It’s no secret that when it comes to buy-it-for-life vacuums, there are few options better than a Miele. Their made-in-Germany canisters can last for decades, with Miele personally estimating a 20+ year lifespan for their models. However, as good as models like the Complete C3 Cat & Dog may be, if you’re like most Canadians, you won’t enjoy paying more for it in Canada than you would if you bought it a few hours’ drive to the south in the United States.

Fortunately, Miele has taken our feedback seriously, and over the years, has developed a line of canisters sold exclusively in Canada. We’ve been meticulously reviewing them one by one, and we’re pleased to note that they’re built every bit as well as the models sold in the US and price-hiked in Canada.

Over the years, we’ve repeatedly reviewed the white Miele Complete C3 Cat & Dog and found it to be the best all-around Miele canister currently available in the US and Canada. Today we’ll review the Miele Complete C3 Cat and Dog in Tayberry Red and compare it to the white US model to see which is the better value in Canadian dollars. Our ten second review is about as unanimous as it’s ever been: the Red Cat & Dog offers everything the White Cat & Dog does except for the mini Turbobrush while costing half as much; buy it instead of the White unless you really want the upholstery brush. Our full review is below, and you can buy the Complete C3 Cat & Dog in Tayberry Red here.

Pros, cons, and key features of the Tayberry Red Canadian Miele Complete C3 Cat & Dog

The Tayberry Red Complete C3 Cat & Dog is one of several Mieles recently released exclusively for Canadians. In Canada as in the US, Miele canisters are sorted by C-categories, and the top of the line models are the Complete C3 series. At the C1 level, you’ll find the Compact C1 Celebration and the Classic C1 Cat & Dog. Among the Compact C2 models, Canadian-only Mieles include the Cat and Dog, Total Care, and Hard Floor. At the Complete C3 level, there’s the  HomeCare, the Total Care, the Power Plus, the Cat & Dog we’re reviewing today, and the Limited Edition. Finally, in the Blizzard Cx1 line, which is as yet unavailable in the US market, there’s the Cat and Dog Cleaner, the Hard Floor Cleaner, and the Total Care Cleaner. It’s a lot to keep track of; fortunately, we’re reviewing every Miele on the market.

Key features in the Red Complete C3 Cat & Dog include the standard 1,200 watt Miele Vortex motor, a 36 foot (11 m) operating radius, and a 24 foot (7.5 m) single touch rewind cable. At the C3 level, you also get a crush-proof hose and electro-telescopic stainless steel wand capable of powering air and electric brushes.

The canister weighs 11.9 pounds (5.4 kg) and includes Miele’s standard six power settings, including the baby-friendly silent cleaning mode. However, unlike in non-C3 models, you can switch between them through + and – foot-switches while keeping track of your current setting via an illuminated indicator. You can also park and automatically power off the vacuum by standing the cleaning wand and head beside it whenever you need to stop cleaning temporarily (e.g., to attend to a child or answer the phone). The full-sized canister uses 4.5 L GN dust bags to collect dirt, the largest size Miele currently offers in canisters.

Which accessories and cleaning heads are included with the Tayberry Red Canadian Complete C3 Cat & Dog?

When you choose the Complete C3 Cat & Dog, you get the standard three Miele accessories–the upholstery tool, dusting brush, and crevice nozzle–but you also get to fit them inside the full-sized canister. The main cleaning heads are, in typical Miele fashion, reflective of the ranking of the vacuum. The Tayberry Red Complete C3 Cat & Dog is a high-end canister, and as a result is equipped with heads and brushes capable of cleaning every floor on the market, from bare floors to low-, medium-, and high-pile carpets and area rugs, as well as soft carpets.

To clean bare floors, you can use the SBB 300-3 Parquet smooth floor tool, which will easily clean  hardwood, engineered wood, vinyl, laminate, ceramic tiles, marble, bamboo, concrete, brick, and similar surfaces. It also offers the advantage of polishing bare floors while cleaning them due to the soft and dense brushes.

To tackle carpets and area rugs, you’ll use the SEB 228 Electro Plus Floor Brush, which we’ve reviewed and found to be the best powered brush head on the market. You’ll be able to tackle both residential and commercial carpets like Saxonies, berbers, cut and loops, and friezes with ease, as well as soft, plush, and high pile carpets that other cleaning heads simply won’t be able to push through. The head is a clear upgrade to the SEB 217-3 electrobrush shipped with most C3 Mieles in the Canadian market, as the SEB 217-3, while a good cleaning head, doesn’t have the adjustability necessary to clean higher and denser piles of carpet.

What’s the difference between the Red Canadian Miele Complete C3 Cat & Dog and the White US Complete C3 Cat & Dog?

The only difference between the Red C3 Cat & Dog and the White model, aside from color, price, and regional availability, is the presence of the STB 101 mini Turbobrush on the White model and its absence in the Red model. The mini turbobrush is an upholstery tool; it’s designed to make it easier to clean dirt, crumbs, and pet hair from sofas, stairs, and chairs. It does a good job, but it’s not worth the $700 or so price hike of the White C3 over the Red model. Aside from this accessory, both vacuums work in exactly the same way; one’s just a lot cheaper than the other.

Why buy the Tayberry Red Canadian Complete C3 Cat & Dog?

We’d buy the Red C3 Cat & Dog if you want the best vacuum on the market without paying an additional fee for it because you live in Canada. It’s built to last for at least 20 years and will let you clean any bare floor or carpet on the market. And frankly, we think it looks better in red. The only reasons in our books to buy the White Cat & Dog over the Red are because you prefer the color white or because you really want the mini turbobrush. However, given that you can buy the turbobrush separately and still spend less than you would buying the White Cat & Dog in Canada, the decision to buy the Red Cat & Dog is still the best one in our books.

Canadians can buy the Miele Complete C3 Cat & Dog here in Tayberry Red or spend more to have it in white with a mini turbobrush as the Complete C3 Cat & Dog here. Both vacuums clean in exactly the same way, but the Red is much cheaper than the White.

If you find our research on PMC helpful, you can follow our efforts to keep maniacally reviewing home cleaning tools by shopping through our links above. We promise to keep fighting the good fight against every horror children, animals, and grown, yet messy humans can inflict upon a clean home.