I had a small vacuum that wasn't seeming to pick up dirt anymore and it was a struggle getting anything done with it, having to go over the same spot several times. I also have a dog (great Pyrenees mix) that sheds so much I don't know how she still has so much hair on her. I bought a Dyson v6 for my mother yeas ago and we always enjoyed it and I thought I didn't want to pay for a dyson for my new home... well 7 months later I was fed up what I had. I debated a Dyson and a standard corded model but, the convenience of cordless it something I really wanted.I had several concerns about the Dyson, mainly: battery life, suction power (I have mostly wood floors but a very large area rug in the living room that gets dog hair embedded in it), price $$$.Battery life seems like it will be a non issue. I let it charge for 4 hours, and then I vacuumed my entire house and I only lost 1 bar. Suction power was more then adequate for my needs; in about 2 minutes my rug felt deep cleaned and that was without using the Boost mode. It pulled up every embedded dog hair, and a TON of dirt. The picture in my review is a photo taken AFTER I vacuumed the rug with my old vacuum. It is 2x past the max fill line which was shocking to me when I looked down! I did not expect so much dirt to be sucked up and so much hair. My rug feels new again.I then did the rest of my living room, my kitchen, three bedrooms, a long hallway and a bathroom. The swiveling head is fantastic, and I stayed in "Auto" mode the whole time. My floors feel like I swept and mopped them, they have that squeaky clean feeling. I finished all of those areas in the time it usually takes me to do kitchen and living room to a satisfactory level. No switching cords, no struggling with low suction, the swivel on the head got into every area I needed, and it is so lightweight.The downside to the suction power is I did needed to empty the bin 4 times. It really doesn't hold a lot, so that might be a concern to some. Also, with how much dog hair is around my house, it really wraps around the little post in the bin and I do have to reach in and pull it out to get it out. That is very annoying, but would happen with any bagless system and my dogs hairs (they are 2-4 inch long hairs). Still, a slightly bigger bin would have been nice. I also wish I didn't need to detach the stick to empty the bin but the clip on/off system makes it quick and painless.Bringing me to the concern of price. I still think it's too much, and that is why I am giving it 4 stars. It's a great machine and I think it will fit most peoples needs, but I feel like it could cost less, or come with more for the price. I would love a drop in battery so that you could have two ready to go, for instance. I know from our previous Dyson (my mothers) that replacing the battery is a bit of a hassle and they DO die; I had to replace the D6 battery under warranty twice in a few years time. However, all that said, "time is money". The convenience of cordless, suction power, lightweight, excellent maneuverability and getting my entire home done is less then half the time it used to take me and eliminating the need to pre-sweep some areas all made the purchase worth it.