If you’re familiar with canister vacuums, you’re probably familiar with Miele. They make some of the best canisters on the market, and despite the fact that canister vacuums are a minority in the US and Canada compared to uprights, people who use Mieles tend to be lifelong, dedicated fans, and we’re no exception. We recently reviewed the Compact C1 Pure Suction and compared it to the Classic C1 Olympus. Today we’ll take a look at the Compact C1 Turbo Team and see how it compares to the Compact C1 Pure Suction. If you’re in a hurry, we recommend the Turbo Team, and you can buy it here.

Pros, Cons, and Key Features of the Miele Compact C1 Turbo Team Canister Vacuum, Obsidian Black (SCAE0)

The Compact C1 Turbo Team is the higher-end model of the two Compact C1s, and it distinguishes itself from the start by an upgraded main cleaning head. Rather than the standard combination rug & floor nozzle, the SBD 285-3, found on the Pure Section, the Turbo Team is turbocharged with the STB 205-3 air drive turbo nozzle as well as with an SBB Parquet 3 nozzle. But what does that mean when it comes to actual cleaning?

The air drive turbo nozzle, first of all, is a vast improvement over the combination nozzle in the Pure Suction when it comes to handling carpets. While it doesn’t turn the Turbo Team into a vacuum capable of powering through high pile carpets (you’ll want the Magnesium RS for that), it does render it capable of effectively cleaning low pile and medium pile carpets instead of simply tolerating low pile carpets and becoming hopelessly ineffective on anything higher. You also get good performance on area rugs, presuming, of course, that they don’t rise any higher than medium pile.

The turbo nozzle is also a far more effective choice than the Pure Suction’s combination nozzle when trying to clean up lint and pet hair; we found we were able to tackle the results of shedding dogs and cats much more quickly and efficiently with the turbo nozzle than with the combination nozzle, which, while functional, often required multiple passes over the same area to ensure we wouldn’t miss large amounts of furn.

As noted above, we were also fans of the Parquet nozzle attachment. The Parquet nozzle contains a soft brush that helps you clean your way through hard wood floors without damaging (i.e., scratching) them. Many floors won’t need a nozzle this sensitive, but for those of us who have hard wood floors that seem to scratch by simply looking at them sideways, it’s hard to overstate the value of a nozzle head that treats them gently while cleaning them effectively.

Aside from its cleaning prowess, which was certainly up to the task on both low-to-medium pile carpeting and bare flooring, we continued to be pleased by its ergonomic, lightweight, and maneuverable design; we were able to push it around easily thanks to its 15 pound weight and low friction wheel system, and true to its name, the Compact line was easy to store in a closet when we weren’t using it.

Overall, we were highly pleased with the design and functionality of the Turbo. We often found ourselves losing track of time vacuuming, as it often didn’t feel like work (even when we were working on paid jobs). We were pleased to note the return of the low noise setting and the HEPA filtering levels were a blessing for members of our team who suffer from allergies. We’d estimate around 45-55 hours of vacuuming will fill the bag, at which point you’ll also want a new filter. Our main suggestions for improvements at this level would be an even more powerful nozzle, but if that were included, there’d be fewer reasons to buy the high-end Miele canisters.

Reasons to Buy the Miele Compact C1 Pure Suction Canister Vacuum, Lotus White (SCAE0)

The Compact C1 Pure Suction is the lower-end sibling of the Turbo. If you simply looked at the outsides of each Compact C1, you’d be hard-pressed to tell what distinguished the two besides color. However, a closer look at the main brush head brings the difference into focus. As noted above, instead of a pair of dedicated hard floor and carpet heads, the Pure Suction combines both with a combination floor / rug head. Does it work? Yes. Is it as good as having two separate, high quality heads? We suspect you already know the answer.

We were able to clean hard wood floors with the Pure Suction without issue, but we did not have nearly as much ease when it came to even low pile carpeting, and anything higher (i.e., medium pile carpeting) was next to impossible. We would describe the hard floor experience as pleasurable and the low pile carpet cleaning experience as tolerable; it was something we could do but it wasn’t something we wanted to. We found ourselves reaching back longingly for the air nozzle on the Turbo whenever we approached a carpet, and by the end of the experience no one on the team wanted to use the Pure Suction for anything besides hard wood flooring. If you plan on using it with carpet, we humbly suggest you upgrade to the Turbo.

Aside from cleaning differences, both vacuums were largely the same. They use the same filtering and bagging system (the AirClean 3DEfficiency FJM), it has the same capacity (roughly 3.7Q), it needs to be emptied with about the same frequency (we’d estimate between 45 and 55 hours of vacuuming), the maneuverability is identical (very easy thanks to the castor wheels), the range is the same (close to 30 feet with the telescoping suction wand and flexible metallic hose), and you have the same wide range of electronic suction power settings.

Is the Compact C1 Turbo Worth it Over the Compact C1 Pure Suction?

For us, the answer was clearly yes. The primary difference between the two vacuums has to do with the nozzles; the separate dedicated heads on the Turbo make a mild difference with hard wood floors and a huge difference with the useful range of carpet you can tackle compared to what’s possible with the Pure Suction, and that’s enough for us to wholeheartedly recommend the C1 Turbo for anyone who feels they might ever encounter carpet during the 10-20 year lifespan of their Miele.

You can buy the Compact C1 Turbo here on Amazon. You can buy the Compact C1 Pure Suction here.

Canadians can buy the Turbo here or buy the Pure Suction 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.