Over all a good vacuum. It has lasted a long time. It is a bit heavy for me and not so easy to do stairs without unhooking the head and attaching the hose. The bags aren't cheap and I need to go to the Kirby repair guy when I need to buy more. I use the hose attachment all the time to do baseboards, window sills, blinds, etc. I like the fact that I can use to of the extensions together so I don't have to bend down so far to vacuum things up. I probably wouldn't buy another one because they are so expensive and heavy. As I'm getting older I think I would like a lighter one to lug around. Maneuverability It is not the easiest machine to maneuver. It is big and heavy. The head is pretty high so it doesn't fit under everything very easily. Ease of Maintenance It is pretty easy to change the bag and the belt when you need to. Suction Performance It has pretty strong suction if you don't get the bag full. When the bag is full you loose suction power. Versatility It has a lot of attachments that you can get to go with it. The only ones that are really worth getting are the hose and the hose attachments. The carpet cleaner I didn't think was that great. The turbo accessory kit have had for years and never used it. Seriously who is going to use a vacuum to sand, and whatever else it does, which I can't remember. Design The head is so big and bulky it is hard to maneuver and get under things. Durability I have had it for over 17 years and it is still working. The tech drive power assist doesn't work so great now. I might need to take it in to the Kirby vacuum repair guy.

Busymom87

USA

So I have had the vacuum for a long time. I have no idea how long. Which means it is durable or that do not do a lot of vacuuming. I think it is durable. It is really heavy in my opinion and it is annoying to carry up and down the stairs. It does not have the easiest turning capability. It will not turn on a dime. It gets the job done. It came with extensions to shampoo the carpet, but that was so many years a go I lost it, so I have no idea how it works. I wish i did because that is a really nice feature. But that is not really a reflection on the product but a reflection knme. It came with a lot of extensions, like a hose and so on, but they have been lost overtime. It does suck up the dirt. I can definitely tell a difference before and after a vacuuming. However, make sure you get the right belt for it, or it will not work so well. You have to buy bags, it is not bag-less. When I bought this and when it was made, that technology I believe didn't exist. So, yet agin can't really fault it for that. However I would prefer barbless just because of the waste and hassle. Also, of you are cleaning up to get rid of fleas (dogs or cats can drag them in) a bag is really obnoxious. Because you have to throw out the whole bag after a sweep. Someone said freeze the bag, but I do t know if I want that in my The biggest complaint about the product, has nothing to do with the workings of it. Because of the lack of popularity of it, the sluggish economy, or the lack of traveling salesmen being able to make a living, the vacuuming bags and belts are hard to find. The local Kirby store closed, so I have to go into the city to a local vacuum store shop that carries the belts and bags. I get to support small business, so that's good but no national retailer sell these. It's a pain to make a trip down to that store when they do not have the most convenient hours. Overall, for what I paid I should have got a dyson. But yet agin that was not available at the time. It does its job but it is bulky and heavy. Compared to the newer vacuums on the market today, I feel like this does not hold up. But who wants to spend a lot of money on a vacuuming when this one is still working? I have no idea how much I paid for it, I just remember it was not cheap. I have no idea if Kirby still makes these, yet alone any vacuums; but I would guess that it would be a lot cheaper today. So maybe more worth the money. If it as looking for a vacuum, is old just get a new one because I am assuming these are all going to used.

skipaspace

York, PA

My husband purchased our Kirby while I was out one day...a friend of his was selling them and must have given him some sort of good line. I won't lie. I was mad. I couldn't believe he'd purchased something that cost more than both of our cars put together. We were making monthly payments on a vacuum cleaner! Well - I was wrong to be angry. Our Kirby has been one of the better purchases we've ever made. This thing is made to last a lifetime. Is it heavy? YES. Incredibly heavy. How does it vacuum? AWESOMELY. The Kirby has so much suction, I joke that it's pulling dirt off the basement ceiling. Changing the bags is incredibly simple. I love that they have a HEPA filter in them, as I suffer from allergies. You do have to change a bag more often than with traditional vacuums, because this thing is picking up about 85% more dirt that those cheap vacuum cleaners. I can usually find good deals on bags on the internet. In 16 years, I've replaced the belt once. We finally replaced the brush roller last year. I use this vacuum at least once weekly on our carpeted areas. We have three cats and two dogs, so we're putting the Kirby to work. All the attachments are great, and they came with their own caddy. It's a tiny bit of a pain in the butt to change out attachments, but I'm willing to put up with it for the great job it does. We use it in the house, in our cars - we've even lent it out to friends. Bottom line - you won't go wrong with the purchase of a Kirby vacuum cleaner.

