Every now and then Miele takes a look at their inventory, realizes they have a lot of extra stock of one canister or another, and decides to release a limited run of a discontinued line. They most recently did it with the Complete C2 Limited, which we noted in our review was the best $400 vacuum on the market. Well it’s happening again, and this time Miele’s come up with another $400 and under solution for families that want Miele quality without Miele prices. Today we’re going to look at the Miele Complete C2 Hard Floor. Essentially, it’s a Complete C2 canister with a combination head and Parquet brush, making it suitable for homes with bare floors, rugs, and, if you’re really lucky, low-pile carpets. Is it worth it? We think so. It’s one of the best vacuums under $400 you can buy, and you can buy it here. Canadians can buy the C2 Hard Floor here.

Pros, Cons, and Key Features of the Miele Complete C2 Hard Floor

The Complete C2 Hard Floor is another limited run vacuum from Miele’s now-discontinued Complete C2 line. Like the Complete C2 Limited, it’s not going to be around forever, but while it is, it offers a good amount of value. Compared to all current Mieles we’ve reviewed, it’s most like the C2 Limited but with a Parquet head instead of a turbo brush. Alternatively, it’s like the C1 Olympus with a Parquet head on top of the combination head. Its closest equivalent in the C3 line is the Alize, although it lacks all of the high-end features packed into the Alize’s canister and it also has the Parquet head, which the Alize does not.

Now that we’ve given a quick overview of how it compares to other Mieles in brush heads, let’s see how it’s built. It features the same 1,200 watt Vortex motor and 33-foot operating radius found throughout the Complete C2 line as well as a silent setting to help you vacuum without waking sleeping babies and napping toddlers. You get the standard accessories–the dusting brush, upholstery tool, and crevice tool–and being a Complete C2 instead of a Compact C2 or C1 (e.g., the Turbo or Pure Suction), all accessories will fit neatly inside the canister. You can control power with the standard 6-way rotary dial, and you can reach and maneuver with the standard Miele telescopic wand and flexible, crush-proof hose. Miele boasts that the Hard Floor has a 20-year lifespan on average, and given what we know about Miele canisters (not uprights), we have no reason to doubt that figure. Like the C2 and C3 lines, the Hard Floor is a buy-it-for-life vacuum.

However, when it comes to cleaning, the main factors that differentiate one Miele from another are inevitably the cleaning brush heads. The Complete C2 Hard Floor, as its name suggests, is optimized for hard floors. It includes the SBD285-3 combination rug and floor tool and the SBB300-3 Parquet floor brush. The combination tool, like all combination heads packaged on Miele canisters, is really only good for bare floors and low pile rugs. You can use it in a pinch on carpet, especially on low pile carpet, but it simply won’t be effective on any piles beyond that. The Parquet floor brush will do a strong job with bare floors, as well as beneath baseboards and furniture.

Is the Hard Floor a good choice for homes with lots of carpeting? If not, which Mieles are?

What this means, then, is that if you’re looking for a family vacuum for a home primarily composed of tile, laminate, hardwood, or concrete flooring with rugs here and there, the Hard Floor can easily be a lifetime vacuum. If, on the other hand, you have lots of carpet or any kind of carpet pile beyond “low”, you’re either going to need a different Miele or you’re going to need to buy a turbo head. If you’re going in that direction, you might as well buy a Miele that already comes with a turbo head, such as the Complete C2 Limited. In the Classic C1 line, the Classic C1 Capri includes both a turbo brush and Parquet head. You can find that same combination in the Compact C2 Onyx. For a significant upgrade, you’ll want an electric brush head, which will give you the power to tackle low-, medium-, and some high-pile carpeting; you can get an electric head and Parquet head in the Classic C1 Titan and Compact C2 Electro+.

Why Buy the Miele Complete C2 Hard Floor?

In conclusion, we’re not going to tell you the Complete C2 Hard Floor is the perfect vacuum or even the best under $400 for every family. However, if you live in a home, apartment, or condominium with minimal carpeting, you can easily use the Hard Floor without problems for decades. It offers an incredible amount of suction and is capable of tackling any kind of bare flooring with ease. It’s also one of the quietest vacuums you’re ever going to come across besides another Miele canister, and it does so at a price most families can afford, especially when compared to how much money people lose buying one cheap vacuum after another every few years. If you want a high-end equivalent of the Complete C2 Hard Floor, the Complete C3 Cat & Dog includes a Parquet brush and electro head as well as the other goodies of the C3 line, while the Complete C3 Calima includes a Parquet brush and turbo head.

You can buy the Miele Complete C2 Hard Floor here on Amazon, or buy the Complete C2 Limited here. For a true upgrade while remaining under $600, we’d recommend either the Classic C1 Titan or the Compact C2 Electro+. Between $600 and $900, the best upgrades are the Complete C3 Cat & Dog and the Complete C3 Calima.

Canadians can buy the Hard Floor here, the Titan here, the Electro+ here, the Cat & Dog here, or the Calima here.

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.