Miele Duoflex HX1 Review: Quality comes at a price

Price upon review

Currently not available in the US

While Dyson vacuum cleaners are rightly famous, there is another brand that makes equally effective high-quality vacuum cleaners. Miele’s floor cleaners may not have the same immediate brand recognition, but they are among the best we’ve tested, with sleek, modern designs and low-key color schemes that can be attractive, especially for people who want to put their vacuum cleaner in the spotlight.

In this review we look at Miele’s new wireless model, the Duoflex HX1. It’s a more budget-friendly model than the brand’s wireless flagship, the Miele Triflex, so there are a few compromises to be made when it comes to features, but the build and performance are top-notch.

Design and construction

• Two energy settings
• Maximum battery life of 55 minutes
• Basic battery life indicator

There are a number of different Duoflex HX1 editions: the CarCare, the Total Care and the Cat & Dog. The price and attachments vary depending on what you purchase.

We tested the HX1 Cat & Dog, which comes with a special attachment for removing pet hair from upholstery and car seats.

In the box you will receive the housing of the vacuum cleaner, which can also be used as a handheld, a metal wand and cleaning tools. These include the MultiFloor electric brush (the motorized main cleaning head), which detects the floor type and automatically adjusts, a dusting brush, furniture nozzle, crevice nozzle and the electro compact brush (the motorized pet hair attachment).

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

The wand is bronze gray and the cleaning attachments all have a matte black finish. Everything is beautifully designed and all parts click together nicely and are separate from each other.

The vacuum body also has a matte finish, with a textured pattern under the handle. The transparent, easy-to-open dustbin has a capacity of 0.3 liters. Compared to rivals this is really small. For example, Dyson’s flagship model, the Gen5detect, has a waste bin that is more than twice as large at 0.77 litres.

This means that you have to empty it often. In any case, this is easy to do, with a quick release button on the bottom of the box. But if you’re vacuuming a lot of pet fur, as with all smaller containers, you’ll probably have to remove the hairballs manually.

Operating the vacuum cleaner is simple. There are two buttons on top of the handle of the vacuum cleaner, well within reach of your thumb. One is the on/off button and the other switches from low to high suction power. Most of the time I found that low power was enough to get the job done.

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

There’s no screen on the HX1, a feature I missed during testing. While a digital display on a vacuum cleaner may seem like a bit of unnecessary technology, battery life countdown timers are really useful on cordless vacuum cleaners.

Instead, the HX1 has a three-light battery indicator, so you’ll know if your battery is full, has two-thirds or a third of life left. More details would be nice, but on the plus side the HX1 has a maximum run time of 55 minutes – although that’s on the low setting, without a motorized brush head attached.

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

However, with a motorized attachment, you only have 12 minutes of vacuuming time on the high setting, according to Miele. Most of the time you will probably be able to vacuum for about half an hour on the battery, but it is difficult to be precise.

What’s a shame is that the HX1’s lithium-ion battery isn’t replaceable, meaning there’s no option to buy a spare battery and double the runtime. This means you’ll have to keep an eye on the not very accurate battery indicator as it can drop in a few minutes before it’s a third full.

The vacuum cleaner also comes with a dock that you mount to the wall using two supplied screws. However, you can charge the vacuum cleaner without using it, just by plugging it in.

Performance and features

• Weight 3.1 kg
• Pet hair tool effective
• Powerful vacuuming

The HX1 weighs 3.1kg, which is lighter than the 3.5kg of the Gen5detect, but not nearly as light as the 2.6kg of the Halo Capsule and several other notable features.)

It feels light when vacuuming the floor, but I found it heavy on the wrist in handheld mode when using it overhead to clean blinds.

The main motorized cleaning head (the Multifloor electric brush) is good on both carpets and hard floors – with a few caveats. If you want to give carpets a thorough cleaning, use the high setting. This means you only have 12 minutes of vacuuming time before you have to recharge.

Its performance on hard floors is excellent, but I’ve found it can spread larger debris, so if you’re picking up cat litter you’ll have to go over the area a few times.

I also found that long hair tends to wrap around the brush roll and needs to be pulled out by hand. This isn’t too much trouble, though, as the brush roll pops out for easy cleaning.

As well as the other cleaning tools, there’s an accessory for every job, although we did miss the hinged tool that the top vacuums from Dyson and Samsung have, which allows you to create a 90° angle for cleaning high shelves and hard-to-reach areas.

The motorized pet hair removal tool is one of my favorite things about this vacuum. It is very effective at removing dust and pet hair from the upholstery and can also be used to vacuum your mattress. This tool increases the price of the Dog & Cat model, but if you have pets, I think it’s worth it.

If you want the Duoflex but aren’t convinced about the need for a motorized pet hair appliance, the Duoflex HX1 or HX1 Extra are cheaper options. At Miele you can view all models.

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Price and availability

At this time, the Duoflex is not available in the US. If you want a cordless Miele, check out our review of the Miele Triflex, the brand’s flagship cordless model, which you can buy in the US and UK.

In Great Britain you can get the Duoflex John Lewis, Curries, Marks Electrical or directly from Miele, for £449. This puts the vacuum cleaner firmly in the mid-range price range. It’s not as expensive as Dyson’s top models such as the flagship Gen5detect (£750+) or the V15 Detect, both of which surpass it in specs and features.

The problem is that it’s more expensive than models with similar features, such as the excellent Halo Capsule X (£399.99) or the budget-friendly Shark Detect Pro (£229). Ultimately, it’s not that the Duoflex isn’t a good vacuum cleaner, it’s that in today’s crowded market there are plenty of alternative options and it’s hard to find a compelling reason to spend a little more to buy it.

Should you buy the Duoflex HX1 Cat & Dog from Miele?

The Duoflex HX1 Cat & Dog is a robust, well-made vacuum cleaner – and that’s what you pay for when you buy it. But it is still expensive and you will have to make compromises when it comes to the size of the dustbin, the battery life and the not very specific battery indicator. Ultimately, this would work best as a second vacuum or a quick runaround for the kitchen.

If this isn’t the right vacuum cleaner for you, check out our top recommendations in our round-up of the best vacuum cleaners we’ve tested.