For cordless versatility and effective cleaning results all round, we just can’t fault the V7 Animal. A single pass on our carpet test area on Max power gave a good account of the V7’s carpet cleaning abilities. The mix of carpet powder, baking powder and talcum powder was well cleaned in just one pass, leaving behind only a few finer grains of the heavier carpet powder. Give it a couple of passes as per normal cleaning and the V7 Animal cleans brilliantly on this setting, getting remarkably good edge cleaning results too. We’ve been big fans of Dyson’s V6 and then V8 models, and the V7 Animal simply builds on the versatility and convenience of the breed. Performance is just as good with the same superb design, fabulous engineering, ideal pet-hair tools, and excellent features throughout. The V7 simply trades a little suction power for longer run-times than its siblings, and lighter weight than the flagship V8. READ NEXT: Dyson V8 Absolute review: Still the best cordless vacuum? Dyson V7 Animal review: Price and competition

That’s a significant amount of cleaning time if you consider that is actual cleaning. The trigger makes you switch off when you’re moving between rooms, straightening the cushions or answering the door. Thanks to the lithium battery and Dyson’s control electronics, you get full power right up until it cuts out too. For comparison, we measured the V8 at 75dB on Max power. As decibels are measured on a logarithmic scale, that 10dB difference is huge. From the first pull of the trigger, the V7 is markedly quieter than the V8, and the pitch tone is much softer and less aggressive than the jet-engine-like V6. We measured the V7 at 61-62dB in normal power mode at arm’s length and a very reasonable 64-66dB on Max power.

All the tools can be clipped directly onto the main handheld unit, or the funky purple extension tube. The clips are a work of plastic genius and feel easier to operate yet more secure than pretty much any other manufacturer’s tool-clip mechanism on the market. In addition, the clips are on the tools, rather than the tube or body, which makes removing and replacing tools with one hand easy.

The main floorhead’s fairly soft-bristled brush make it safe for use on softwood hard floor steps, but you might find the larger dusting tools even easier if you’re cleaning simple dust, dirt and pet hairs. On normal power mode the V7 delivers more suction than most other cordless cleaners on the market, and the powered floorheads are extremely good at turning that suction into effective floor cleaning. If you need tougher cleaning, the 6 minutes of mains-like cleaning power on Max mode is a superb bonus. A second pass usually secures a clean sweep and we decided for a small oats spill such as that we’d be using the Max mode anyway. Needless to say, ramp up the V7 to Max power, and the suction is fantastic and all particles were cleaned up in a single pass. The V7 Animal certainly isn’t short of tools; it has five of them plus the tube. They clip on and off the cleaner with ease, are robust, well designed and very effective at their dedicated task.

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On paper, at least, the new Dyson V7 cordless cleaners sit between the original V6 and the flagship V8 models. The V7 range draws much of its design from the newer V8 but is lighter, quieter and runs for longer in normal power mode. The key change is its smaller, lighter battery, and a jiggling of the suction power versus run-time ratio. So no surprise then that the V7 is properly brilliant on stairs. It handles well, cleans superbly and is quiet while doing so. We can do a large flight of awkwardly shaped carpeted steps on Max power with ease in the allotted 6 minutes if we need more serious cleaning gumption too. Given that Dyson’s motor is spinning at over 120,000rpm, and the machine delivers mains-like suction power on this higher setting, that’s mighty quiet. Those figures are way, way down on the previous models and make this cleaner very pleasant to use indeed. Heading around the house with the Direct Drive floorhead attached, we cleaned for a near textbook 30mins 30secs on average from a single charge on normal power. Several test sessions on various floor surfaces resulted in very little variation – from hard floors (31 minutes) to carpet pile so deep that you could loose a tribe of pigmies in it (29.5 minutes). READ NEXT: Dyson V8 Animal review: A cheaper alternative to the Cyclone V10 Dyson V7 Animal review: Performance