail so it can be swapped out if necessary. The clips around which the cable bends and where the spring attaches are plastic. I would prefer metal clips as they can handle a lot of stress. It's not really a downside, but I think Sanitaire would have used metal brackets to make the unit durable. Highly recommended