Miele Compact C1 Turbo Team Vacuum Review
- Details
Avg. consumer rating = 92/100
The Miele Compact C1 Turbo Team canister vacuum is a smallish bagged machine that is designed for low pile carpet, area rugs and smooth flooring. Consumer ratings to date are very good and owners love how lightweight yet powerful the vacuum is. Folks are also pleased that the Turbo Team is very quiet. This is more or less an entry-level Miele canister and it is part of the Compact C1 series of vacuums. It is important to note that the Compact C1’s do not have motorized floorheads so they do not perform well on deeper pile carpet.
| Quick Specs | |
| Type | Canister |
| Bagged/Bagless | Bagged |
| Best for... | Hard Floors & Low Pile Carpet |
| Pet Hair Features | No |
| Approx. Weight | Approx 15 lbs (with accessories) |
| HEPA Level Filtration | No |
| Power Cord Length | 21 feet |
| Motor Driven Brushbar | No |
| Warranty | 1 Year P&L, 7 Years motor/housing |
Consumer Ratings
This is a fairly new release from Miele and consumer ratings are limited, however we did manage to find 44 different ratings from 6 different quality retailers – see table below. When these figures are averaged (weighted average) they result in an overall score for the Turbo Team of 92 out of 100 (or about 4.6 stars out of 5). This is an excellent score and you can compare it to the scores for other canisters in our canister vacuum ratings table, or you can see how it compares to over 200 other vacuums on our site in the vacuum cleaner finder.
| Source | Consumer Rating | #Ratings |
| Amazon | 4.6 stars out of 5 | 31 |
| Bed Bath & Beyond | 4.5 stars out of 5 | 4 |
| Wayfair | 5 stars out of 5 | 4 |
| Overstock | 5 stars out of 5 | 2 |
| Costco | 3.5 stars out of 5 | 2 |
| Williams Sonoma | 5 stars out of 5 | 1 |
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What Are Owners Saying?
A thorough review of owner comments has provided the following common Turbo Team likes and dislikes:
PROS
- Lightweight
- Compact
- Powerful for its size
- Very quiet
- Performs well on bare floors and low pile carpet
- Automatic rewind power cord
CONS
- Not a good fit for medium or deep pile carpet
- Not great if lots of pet hair
Probably the most common comments about the Turbo Team canister vacuum relate to the unit’s weight. Owners are surprised and very pleased with the light weight and how easy it is to carry from room to room or up and down stairs. They are also delighted with how compact the vacuum is and, as a result, how easy it is to store.
Almost without exception folks feel the vacuum has powerful suction, especially given its size. The suction results in solid pickup on both bare floors (wood, tile, lino, etc) and carpet. Also, the 2 floorheads have a sufficiently low profile such that, together with the wand, they can get under low furniture and even beds. In addition, the wand and tools help the vacuum access ceilings, corners and other hard to reach areas. Owners are pleased that the vacuum allows them to clean almost anywhere.
Another common characteristic highlighted by owners is just how quiet the vacuum is. It even has a quiet setting (one of the six suction settings). Previous Miele owners are perhaps not so surprised but many folks experiencing their first Miele are taken aback.
The Turbo Team comes with an automatic rewind power cord. This feature is liked on almost every vacuum cleaner we’ve looked at that has it. People really dislike having to wind up a cord. However, sometimes these are poorly built and we’ve seen instances where they just don’t work too well. That is not the case here. Miele tests this feature extensively and by all accounts it works very well.
Reports on pet hair pickup are varied. For the most part folks are happy with the pet hair capabilities of the vacuum but there are some comments that the unit does not handle copious amounts of pet hair well (a floorhead with a motorized brushroll would likely be a better fit for this).
Also, and this needs to be reiterated, the vacuum doesn’t do well on deeper pile carpet. This shouldn’t come as a surprise as the unit is marketed for bare floors and low pile carpet but there are some complaints about its performance on medium and high pile carpet. How does this happen? Perhaps the consumer simply doesn’t read the information on the vacuum carefully, or maybe they bought it in a shop and the salesperson didn’t tell them? It’s hard to know, but it is important to understand that many vacuums excel in some areas and not in others.
You can read more Turbo Team owner reviews on Amazon if you wish.
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Aside: Which Miele Should I Buy? To determine the best Miele canister vacuum for yourself we suggest you first pick the best floorhead(s) for your flooring and cleaning needs - see the full list with descriptions on the Miele USA website here: Miele floor brushes and attachments. You can click on each item for a little more information if you need it. If you found machines in more than one series then decide if you want lightweight/compact (Compact C1 & C2) or larger (C3) – also consider that the C3’s are often quite a bit more expensive so your budget will come into play here. If there is only one machine then great, you’ve narrowed it down. However, you may still end up with a few machines that fit your flooring, size and budget needs. These vacuums will still have several different options and features (different accessories, different filter systems, etc.) so explore these and pick the best fit. This is a fairly simplified approach and we hope it is useful. It is the approach we generally take when determining the best Miele canister vacuum for a particular household. |
Two Floorheads
The Turbo Comfort is a compact bagged canister vacuum that comes in obsidian black. It includes 2 floorheads:
1) Small Parquet Floorhead SBB Parquet-3 (for smooth flooring)
2) Turbo Comfort Floorhead STB 205-3 (best for low pile carpet and area rugs)
The Parquet Floorhead (left) has soft natural bristles and two rubberized wheels that help it glide over hard, smooth floors. This floorhead will not scratch delicate surfaces like parquet, some laminates, polished stone, some tile, etc.
