DC11If you have one of these units, you should hang onto it just to keep it as a collectors item. Although the vacuum is mediocre in it's performance, its very unique and original in its design. Its better off in a museum than in your closet.
The biggest shortcoming on this in my opinion is the air drive brush bar (opposed to a motorized one), which caused the performance to be less than it could be. The system is a little complicated as well with the hose wrapped around and under the machine, the wand extending as it does, putting the turbine head on and breaking down the same way when you are done.
DC21
I think this canister had great expectations when it came out, but fell short of the excitement it was supposed to generate. The design was an improvement over the DC11. It was much more heavy duty in cleaning now that it was larger and had a motorized head.
The little things on the DC21 make it a little annoying; and its quite a laundry list. When carrying it around, the wand easily falls out of its clip if bumped; getting the wand to extend all the way without it collapsing on you takes quite the strength; you can't adjust the height of the wand; it requires too much effort to connect the power head to the wand all the way; and lastly (and probably the worst) is the bin is unlike the other Dysons which are easy to empty by just a press of the button, the DC21 has to be taken apart and manually dumped (taking a step in the wrong direction!).
The Motorhead is a much better performer than the Turbinehead in my opinion; I am not a big fan of air driven heads on canisters. This vacuum is altogther, pretty innovative; it has the Dyson Digital Motor in it, making incredible power available in a little package. With the DDM, it adds another feature of the ability to change the suction power. The size is an advantage with the weight, but a disadvantage in the bin capacity as well as the width of the head which is significantly smaller.
DC23 Motorhead
This model was a much improved version of the DC21, the previous issues have been resolved on the DC23. It has Hygienic Bin Emptying, the wand is not knocked off as easy, is easier to extend, and has different height adjustments, and has Level 3 Root Cyclone Technology. I personally like the DC23, and think it cleans wonderfully; it feels as if the cleaner head hugs the carpet the way a sports car does when reaching higher speeds. A fantastic new feature on the DC23 is a stair stabilizer which enables the vacuum to rest on the stairs if they are too long of a set to keep the vacuum at the bottom. I'm still not sure the reason, but Dyson discontinued the model in 2010, getting rid of their canisters with motorized brush bars.
A highly driven canister by Dyson in 2010 to grab more of the canister market, the DC23 Turbinehead is a decent vacuum. It features all the basic benefits of the DC23 Stowaway except the hose wrapping around the machine (I'll note that the hose is pretty stiff), and unfortunately, no motorized power head. Having a turbine power head (air-driven brush bar), significantly reduces it's cleaning capability. Dyson will even tell you that it's made for low to medium pile carpets, because it just won't perform well on anything beyond that.
Dyson City
DC26 Mutli Floors
This cainster is definitely an eye grabber with size that it has. Made primarily for small living arrangements, this canister will tuck away just about anywhere; at least the actual canister will, the hose and wand aren't as covert. As you might imagine, the power on this doesn't match up with the other canisters in the Dyson family, but does a decent job for a little guy. Something to certainly take note of is that there is no brushbar on the head, so if you have any carpet with any depth, you might want to consider another Dyson.
