If you've got pets then you know how much a pain dog or cat hair can be. Dyson thinks it has the answer with its latest vacuum cleaner, but is it all blow and no suck? We get cleaning to find out.

The DC16 Dyson Root 6 Animal vacuum cleaner is the follow-up to the company's DC16 handheld vacuum cleaner. This time around it comes with an additional motorised brushbar to give you that extra umph however no HEPA filter to trap allergens due to the reduced size.

The handheld device, which looks more like a prop from a sci-fi movie that something you use to clean your house or car with promises a good amount of suck for your buck. Surprisingly lightweight, the design is futuristic and manly enough for you to be seen with on the drive. Those worried that it will be a lovely mauve colour like previous models will be pleased to see it's grey and bronze.

In practice on the boot of a couple of cars (our neighbours where very happy with the offer of a free valet) and the suck, it has to be said, is good.

Dirt, dog hair, cat hair, mohair and pretty much everything else are sucked up into the bagless chamber to be thrown away. According to Dyson this performance is down to its patented Root Cyclone technology to remove dirt from the air so it doesn’t clog or lose suction. Whatever it is, it works very well.

To help you clean your car there are a number of attachments in the box, a thin long nozzle, a couple of bendy brushes and of course the motorised head with its extra brushing capabilities. Unfortunately that motorised head has to be attached directly on the unit rather than on an extending bendy pole due to power and because of its wider measurements it's not good for tight or uneven spots.

Sounds brilliant I hear you cry, so what's the catch? Well you've only got 6 minutes. That's right, the DC16 might come with its own rechargeable battery and charging stand, but after 3 long hours of charging, you'll get just 6 minutes of action before you need to start recharging again.

Annoyingly there is no option to connect a power cable so you can keep going beyond this, which we have to admit is something truly amazing. If the smallest of MP3 players can manage a power input then why can't the Dyson DC16?


In our tests the Dyson DC16 performed brilliantly with plenty of suck for the entire time of the charge (all 6 minutes of it).

The portability and the extra motorised head will really help pet owners keen to banish hair once and for all (well until your mutt is back in the car again), however, where the Dyson DC16 falls down for us, is the lack of a constant power supply so you can clean for longer.