Well... here's my tuppence worth - I was a big fan of the TP2 and 3 series, even the base model TP2's are good and I'd take them over any Purepower, if offered. Here are my pros and cons of the TP2/3.

I wouldn't say personally that the TP2 is a bad cleaner and I don't know anyone who mocks them, personally. Infact I've seen more TP2's still in use than a lot of other Hoover uprights and owners keep them because they're cheap to maintain and do the job intended.

Pros/Advantages;

1. Easy to use hose and tools, some models benefit from longer stair hose.
2. Easy to use on carpets and performance is pretty excellent all round.
3. Easy to maintain, changing belts, bags and filters.
4. Powerful but reasonably quiet compared to Purepower.
5. Much better built structurally, exterior plastics seem to last longer and feel better made.
6. Spares are usually better to get for these older models, but dependent on the type of spares.
7. Dust capacity is pretty good and I found that the bags would last a long time before needing to be replaced, but this depends very much on the type of dirt you're picking up. 

Cons/Downsides:

1. The TP2/3 series is heavier - this is more apparent when trying to lift the vacuum, or even when using it to clean carpets.
2. For those who are 6ft or over, the height of the vacuum can be liable to make you stoop a little.
3. The rear wheels are too thin, often leaving track marks and wobble.
4. Due to its age, the micro filters and carbon filters can only do so much when picking up after pet hair and keeping odours in. Purepower benefitted from higher grade filters, even if the holder was liable to fall off at the back with extended ownership/constant removal. Also of course due to age, no additional modern turbo brush for stairs was made available (as far as I know) but that's not stopping you from using a 3.2mm sized universal one.

HI VR et al.

In all my years I think I only ever had one clog with the narrow bore hoses on the TP2 models, and that was with a rather large piece of ripped paper envelope. I found more success with this type of hose compared to the one on the TP1 based "Total" models with the hose connection to the side and would need manually switching off when using the hose in the upright position. The one aspect I adored about the TP1's was that the wheels at the rear were just so much better. Also, on the TP3 model, I'm sure the T shape upholstery tool with lint pickers had one row of thick red brushes on one side and lint pickers on the other. Lesser Hoover models just got twin lint picker strips and the tool could also be slipped onto the end of the crevice tool/scabbard tool due to two channels of plastic inside the main dust channel of the upholstery tool.

Infact, the same narrow bore hose was an extension hose that Hoover shortened and made available for the Junior stick vacuum. I had one of those for my black stick vac and it worked okay, but not of much help.

Panasonic may have started the trend but I found their dusting brush is nasty and cheap. I much prefer the vintage butterfly Electrolux tool - such a novel and enterprising design.

The problem with copying though is that some brands only go as far to include the long extension tube with the tapered crevice end as the sole tube that comes with the upright vac. The Argos Value bagged upright suffers from that.

One point that I forgot to add about the Turbopower vacs that have the straight extension tube AND the scabbard long crevice is to give the tools an added stretch factor. I found it very useful to have, regardless of escaping noise, especially when cleaning dust off the top of picture frames. I could never go far enough with just one straight tube and the hose. 

That however brings me onto another issue. The Sebo K1 may be an old vacuum, and whilst it may not look as streamlined as the Miele series, I can't stand using the short crevice tool on my Miele S4, S6 or older machines - far too noisy when used - the Sebo K1 has a proper long extension crevice which is super quiet. I wish brands really thought about the tools they make for their machines rather than just pass off what's been done before. Miele already improved the dusting brushes by replacing the old "clog-dependent" castle cut dusting brushes with proper long bristles; they should do the same with their crevice tool.

I thought the Scabbard tool was better than the original crevice though - better for getting under car seats, in between the vents of cooker hoods and getting right down into the permanent filter entrance on tumble dryers. I agree sliding the T shape upholstery tool on the end was less successful no matter if the original tool had twin walls inside in which it would allow the top of the Scabbard to lock into.

Actually it was initially reported by Which before it appeared on Esther Rantzen's show. I can recall my father commenting on the Panasonic being a poor design, and Im sorry JM but poor parenting skills has nothing to do with letting a child play about on a carpet, let alone the upright vacuum being nearby.

As a previous owner of three Panasonic Twin bin uprights which had the removable covers on the side of the brush rolls, I can see why it could have been more of a danger not just with children's fingers getting trapped, but also from personal experience where the brush rolls can catch onto anything loose at the side of skirting boards, getting caught up, breaking the belt and in some cases ruining the brush roll and its entire holding mechanisms. When the brush roll doors were clipped back in, catching stuff etc at the side of skirting boards and carpets were more or less eradicated.

Of less importance but still a minor design issue that was later publicly pressured to change the design was on the Hoover Telios and Arrianne handles where the trigger outlet mechanism was located - several owners complained of the trigger catching the back of their hand and causing open wounds. Hoover were forced to change the design and went with a horrible Morphy Richards copied handle complete with grid air outlet switch on the handle. 

Any appliance that is plugged in constantly can serve a hazard to a child. I know many who have the Dyson hand held and similarly cordless sweepers plugged in constantly - but they genuinely have safer parts of plastics where little fingers won't necessarily get a severe wound - and whilst they need it to be constantly charged for use - the Panasonic design, was sadly highlighted by a child having an accident - but then there was no other brand who had an open ended brush roll on the market at the time.

Well, the destruction that was caused by one of my Twin bin uprights when I foolishly removed the cover plates resulted in the Panasonic tearing paint off down one side of a skirting board. Is that carelessness? No its a perfect example of where an upright vac is supposed to clean right to the edge. The covers made sense. They prevented damage from happening as much and not as severe.

Another time, loose threads from the side of carpets that normally the upright would just brush dirt into the suction channel got wound up at the sides of the brush roll, causing the brush roll to overload, belt stretch, belt broke and getting the tangled carpet thread off the side of the brush bar was harder than getting it off the middle where the two areas of the plastic beater "wave" met. The science behind overloading one side of the roller brush then resulted in the roller brush having to be entirely replaced since it bent out of shape. There is a reason to why Panasonic incorporated grills into the edge brush covers - suction could suck the dirt in as opposed to driving loose threads in and warping the brush roll/damage to the belt.

I am somewhat surprised that you need an open ended Panasonic for proper edge brushing - I found, compared to many other uprights at the earliest stage of my vacuum cleaner collecting, that the best ones was the TP2 and TP3 uprights. The Junior U1104 was also pretty good at getting right up to the edge, but both as you know had that design added to their floor heads and chassis.

Mmm that's what the on board hose and scabbard tool is for - or at least one cleaning versatile justification.

Oh JM. Your idea of edge brushing isn't naturally going to be the same that the brands made all those years ago - at least the TP2/s et al have it compared to the Senior or Ranger. Open brush rolls are more trouble than their worth. If you fancy it, order the screw in Oreck stiff side brushes for the Oreck XL and put them onto your uprights at the sides. You'll soon find in time that the brushes will naturally flatten and no longer remain in their shape to pull the dust in - same as it would happen with a brush roll that would be open ended - and brands would have to go to an effort to offer a replaceable section to the brush roll in order for those brushes to be replaced rather than spending more on one complete brush roll replacement.