I was at my local Best Buy yesterday looking at some new iPods when I noticed someone stocking what appeared to be Dyson DC17's up on a shelf.  Low and behold, it was the DC17 Animal, selling for $549, the same as the DC14 Animal.  They had no display model, so I decided to take one home.  I consider it to be the best model Dyson has manufactured to date.  There are so many improvements on this model that makes it much better than the previous DC07, DC14, and DC15.  
 
 
One of the many new changes with the DC17 is the telescope wand extention.  Rather than squeezing a button to release the handle from the machine, you simply pull the wand out of the hand, and when it's fully extended, the handle will instantly remove itself from the machine.  To replace the handle, you stick it back in place, and once it interlocks with the machine, you can slide the wand back into the hose.  
 
 
Another change is the prefilter placement.  Rather than being place on the top of the cyclone assembly or right beside the motor, it is instead place above the motor where you'd think the post HEPA filter would be (and visa versa).  It prefilter itself has change, for it is now composed with netting and more fabric layers than a thick foam apparatus.  The prefilter case itself is made from a soft, squishy, rubbery substance with a sticky adhesive  texture (to catch any particles that bypass the cyclones and prevent them from falling into the motor when the prefilter is removed for cleaning).  
 
 
 
The motorhead of the DC17 is independently driven by a motor, however, it does not transfer power through a gear drive, but rather through a durable cogged belt, that can be easily replaced if need be.  The brushroll is visibly larger than the brushroll on the DC15.  The bristles are slightly short, yet much stiffer, adding to its ability to deep clean.  The soleplate is plastic once again, however it only rides on two small wheels on the front, with a small rubber strip (which the cleaning head rests on when the machine is in it's upright position) behind the main intake, yielding for a more adaptable cleaner head that doesn't simply float over carpets like previous designs.  In addition, the large debris pick up channel is not seen here, most likely to  focus more suction to the motorhead.  
 
 
 
Another interesting change implemented is with the stair nozzle.  It no longer has the air intake vents that let in air through the top of the tool, but is simply a two channel intake tool that was designed to deliver more suction to the surface than with the previous tool.
 

 
My only complaint is that it is a little heavy, but other than that, it is a fine machine that definitely improved upon its' predecessors by a large margin.
 

Chris:
Pet hair has to wrap around any brush roller used in any vacuum cleaner. There's no preventing it.
 
Inmate:
Thanks for posting the pics of DC17.  If I had a digital camera, I would have taken and posted pics of mine a long time ago.  My friend Derreck is going to take a pic of my new MotorHead canister, which uses the same power head as DC17, only on a canister cleaner.  
 
Level 3 Cyclone technology passes the bar b que pit ashes test with flying colors.  
 
Like you, I believe it to be the BEST, most desireable upright Dyson ever made. THIS is truly Dyson's "Greater Hoover" as it were.  If the history of Hoover and Dyson are parellel, then this is the "Model 700" of Dyson cleaners.  
 
Congrats on your new cleaner.

Quote from Trilobite on 10/19/06 at 4:01pm:

 

The exhaust comes from the side of the base, kind of like where the prefilter was placed on the DC07.  After the air flows through the prefilter right under the collection bin, it flows through the motor and exits through the post HEPA filter through the side.  And to answer your question about the motor, it does indeed sit vertically rather than horizontally.  
 
It was great to see that Dyson modified the upholstery tool and dusting brush to be more compact and allow better surface contact suction, however, the crevice tool remains the same.  
 
The Level 3 Root Cyclone System uses two intermediate cyclones, and eight root cyclones to seperate dust and sand particles.  The two intermediate cyclones deposites its particles in the center of the bin, while the dust from the remaining eight root cyclones are distributed between the two half moon shafts.
 

 
I have yet to do a specific test with large particles such as sand, however, I have vacuumed all of my carpet today which yielded so much sand and dust that my DC15 was not picking up, and among all of that filth, virtually none of it made it onto the prefilter.  As seen in this photo taken after I spent a great amount of time vacuuming, there is no dust, no sand, virtually nothing on the prefilter.  The new Level 3 Root Cyclone system is much more efficient than the original Root Cyclone system.

Quote from Dyson_Chris on 10/19/06 at 8:45am:

 
Chris:
 
Dual is wrong on this one.  You are right and most if not all the dyson DC07 and 14 users will say the brushbars are more prone to hair and rug wrap than any other full sized US upright on the market today from the least expensive up.  The reason is simple.  The diameter of the dyson brushbar is too small.  Probably the smallest of all the US vacuum uprights.  Even Oreck is half the size and weight of the DC07 and 14 AND with the longer and fuller brush roll hair tufts is not as prone as the DC07 and 14.  An inherent dyson brushbar problem.  Dyson is so cognizant of the problem it addresses it in the User Instruction Manual.  AND Consumer Reports, the magazine Dual loves to hate, changed its test criteria recently to measure debris picked up in the bin.  Why?  Alot of the "stuff" that dyson uprights in particular pick up never makes its way to the bin.  Why?  It gets hung up on the brushbar.  
 
Nice to see dyson is "listening" to constructive criticism and profiting from it.  That indicates business commitment and professionalism to the industry.  What's okay for the UK is not for the USA.
 
Carmine D.  

The weight of 20.79 pounds w/ attachments and 20.56 pounds w/o is almost the weight of a KIRBY. Too much weight for a light weight. The second motor for running the power brush is a great addition. Does it shut off if something gets hung up in the brushroll? If not the cog belt wouldn't last long.