I thought that until I came to own a dyson ball vacuum for free. My lord. If a hoover/shark/whatever is a 25 year old toyota corolla, this is a brand new rolls royce and feels like it. It's extremely powerful despite being used, and collects a frankly disturbing amount of dust and hair every time I use it (picking up about a full chamber of hair from my longhair cat some times, hair that was invisible to the eye on the rugs before vacuuming). Pretty much every other vaccume I've had turns to hell in a few years with the poor build quality and dealing with my cats hair, but this is a tank in comparison and has tumbled down stairs. The ball system is actually pretty nice and easy to push around, and the low center of gravity helps with balance as well. It's loud, but not nearly as loud as my old vaccuum (my cat doesn't run away). Maintenance is extremely user friendly and easy; I had the whole thing apart to clean the filters without looking at a manual, just moving bits of plastic conveniently colored red so you know they are there for you to move or remove.

But none of this is something you would notice from a sexy ipod-esque ad. All of this you pick up on after you start using the tool. Then it makes perfect sense why this is such a good vacuum and well worth the premium relative to other offerings on the market.