The Turbo Comfort Floorhead (below) has an air driven brushroll. This means the brushroll is spun by the suction of the vacuum and not by a brushroll motor (vacuum suction spins the turbo fan in the cutaway image below). This configuration is usually effective on lower pile carpet but may start to bog down (brushroll slows) when confronted with deeper pile carpet. The Turbo Comfort Floorhead also has a buffer strip that protects from furniture scuffing.
Not for Deep Pile Carpet
This is the kind of vacuum you must read about before you buy! We’ve seen this over and over. Someone with deep pile carpet buys a machine that does not have a motorized brushroll in the floorhead and are then disappointed with the unit’s performance. This vacuum is designed for bare floors, area rugs and low pile carpet (you may get away with some medium pile carpet). That’s it. You will start getting into trouble with deeper pile carpet.
For deeper pile carpet you will be best served by a floorhead with a motorized brushroll and you may want to consider a vacuum like the Compact C2 Electro+ PowerLine (shown on the right). It is worth noting however that the Turbo Comfort Floorhead will be better on carpet than the AllTeQ Combination Floorhead that comes with the C1 Pure Suction – it has no brushroll at all. You can check out our Miele Compact C1 Pure Suction review if you like.
The tools provided with the most popular Compact C1 and Compact C2 canister vacuums are as follows:
Filtration and Bags
The Turbo Comfort comes with 2 filters – a pre-motor filter and a post motor filter (both are installed when you get the vacuum). The post-motor filter is an AirClean filter which offers quality air filtration – it removes 94% of particles with a diameter of 0.3 microns or more. This is not HEPA level filtration but a Miele HEPA filter will fit unto this unit (you will just have to buy it separately if you want it – but you may not need it if you don’t have asthma or allergies).
The vacuum is also built with a sealed system. This ensures that all the air entering the vacuum gets passed through the filters before being exhausted from the machine. No unfiltered air bypasses the filters or leaks out through poor seals or cracks in the vacuum body. High level filtration is often compromised by a vacuum without a sealed system.
The Turbo Team uses AirClean 3D Efficiency FJM bags (one comes with the vacuum). These have a volume of 3.5 litres and are self-locking which means when they are removed from the vacuum the opening locks shut so you don’t get dust and debris escaping. There is also a “Bag Full” indicator which is essentially an air flow indicator. It changes from clear to orange when it is time to replace the vacuum bag.
Variable Suction
A dial on the canister body provides 6 suction settings that you can set manually.
These settings provide for the following types of cleaning:
• Curtains and fabrics
• Upholstery and cushions
• Carpets and rugs
• Lightly soiled carpets
• Tiles and hard floors
• Light, energy-efficient vacuuming with minimal sound
The last setting shown above is sometimes known as the “Quiet Setting”. It is designed to deliver an optimal amount of power at the lowest decibel rating. As mentioned above, owners often comment on just how quiet this vacuum is. Even in other settings the vacuum is fairly quiet and it has a noise optimized fan.
Tools
Three standard tools come with the vacuum:
- dusting brush
- upholstery tool
- crevice nozzle
These tools can be attached to the vacuum hose by the included VarioClip. It’s not a great setup but there is no on-board storage for the tools so if you really want your tools tagging along then it is better than nothing. Tools can be attached to the end of the crush-proof hose and the wand. The wand has 18 length settings so it accommodates individuals of different stature well, and it is stainless steel. Both the hose and wand on this machine are non-electric meaning they cannot power an electric tool or floorhead.
Cleaning Reach & Other Features
The power cord is 21 feet in length and coupled with the 5.5 foot hose and the wand there is a full 29.5 feet of cleaning reach (Miele often refers to this as “cleaning radius”). The cord rewinds automatically and can be triggered using a foot switch on the canister body. There are actually two foot switches on the canister body: Auto Cord Rewind and Power. You can also depress these switches with your hands if you want.
Additional features include a built-in carry handle, a safety shutoff should the motor start to overheat (can happen if there is an obstruction), 360 degree rotatable castor wheels on the canister body (mounted on steel axles), and an air inlet valve on the vacuum handle for quick suction reduction when you need to reduce the power to the tool being used. The Miele Compact C1 Turbo Team is UL listed and it carries a 1 year warranty on parts and labor and 7 years on the housing and motor.
Vacuum Cleaner Manual
The manual is in both French and English and it includes information on all different vacuum features as well as safety, maintenance, cleaning, care, using the accessories, FAQ, warranty, etc. The manual is on the short side but covers most of what is important. You can view the manual here: Miele Turbo Team vacuum manual
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