Dyson unleashes the Gen5detect, its most powerful HEPA cordless vacuum yet

If you're looking for the best cordless vacuums, Dyson's new Gen5detect could well be the best of the best. The £849.99 cordless is the most advanced Dyson cordless vac yet, and it's the first to get the next generation of Dyson's Hyperdymium motor for serious suction.

The Gen5detect, which is available from today, is a typically Dyson design that comes in two different versions: Absolute, which is available in Purple/Iron/Purple, and Complete, which comes in Prussian Blue/Copper and adds a low-reach adaptor. But it's what's inside that counts. 

What's so great about the Dyson Gen5detect?

The new motor is smaller, faster and more powerful than its predecessor, spinning at an RPM of up to 135,000. That's nine times faster than a Formula 1 engine, and better at cleaning carpets than an F1 racer too. Dyson says it delivers even more powerful suction than any of the best Dysons before it, and because it also has whole-machine HEPA filtration it should be good for removing allergens and irritants too.

The Gen5detect also gets a new Fluffy Optic cleaner head. That's the brush/roller attachment that uses a soft roller instead of a bristle brush to capture as much dust and dirt as possible, and which in Dyson's detect range illuminates the area in front of it so you don't miss the slightest speck. This new design promises to reveal twice as much dust as before. There's also a new user interface on the LCD control panel that gives you more stats on your cleaning progress.

Despite the increased power the new Gen5detect shouldn't run out of puff before your home is completely clean: Dyson promises up to 70 minutes of run time, which is the most any of its cordless vacuums has ever delivered. The ten-cell battery promises fade-free suction right to the end of the charge.

There's no getting away from it: this is an incredibly expensive vacuum cleaner. But as someone who's owned multiple Dyson cordless vacuums and tested many rivals, I can attest that each new generation of Dyson motor does deliver a very significant upgrade to its cleaning power. It's actually quite incredible to see how far the tech has come: cordless vacuums have gone from being little more than really big Dustbusters to high-tech devices that are more powerful than many uprights.

The Dyson Gen5detect is available now from Dyson.co.uk and the usual retailers.