Hoover Power Drive Pet Upright Vacuum

 

Consumer Ratings
A total of 369 owner ratings were found on two popular online retail websites – see table below.  When these ratings were averaged they resulted in an overall vacuum score of 80 out of 100 (4 stars out of 5).  This is actually slightly less than our site average for upright vacuums (which is about 82).  You can see our full list of upright vacuum ratings or see ALL vacuum reviews & ratings.

 

Source	Consumer Rating	# Ratings
Amazon	3.8 stars out of 5	252
Best Buy	4.4 stars out of 5	117

 

A careful review of owner comments has provided the following UH74210PC pros and cons.

 

PROS
- Good at picking up pet hair
- Fairly strong suction
- Maneuvers well
- Has headlights
- Respectably sized dust canister
- On/off brushroll controls
- Suction release collar

 

CONS
- A bit heavy
- Only 2 tools store on-board
- No height controls
- Sometimes things just break or stop working

 

What Are Owners Saying?
Probably the most common comment from owners is that they are pleased both with the strong suction of the Power Drive and the unit’s ability to pick up cat and dog hair.  This is no small thing given that many folks are buying this for a household with pets.

 

Owners also report being happy with the easy-to-empty dust canister.  It detaches from the vacuum easily, it empties well (the bottom of the dust canister falls away at the press of a button), and it reattaches to the vacuum with a simple click.  The canister is also large enough that it doesn’t have to be emptied too frequently.

 

Most owners like the Pet Turbo Tool that is provided with the UH74210PC.  This is a hand tool with a spinning brushroll that can be attached to the end of the hose or wand.  It appears to be fairly effective at pet hair pickup on upholstery and carpet.  It should be noted however that this tool is powered by suction and not a motor.  We have seen a few complaints stating that the application of too much pressure will cause the brushroll to stop spinning.  Also, the tool does need to be cleaned (pet hair removed) frequently. 

 

The Power Drive Pet upright vacuum comes with what some people are calling “adjustable suction”.  This is actually a slider that will bleed off suction when opened.  This does allow one to lower suction which can be helpful when cleaning delicate items.  Several folks also like that the vacuum comes with LED lights on the nozzle.

 

Owners like the swivel steering on the vacuum, although some say it takes a little getting used to.  The steering makes the vacuum easy to move and maneuver despite the machine’s weight.

 

The UH74210PC is a bit on the heavy side and this is something brought up by a number of owners.  Yes, the swivel steering makes movement easier but lifting the vacuum and carrying it from room to room or hauling it up a set of stairs can be challenging for some.

 

Also, a number of people are disappointed that you can only store 2 of the 3 vacuum tools on-board.  The popular Pet Turbo Tool does not store on-board the vacuum.
 
Another key consideration is that several owners report things on the vacuum just break or stop working.  For example the suction just stops or the brushroll refuses to spin.  These things certainly don’t happen to everyone but there are enough of these kinds of comments for one to be wary. 

 

You can read more Power Drive comments on Amazon.

 

Technology
The Power Drive is a bagless upright that uses multicyclonic technology.  This is a system of multiple cyclones that rapidly spin the air thereby “throwing” the dust and debris out of the airflow and into the dust canister (a simplification but it provides the general idea).  This technology helps keep the filters cleaner longer and it is common in bagless vacuums today.

 

Brushroll
The brushroll on this vacuum is designed to help reduce hair wrap and it also has on/off controls.  On/off controls are important as you typically want to turn the brushroll off when vacuum smooth surfaces and on when vacuuming carpet.

 

 

 

Filtration
The vacuum comes with two filters – a pre-motor filter and a post motor filter. You will read that the vacuum comes with a rinsable filter.  This is true but the only rinsable filter is the pre-motor filter.  This filter is located above the dust canister and is a thin disc shaped filter. 

 

The post motor filter is not rinsable but it can be removed and the loose dust/debris tapped off over a dustbin.  When the post motor filter is heavily discolored it will need to be replaced.  Also, the post motor filter is a carbon HEPA filter.  This is interesting for two reasons.  The carbon helps remove odors and the HEPA grade indicates that it is capable of removing very small particles from the air.  A HEPA filter is useful if you or someone in your home has asthma or allergies.

