Kenmore Upright vs. Miele Canister Vacuum Face-Off

The Kenmore Elite Pet Friendly 31150 upright retails for $350. It's a bagged vacuum cleaner with a 35-foot cord, and it weighs in at 21 pounds.

The Miele Complete C3 Marin canister vacuum sells for $1,100. It too is bagged. Its cord is 24 feet, and it weighs in at 23 pounds.

Bare Floors
For our bare floors test, CR technicians measure out 40 grams of sand and sprinkle it evenly over a marked-off area on a linoleum floor. The Miele canister did a superb job of picking up sand from linoleum without scattering it across the floor. The Kenmore upright was also commendable, but not quite as good as its competitor.

Carpet
The weight of the powerhead on an upright allows it to get deep into carpet, so it’s not surprising that the Kenmore scores a full 9 points higher (out of a possible total of 100) than the Miele canister on CR's carpet tests. Our testers use medium-pile carpet and look at how well a vacuum picks up 10 grams of surface talc and 90 grams of embedded sand. The Kenmore has a 5-position height-adjustment dial that lets you match the powerbrush to the depth of the carpet. One downside to this machine is the placement of this dial—all the way down on the motorhead. “It’s kind of a nuisance to bend over to adjust the vacuum height every time you switch to a room with different flooring,” says Susan Booth, the CR engineer who oversees vacuums. But if you’re not changing piles all that often, the Kenmore is a stellar carpet cleaner. As for the Miele, it performs adequately on carpets, but is no match for the Kenmore.

Handling
Going into this category, the Kenmore upright has an advantage: At 21 pounds, it's slightly lighter than the Miele—and weight factors into CR’s handling rating. Our testers also look at handle height and how easy it is to push the vacuum (or just the motorhead, in the case of a canister) back and forth. Though the Miele itself is the heavier of the two vacuums, its swiveling powerhead is easier to maneuver and, like all canisters, it’s more adept at getting into small spaces than an upright. The Kenmore takes this category with a score of 54 to Miele’s 52. For both vacuums, you’ll most likely need two hands for transport (say, to carry the machine up stairs).

Pet Hair
The Kenmore’s name references its mastery over pet hair, so you’d expect top performance here. It does reasonably well at picking up embedded piles, but our testers note that it was a little tough to pull hair off the brush after vacuuming. With the Miele, this was less of an issue; the brush was fairly clean after the vacuum sucked up embedded fur.

Noise
Our testers use a decibel meter to measure sound at ear level with a vacuum set to deep-clean at maximum power. While no vacuum is quiet, the Miele is a great performer in this category. The Kenmore had an average decibel level of 75.6. The Miele comes in at 68.8; it’s significantly quieter.

Extras
The Miele has motor control which means you can switch from a strong setting to clean your carpet to a less powerful setting to clean drapes (so you don’t inadvertently pull them down with suction!). Both the Kenmore and Miele come with a few attachments, such as a crevice tool, an upholstery tool, and a pet-hair brush.

It was a close race, but the Miele Complete C3 Marin wins by a nose. It’s slightly better than the Kenmore on bare floors and pet hair, and much better when it comes to noise level. Of course, it’s also four times the price. If you have lots of carpet, remember that the Kenmore aces that test, and it will not disappoint.

In a home with a variety of surfaces—say, hardwood floors, drapes, carpeted stairs and/or a layout that requires tight maneuvering, a canister like the Miele is a better choice—but there are great models at lower prices too.

Start with CR’s vacuum buying guide. It offers the pros and cons for all five vacuum types we test. Then move on to our vacuum cleaner ratings to get the dirt on more than 150 models, including 78 uprights and 15 canisters.

In the market for a new vacuum cleaner? CR expert, Sue Booth, shows 'Consumer 101' TV show host, Jack Rico, how Consumer Reports puts models through the paces.