K80

New Glarus, WI

I bought this sweeper about 4 maybe 5 mnths ago and the people that did the demonstration about it made it sound like it was heaven in your house, but really...its not. Dont get me wrong.. it does work and gets a lot of stuff out of your carpet that other vacumes wont, but it is so heavy and it is loud and it has a million atachments that are just rediculious!!! i dont know about you.. but when i want to use the hose on my vacume i dont want to have to take my whole sweeper apart to do it .. it would be nice just to pull the hose off and use it! and the steam cleaner....oh jeeze! its a peice of crap!! it is a complete waste of money and energy! i was so excited about getting it that the next day i used it and it was too easy to use, ya know .. like too good to be true..it got all the stains out of my carpet it smelled good and then 2 days later every single stain that was there before reapeared! i was livid!! im just sooo disapointed about this sweeper!! im paying tooo much money for somehting that dosent go clean with out the guidance of a human!!! im so discusted with it .. and all the parts to use with the hose are plastic and break so easily! So needless to say, my honest oppion about this sweeper is that it sux! BIG time!! Please dont waste your money on buying this!! not unless ur like a millionare and have it to blow. id honeslty stick to a simple sweeper that picks up and if u have to buy a new one, then you have to buy a new one! you'll probably spend just as much money buying new ones for the rest of ur life as you would buying parts for the kerby every time they break. just saying. thanks for reading.

ashmatash89

Youngstown, OH

The Kirby G4 does have a lot of suction power , but it is still havey and a bit cumbersome to use. The newer hepa filter bags eliminated the smells when vacuuming which is a plus factor. It's still a bit inconvenient to keep changing from carpet use to floor use, but I must admit that it gives one a workout when vacuuming. They last a long time, but I feel it's expensive considering the lower priced vacuums which seem to do the same job.

kimi001

Aiea, HI

I purchased my Kirby vacuum cleaner about 15 years ago. I have always had multiple pets, and as a result, pet hair is a major issue. Previously, I had to purchase a new vacuum cleaner about every 4 years (if it lasted that long), because it would stop vacuuming up the hair adequately. I finally decided to invest in a Kirby, and it is one of the best investments I have ever made. In a perfect world, could it be improved? Sure. But the most important feature of the vacuum for me is that it picks up everything off the carpet. This vacuum works as good as the day I purchased it. It is heavy, and you have to add the attachments (they aren't stored on the machine). It's a little inconvenient to add the hose and change the bags, but I will trade that for it's powerful suction. At this point, I have 3 children, 5 cats and a dog. My Kirby does such a good job, I can't imagine purchasing another brand!

Kat4343

Cleves, OH

I bought this vacuum in 2001 at a pawn shop. It came with the shampoo attachments. It's now been 9 years. I use this vacuum daily. I'm a mom of 5 children. The best feature it has is when something breaks you can replace it and not have to buy a new vacuum. It gets carried by the kids up and down the stairs at least 3 times a week. We all know that kids are rough, especially boys. The only repairs we have done since purchase is replace the cord and fan. It has been cleaning and serviced once! It is easy to use, almost drives itself. It easily gets close to the walls without needing attachments. Having children that use it, they never pick up things like paper clips, socks etc and the worst thing that will happen is the belt breaks. This is the best value around!

missjane

Chattanooga, TN

Built to last. I would absolutely love this vacuum, if it wasn't for the fact that you have to have a separate hose attachment, that you have to change everytime you need it. For me this is way too much hassle since I like to clean drapes, around corners, baseboards, under cabinets regularly. I need a hose attachment at least two times for each room I vacuum, so this wastes alot of time. However for those of you who don't do a throrough cleaning or don't mind changing attachments this is a great vacuum. Besides the fact that it does pick up well (though it doesn't pick up animal hair too well), I love the fact that the bottom part of the vacuum is not plastic like my dyson, but metal. This vacuum is built to last because I have the habit of banging my vacuum around and being rough with them, but this Kirby can take it! It will last a good long while, after ten years and still good suction power...yeah for Kirby!

mrsrhettbutler

Littlefield, TX

Kirby vacuums are for life. They are not disposible products like many others on the market. I have had my Kirby for 10 years now. It vacuums just as it did when I bought it 10 years ago. The Kirby comes with many different attachments along with a carpet cleaning attachment. I have not used the carpet cleaning attachment, but I have used all the other attachments. I vacuum my wood floors using the attachments. I have also used it to vacuum tile, furniture and drapes. It is a wonderful do everything vacuum. It also comes with a lifetime warranty. The downside to the Kirby is the price. They are really expensive, however it is a vacuum for life. This is a vacuum you buy once and you never buy another vacuum. I think it is worth it to pay a little more, get a great product and not fill our landfills with vacuums.

melyj9

Mount Juliet, TN

The Kirby Generation Four vacuum is an amazing piece of equipment. It is built to last a lifetime and it does just about anything you could ever want a vacuum cleaner to do. Besides vacuuming the carpets, it shampoos carpets, vacuums hard floors. turns into a hand held for blowing leaves, cleans your couch, it has has a long hose attachment for stairs or cars, a crevace attachment, a pet hair attachment, a dusting attachment, and more. I've had mine for over a decade and I've never had any problems with it. The bags are easy to change and it has a microfilter system. This vacuum cleaner can be moved with a single finger because it is semi-self propelled. It sort of self rolls and all you really have to do is guide it. The vacuum has several cons. It is extremely heavy to lift. It is quite bulky and needs a lot of storage space. It is somewhat difficult to change to some of the attachments. The price was really high too.

fiddlefiend

Akron, OH