Dyson V16 Piston Animal first impressions: The best new Dyson vacuum cleaner is surprisingly under $1,000. Is it worth it?

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Dyson has released a new flagship cordless vacuum cleaner for the first time in a while. Launched in the US on June 2nd, the Dyson V16 Piston Animal is Dyson’s first new flagship in three years. Still, the 2023 flagship Gen5absolute and Gen5outsize vacuum cleaners didn’t feel very innovative compared to the existing Dyson V15.

The Dyson V16 finally picks up where the Dyson V15 left off, and there are multiple upgrades to discuss. Does it automatically rock my list of best cordless stick vacuums? Here’s how my first week with the V16 went.

Classic Dyson chrome was replaced with black, but turquoise and orange weren’t ditched.
Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

A new compressor lever creates space that can hold 30 days worth of dust before emptying.
Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

What’s special about the Dyson V16 piston?

People have been asking the question for years: “Can cordless vacuums replace corded vacuums?” I’ve always said “yes” just out of convenience. However, with the V16, you won’t be satisfied with a little less suction just to be free from the wall. The V16 Piston Animal is the first cordless Dyson vacuum with suction power exceeding 300 AW (Air Watts). This means that the cordless Dyson vacuum is finally the strongest Dyson vacuum cleaner overall, beating out even the corded upright models that were once thought to be unmatched. Currently the most powerful Dyson option, the Dyson Ball Animal 3 Extra has up to 290 AW.

The V16 Piston Animal also comes with a Fluffy Optic head and two handheld attachments for hard floors.
Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

The V16 Piston Animal (right) is significantly thicker than the V12 Detect Slim (left).
Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

Other big changes include a new compressed dust box that can hold up to 30 days’ worth of dust and a new tangle-free conical cleaning head. It’s more rounded than previous Dyson motorbars and features two side-by-side conical rollers that suck in the middle to prevent long hair from tangling. The V16 All Floor Cone Sense Cleaner Head uses alternating strips of hard bristles and soft fibers to pick up dirt and hair on hard and soft floors. I’ve been using the Dyson V12 Detect Slim for three years and am already familiar with the Fluffy Optic cleaning head, so my first test focuses strictly on this new cleaning head.

In automatic mode, the V16 senses the type of floor you’re cleaning and the level of debris you’re dealing with, and automatically adjusts suction power and brush roll speed accordingly. You may hear this sound while cleaning. You can manually switch to Eco or Boost mode using a button on the steering wheel that looks a lot like an on/off button.

Dyson V16 piston animal on the carpet: very strong, a little stubborn

Although no room is completely carpeted, the V16 Piston Animal provides powerful suction on area rugs and runners. A flat printed rug with a padded bottom, a faux fur tumble rug, and two medium pile tufted rugs that have the feel of a traditional carpet.

You could clearly see the brush roll digging into the fibers of the rug, and the amount of cat hair and gray fluff that had accumulated in the trash can after the first day was proof enough. I especially enjoyed watching the V16 catch stubborn lint and tiny balls of shed rug fibers from my bushy rug in my bedroom, considering most robot vacuums I’ve tested struggle with them.

This pattern is really good at hiding cat hair, which V16 found.
Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

With lug lines this crisp, I was confident the V16 would pass the lint roller test.
Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

To test it, I spilled bread crumbs and protein powder all over a flat kitchen runner and even sprinkled it on a plush fur rug. Almost all the crumbs and sprinkles were collected in one forward pass. It took a few more passes to catch the crumbs that the V16 blew off from its own cleaning pass. The V16 only took a few passes to get rid of the white powder spots, which is impressive considering some of it probably fell into the plain weave of the lugable.

My biggest question about the V16’s carpet cleaning wasn’t even the pickup rate. It was whether it would get caught on the rug like the old Motorbar. The V16 Piston Animal seems to get stuck less often than the four Dysons I’ve used so far. New cleaning heads should have an improved airflow system that prevents the cyclonic force from forming unpleasant seals on the lugs. What about the prey? This only applies when the V16 is in Eco mode.

When I tried to vacuum the rug in automatic or boost mode, the cone roller immediately jammed and stopped spinning. It’s a shame you can’t take full advantage of the 315 AW’s suction power without running into this classic Dyson glitch. Even in Eco mode, you still need to use your elbow to push and pull the vacuum across the rug, but if you lift the vacuum slightly off the ground with your other hand, the glide will be much smoother. This went smoothly even on the fluffy bath mat. Fortunately, even the V16’s weakest settings rarely leave visible debris after the first pass or two.

Dyson V16 Piston Animal on hardwood forest: very efficient in one pass

The V16 Piston Animal’s performance on hardwood and tile has been pretty perfect so far, especially when using the All Floor Cones Sense cleaning head. In many cases, the V16 Piston Animal picks up debris on hard floors so thoroughly that a second pass after the first forward swipe isn’t technically necessary. I still do this back-and-forth motion out of habit, but usually not because the V16 keeps missing spots.

To really test the V16’s power, we dumped more trash than a cat could track.
Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

The trail behind the V16 cleared up after just one step forward.
Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

On hard floors you can really see what Boost mode can do. It’s amazing to be able to track all the different types of cat litter that come out of the two litter boxes, all the different types of cat litter that accumulate under the counter, and the long hair that settles on the bathroom floor every day. During my first week with the V16, someone in my family got a new aquarium and had the aquarium substrate all over the hardwood kitchen floor. In boost mode, the V16 picked up rocks so efficiently that it might have taken a minute to clean, including small pieces that fell between cracks in the hardwood.

We appreciate that Dyson added a green laser to the front carpet cleaning head. Basically every room in my apartment has both hard floors and rugs, and it made daily vacuuming much faster without having to switch cleaning heads depending on the type of floor. I used the laser-equipped cleaning head 24/7 on the Dyson V12 Detect Slim, even though it’s not ideal for deep cleaning rugs. I wasn’t all that reluctant to dig the Motorbar out of the closet, and emotionally I needed access to the LED dust detection feature all the time.

But the new cleaning head design isn’t completely bulletproof. It’s a little bulky, so it won’t fit under a low-hanging dresser or credenza like the Fluffy Optic head. My biggest question is why the front edge is not completely flat, but slightly dotted. This prevents the head from being pushed completely into corners and walls, which are known to collect dust. The Fluffy Optic head is elite for this very reason, so I’m glad Dyson included it in the box.

why?
Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

Dyson V16 Piston Animal in handheld mode: powerful but heavy

In terms of handheld use, the V16 Piston Animal isn’t the most or least comfortable one-handed stick vacuum I’ve ever had. The Dyson Gen5outsize feels like a brick, and the Dyson V12 Detect Slim feels light enough that even a toddler can use it.

The mini pet hair tools worked well with the velvet upholstery and this fluffy material.
Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

I swear new fur and dander grows at the base of my cat tree and on nearby windowsills every hour.
Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

In one session with the mini hair screw tool, I cushioned the entire couch and each level of the cat tree. My arms were getting a little tired by the end of the 5 minutes, but I did pause to take some photos for this review. Although the cat tree cushion is not attached to the perch, I was pleasantly surprised that I could gently drag the V16 without inhaling it. The thick layer of cat hair on my couch chaise was basically gone in one wipe.

I switched to the crevice tool and used boost mode to remove kitty litter from that awkward spot behind the litter box and remove sticky air conditioner dirt from the vent. I wish the V16 was lighter in handheld mode, but it completes tasks very quickly.