The Vacuum I've Been Searching For!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Performance Extraordinaire!! Great price, too!

Cons: None

The Bottom Line: 
RECOMMENDATION... I would recommend this vacuum cleaner to anyone who wants a quality product and doesn't mind changing the bag every one to two months. I'm very happy with it.

Author's Review
My old Kirby Dual Sanitronic petered out a few months ago and I was in the market for a new vacuum cleaner. Because I had the Kirby for approximately ten years and a horrid Hoover Dial-A-Matic for five years prior to that, I knew which features I didn't want. First I wasn't interested in anything bagless, which seems contrary to the current trend. My Kirby had a cloth bag which had to be manually emptied. To have to reach up through the bottom and pull out wads of dust, silt and hair (we have four children and an Irish Setter) was not my favorite household task. Next feature I wanted: accessories on board. My Kirby had half a dozen but it was a chore to haul the box out from the laundry room every time I wanted to use one of them, not to mention the hassle of switching things around to use it for five minutes. I knew I wanted something light and easy to maneuver, having owned two rather cumbersome cleaners. I considered several different brands before making my purchase. One I looked at was a Hoover Wind Tunnel, available at our local Sam's Club. It was bagless, though, and I just didn't want to deal with emptying that container. To me it seems more sanitary to just remove a full bag and dispose of the whole works instead of trying to pour dirt into the trash. Finally I purchased the Eureka SmartVac Ultra 4870 because it had all the features I wanted and it looked like a good value at $160. I unpacked it right after I brought it home as I was anxious to see how it compared to my old Kirby, which I'd given one last whirl around the house before its drop-off at the dump. About five minutes of minor assembly requiring just a screwdriver and a wee bit of patience stowing the accessories in their hiding places and we were ready for a test drive.
PERFORMANCE...
My first impression was this thing feels like a plastic toy compared to the clunky Kirby. Was I too hasty in trashing the beast? After the first pass on our plush pile in the bedroom, my apprehension disappeared. Wow, looks like new carpet there! The vacuum was easy to maneuver and there were no dust clouds billowing from the body! Its performance more than made up for any flimsiness I suspected at first.
FEATURES...
There is a manual pile height adjustment for use on carpets and a setting for floors. The accessories were extremely easy to use, just snap the tool on the hose and switch the large yellow dial from "floor" to "hose." The cord is 25 feet long. One feature I didn't look for but have come to appreciate is the HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filter. With my previous vacuum cleaners there was always a lingering aroma of dirt and dog hair hanging in the air after vacuuming, so it was obvious there were serious air leaks somewhere. Not the case now: air smells clean, carpets look clean, and the kitchen tile is spotless.