 

In addition, this vacuum has a sealed system.  Why is this important?  A vacuum without a sealed system may have great filtration but it will also leak unfiltered air back into the room through poor seals or cracks.  A sealed system is a closed system – all the air entering the vacuum is passed through the entire filtration system before being exhausted from the vacuum.

 

Dust Canister
The dust canister on this unit is fairly large at 1.5 liters (about 0.4 gallons).  It is also bottom release.  You simply press a button and the bottom door releases allowing the dust/debris to fall out.  This is pretty much standard for many bagless vacuums today, but sometimes – depending on the canister configuration – debris can often get stuck inside requiring one to dig it out.  Fortunately a large number of owners have reported that emptying this particular dust canister is very easy.

 

Tools
The Power Drive comes with 3 tools:
1) Crevice tool
2) Dusting brush
3) Pet turbo tool

 

 

The crevice tool and dusting brush are pretty straightforward and you see these tools with most vacuums on the market today.  The pet turbo tool probably requires a little more explanation.  This tool has its own brushroll which is spun by the vacuum suction (a small turbo-like fan spins via the vacuum airflow and in turn spins the brushroll).  These kinds of tools are useful for pulling up pet hair, however one should consider that these are not as powerful as tools with a motorized brushroll.  Applying too much pressure to a suction driven tool can cause the brushroll to slow or stop.  Most folks feel this one works reasonably well but there are some comments that it can get bogged down.

 

Unfortunately there is only room on-board the vacuum for the crevice tool and the dusting brush.  So if you find that you need the pet turbo tool while you are vacuuming you will have to fetch it from the closet or wherever you left it.  It would have been nice if they had found a place on the vacuum for this to be stored.

 

Cleaning Reach
The tools will fit on the end of the handle or on the end of the quick detach wand.  Combined with the 9 foot stretch hose this provides about 13 feet of cleaning reach.  Not bad.  We’ve seen vacuums with much more cleaning reach but many at this price point have a shorter reach.  This vacuum also sports a 30 foot power cord which is a respectable length.

 

You may see reference to “variable suction” when reading material on this vacuum.  Frankly speaking this is true but perhaps not in the way you would expect.  Proper variable suction involves changing the motor speed and therefore increasing or decreasing the vacuum suction.  However with this vacuum we have a suction release collar.  This is simply a slider which can be opened to bleed off vacuum suction.  It can also be closed to maximize the suction.  The approach is not elegant but it does work.  It is useful when you wish to clean delicate items like curtains or perhaps a lampshade.  Also, if you find the cleaner head sticking a bit to the floor (getting hard to push) opening this slider will reduce suction under the cleaner head and MAY make movement easier.

 

Height Adjustment
There is no nozzle height adjustment on the UH74210PC.  On some vacuums you see a control (like a dial) on the top of the nozzle that allows you to increase or decrease the distance between the nozzle and the floor.  This is helpful in accommodating varying heights of carpet.  You cannot do that with this machine.

 

Swivel Steering
The swivel steering works quite well according to owners and maneuvering the machine is fairly easy.  However it does weigh in at 16 lbs which is a little on the heavy side for an upright these days.  Dyson uprights are often in this weight range but many Shark vacuums and other popular machines are getting lighter. 

 

 

Additional Features
Other features include LED headlights on either side of the cleaner head, a bumper scuff guard to ensure walls and furniture do not get scratched or marred, and soft wheels which are useful when moving the vacuum on some flooring (like hardwood).

 

Warranty
The Hoover Power Drive Pet carries a 5 year limited warranty.

 

Vacuum Cleaner Manual
The manual for this vacuum is pretty average but it does cover most of the essentials.  You will find information on safety, what's in the box, assembly, vacuum controls, using the vacuum, maintenance, troubleshooting, and the warranty.  The manual is provided in English, French and Spanish.  You can view the English version of the manual here: Hoover Power Drive Vacuum Manual