Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

Test results from Which 2011:

"...The Nimble A8602AZ is the first upright vacuum cleaner from AEG. It's bagless, designed to be easy to manoeuvre and carry, and it has a swivel head and an LED headlight to help navigation. We wanted to see whether this nimble vac could tackle heavyweight dirt when we got it to the lab for testing. Read on to find out how it fared in our tests.

The Nimble performed brilliantly on laminate and carpeted floors and is a worthy Best Buy. Crevices did prove to be a problem, though, so it's not a great choice if you've got wooden floorboards at home.

This vac's long telescopic hose has two positions to let you get underneath furniture and clean stairs. AEG also supplies both a furniture brush and a three-in-one 'Versatool', which bends to clean corners or can be flattened out to clean surfaces and upholstery.

Electro brushroll
Aided by a motor-powered brushroll, which can be switched off for hard floors, the A8602AZ is effective at beating and sucking dust out of carpets, so overall pick-up is impressive. Suction starts high and doesn't drop as the 2.1 litre-capacity dust container fills, but it can't be reduced for cleaning more delicate fabrics or rugs.

Unfortunately overall dust pick-up from hard floors is poor. While laminate floors are given a thorough clean, the Nimble isn't able to suck much dust at all out of cracks and crevices in wooden floorboards.

Excellent dust retention
Fortunately the dust that is collected is all effectively kept inside this vacuum cleaner. The A8602AZ scores five stars for dust and allergen retention, meaning it doesn't spit dust particles back out into the room as you clean.

The Nimble fails to live up to its name when skirting round the edges of the floor. It can't get close to walls and corners as the brushroll doesn't extend to the edge of the floorhead. A gap along the front and left hand side may mean you need to revisit some spots with smaller accessories.

Great for pet-owners
When it comes to pet hair, the Nimble gets top marks. It speedily sucks hairs out of the carpet and the brushroll doesn't take long to clean afterwards.

The Nimble isn't difficult to use or maintain and is very energy efficient, but cleaning the electro brush on the floorhead is a laborious process and the handle can't be adjusted to your height. The swivel neck and long flex are bonuses but there are more manoeuvrable vacs available that are easier to use on stairs.

Pros: Excellent for carpets, laminate floors and pet hair, energy efficient, long hose and flex

Cons: Disappointing on floorboards, electro brush takes time to clean