What is it?
The Duoflex HX1 is a cordless vacuum cleaner from German brand Miele, and there are five different versions to choose from. Depending on your needs, there are different versions to choose from that come with different attachments, but with two young children constantly scrambling in and out of cars, we're testing the Miele Duoflex HX1 CarCare version.
Supplied with a number of attachments designed to keep your car's interior nice and clean, it also comes with what Miele calls a MultiFloor electrobrush. This head is designed to be used on multiple surfaces, from your living room carpet to hard floors, with the head automatically adapting to the change in surface.
At its most economical setting it has a battery life of 55 minutes and comes with a fitments to mount it on the wall when not in use. Priced at £419 for the CarCare version, with other versions varying in price slightly, it comes with a two year warranty.
What's the Miele Duoflex HX1 like?
The Duoflex HX1 CarCare comes with a number of attachments - there's the MultiFloor electrobrush we've already mentioned, but there's also a dusting brush, upholstery nozzle, crevice nozzle, flexible crevice nozzle XL and a flexible suction hose.
Out of the box and the first thing that strikes you is how well it's been put together - it's a proper sturdy piece of kit and felt a lot more solid than our own Dyson cordless vacuum. The compromise though is that it does feel quite heavy, tipping the scales at just over 3kg. The 'Casa' grey colourway might not be to everyones taste either, though different versions of the Duoflex HX1 are available in different colours.
The charging cable plugs directly into the body of the Duoflex HX1, but if you're going to be using the supplied wall bracket, it can be positioned so every time you 'dock' the vacuum it'll charge. Speaking of charging times, topping it up fully to 100% will take some three and a half hours.
Charged up and the Duoflex HX1 promises up to 55 minutes of run time - the caveat here is that you'll need to be on the standard suction level and using one of the attachments, not the power-hungry MultiFloor electrobrush. That means you should easily have enough power to clean out a car of all the various bits of debris that seems to get deposited without needing to stop and recharge.
The attachments click reassuringly into place and the performance is very good - a tap of the 'Max' button on the body of the vacuum will make light work of stubborn bits as well.
Away from the car and you'll probably swap to the MultiFloor electrobrush to cover larger surfaces. It really is a clever bit of kit, quickly and automatically adjusting its suction response from a hard floor to a rug and back again. It's also nice and easy to manoeuvre, though you do notice the weight after a while.
Perhaps crucially the performance from the Duoflex HX1 is very good, sucking up anything that's put in front of it. If you're tempted to have it in 'Max' all the time using the MultiFloor electrobrush, you'll have about 12 minutes to rush round with it before it runs out of charge. Use the 'Max' mode in moderation, and you can prolong the battery life, especially if you've got a lot of hard flooring to cover. We found we were getting almost twenty five minutes of use out of it before it needs charging - more than enough in most case to cover what we needed to clean.
The dust bin isn't that big at 0.3 litres and thanks to the suction from the Duoflex HX1, it can soon get full up if you've got a lot of carpeted areas. It's pretty easy to empty out in most cases, though the dirt didn't always full out on a couple of occasions, requiring you to get your hand in and give the pre-filter a tug to release the debris into the bin.
Should you buy a Miele Duoflex HX1?
We reckon that if you've got a predominantly carpeted areas in your household, then the battery life of the Miele Duoflex HX1 might hold it back a bit. Miele reckons you should be able to cover 60m2 in 'Max' mode with the MultiFloor electrobrush, but some might find they'll need to charge midway through a clean.
Otherwise, if you're looking for a high quality and sturdy cordless vacuum, the Miele Duoflex HX1 is an excellent option. The performance is first rate - not only will it tackle a dirty car without breaking a sweat, but those with a mix of hard flooring and carpets should be able to get a quality clean on a single charge.
