Owning both the dc25 and the dc41 I can tell you the dc25 has much stiffer bristles due to the fact that the packs in the dc25 are thicker in circumference,. Both clean well but I prefer the dc25. My only complaint about it is the bin capacity been too small. I would have liked a dc14 size bin on the dc25. Its ability to pick up pet hair and lift the carpet pile is fantastic. 

One of my favorite machines. 

I like the dc40 but I prefer the dc25 but my ultimate favorite is the dc14 and dc28. I have many favorites

Dc41, It has a more powerful motor with a larger diameter fan. I like the brush roll they have in the USA with extra bristles in it. 

Parwaz, I'll drop my Kirby off the roof and you drop your DC14 off the roof, we'll see prevails!!!!

Parwaz, I'll drop my Kirby off the roof and you drop your DC14 off the roof, we'll see which  vacuum prevails!!!!

Super sweeper

When we first got the dc 14 to sell I did drop a brand new one off the mezzanine ( a standard story high )  in my workshop, The cleaner head bent upwards from the impact and the two plastic sir clips shot off ( one yet to be found) but a few minutes of disassembling and it worked perfect again.

A year ago I knocked off ( buy accident )a traded in Ultimate G  , It hit the ground like a tank, Bits shot off in every direction, The wheels broke, the cleaner head mounts and lever broke off, The chassis cracked the head light unit got hit by the cleaner head and it bent and broke.  

Does this make the Kirby a weakly built machine. No not at all but it goes to show how unfair doing that test with these two machines would be.

A kirby ways a ton and its own weight was its biggest failure in this instance. It meant the machine hit the ground with more force putting greater force on the parts. Cast aluminium is very strong for every day bumps and knocks but it has no give to it. Hot it too hard and it will break. Why do you think modern car bumpers are made from plastic, It can absorb light dings and dents.

For a throwing off the roof test to be fair you would need to similar weighted machines again made out of similar materials.

Just out of interest the Kirby also smashed out a fist size chunk out of the concreate floor it hit so hard. My Two technicians almost jumped out of their skin 

Sounds scary, Gareth. I dare you to drop one of the newer, cheaper Dysons !

The Ultimate G is a tank. I wouldn't use it for testing and I honestly wouldn't use it daily in my house.

Perhaps the being-mowed-down-by-a-Plymouth-Fury-at-40-miles-an-hour test will be more fair, we'll see.

I wouldn't want to do that to a Plymouth fury you might scrape the paint or something.

I was doing some training  with some stores and threw a dc37 down a flight of concrete stairs , scratched a bit but not broken at all. 

Don't worry Gareth, I'll be sure to find a paint-less Fury 

That's nice, Dysonboy. It fell down the stairs. I couldn't think of any vacuum that would fail at that test.

Oh no not gently like this I threw mine down the stairs like basket ball 

Good for you, Gareth! But I'm not going Dyson until these newer models pass the Plymouth test 

MMMM I don't think many vacuums would pass that test :) 

You're telling me somebody set a Dyson on fire, and it survived, nonsense. Plastic melts, and fire causes melting. it's like saying ice doesn't melt when you throw it in a science oven. The Dyson would've smoked, and emit a crap-ton of pollution.

Oh dear we're going to launch World-War IV on vacuumland over this.

Metal does not dent when rammed into furniture. It wouldn't dent unless you dropped it off a moving train. Giving somebody a Dyson for a week and saying it had no scratches is madness. Look at the older vacuums pushing 40,50 years of service without a failure. Plastic can not survive a fire, it's common sense. Do I need to go into my backyard and set a Dyson on fire? I don't see how else you can understand this.if you rammed a Kirby into the fireplace at 75 miles an hour, it could get dented. Do people ram Kirbys into fireplaces at such speeds? No, they do not.I don't know where you kids are hearing metal vacuums cost $1,000, you have obviously never been to a garage sale. I've gotten numerous and complete Kirbys for under $50. Compare that to you $500 junk and tell me what costs more.

The Dyson DC41 is crap! It is made of creaky plastic and It has a loosely fitted handle that twists side to side. After using a quality metal vacuum like a Kirby, the DC41 feels like a toy in my hands and it seems it would be more suited for my 10 year old nephew.

We'll let the adults use the Kirby's and Royal's and the kids can use the Dyson's.

LOL Spytks, welcome aboard Team Kirby! 

I wouldn't want kids to play with Dysons, they might hurt themselves on broken plastic! 

Saturn went under? LOL didn't know that, but explains why i don't see them anymore! my neighbor had one, it was cool! but it got traded in on something NEWER! 

Wow Mark! You have to be part Kirby, that's the second time you've walked away from something that could've left you dead! 

OK Mark, but you're still part Kirby!

Gee Parwaz, there's plenty of vacuums that have been vacuuming longer than you've been alive, they still look factory-fresh. ANY vacuum can look great without being rammed into furniture, it's common sense. 

2-3 scratches is not the same as no scratches.