Miele's S7 series is very good for large houses, and has a switchable brushbar for use on Lino flooring, and adjustable suction power, plus an extendable wand and stretch stair hose.  They are good value at less than the price of a Dyson upright, and have large 6 litre multi layer dustbags. The downside to this model is it is heavy at 10Kg, so carrying up stairs could be a toil.

The Sebo X series is a very good machine for carpet use, but not on lino - I know as I have one, and the brushroll cannot be switched off, so it has damaged the lino in places. The X series uses cheaper bags than the Miele S7, and is more robust and a bit lighter at 8Kg. It has a fixed length plastic wand and the Extra models come with an additional stair hose. It also has computer controlled height adjust for carpets and hard floor, but as I said can damage lino. It is also able to detect a full bag or blocked brushbar and switch the motor off for itself. The X5 is the same as the X4 except it has a wider cleaning path, which will clean faster in larger areas. Bags for the Sebo X series cost about £9 for 8.

The Felix is more flexible than the X series, but doesn't have auto height adjustment, and a 3 litre bag, as opposed to 5.3 litres on the X series. Its more suited to smaller houses with carpets and hard floors as its brushroll can be switched off. It weighs about 7kg so heavier than it looks due to the fact that like the Miele S7, it has 2 motors - one for the suction and one for the brushbar.

Felix models are all the same, but come in different colours, with differing additional accessories like parquet brushes or turbo brushes.

For your type of house and all carpets in most rooms, go for an upright, as it will be quicker to use than a cylinder.

If you must have a cylinder, then its better with a turbo brush head, such as the S8320 Cat and Dog, as a straight suction nozzle will make cleaning expanses of carpet hard work.

Sebo also do the D range of cylinders which have large 6 litre bags and the D2 Total has a variety of floor and turbo brushes. The D series is a bulky cleaner but suited to large homes with its long 12m cable and 6 litre dustbags.

Personally, if I was in your situation I would go for the Miele S7 Cat and Dog, which gives you a mini turbo brush for stairs and upholstery. Its able to do hard floors and lino, as its brushroll can be switched off, and it has the long hose and extendable metal wand. Filtration is excellent and it has a large 6 litre bag. Bags for this model, the Miele U type cost about £10 for 4.

Here is a link to the Miele S7 at a good price (£258 with free delivery)

Indeed it is Josh - its a possibility, but bear in mind that its the most pricey option at well over £300, and its size and bulk isn't for everyone.

If you will be the one that uses the vacuum then yes it will be an issue. The S7 is a tall vacuum, and so is the Sebo X series, as neither of them have adjustable handle height.

The Felix on the other hand does have an adjustable handle, which can be lowered into the machine for the less tall user.

In light of your stature, the Felix would be a better bet, but it does have the smallest bag capacity - although you can buy 8 bags for about a tenner, so not too bad in cost. The felix has a short hose, but doesn't have an extension wand. the main body can be removed from its power head base though so can be used as a carry vac for doing the stairs.

I still maintain that an upright would be your best bet in view of the fact that your home is mainly carpeted.

Did you specifically want a bagged cleaner?

It all depends on whether the lino is stuck down all over as to whether it will get scuffed by the X series brushroll. If its not glued down, it gets sucked up to the nozzle and the brushes can scorch it.

But in any case - hard floors and lino are better cleaned with a suction only head, or a stationary brushroll. My bathroom lino has been damaged in more than one place by using uprights with the brushroll rotating, which creates friction burns, and example of which is below: Its taught me a lesson about the damage a rotating brushroll can do to this type of flooring, so I always use a machine where the brushes are stationary or use a cylinder vac with the hard floor head on it.

I agree that many uprights machines with revolving brushes are fine on fixed hard floors - but is it worth the risk? Sebo themselves say in the manual for the X series that they cannot be held responsible for damage caused to delicate floors by the revolving brushroll.

And the above damage is why I suggest that the opening poster might consider the Sebo Felix, as its great for adjusting the height of the handle, its fairly light, and can be converted to a handheld for doing above floors and the stairs. Its brushroll can also be shut off for the lino flooring, and the suction power reduced to prevent the lino being sucked up to the nozzle.

The only thing the Felix doesn't have is a telescopic tube.

Sebo Felix in handheld mode (minus the floorhead):

I think ultimately its up to Harry whether he wants the expense of having to replace bags more often in the Felix, to enable him to have a cleaner that's easier for him to use, given that he has said he is 5 foot 3.

My advice to him is that in his type of home, with his stature, then a smaller upright cleaner would be better. A cylinder like the Miele S8320 would be good for him yes, but it would not clean the carpet pile with an air-driven turbo brush as well as a Sebo Felix would with a motorised head - a motorised head that's very reliable and held in high regard.

A Dyson DC41 may fit the bill, but they are very expensive, and not terribly well built, and have the messy cleaning at emptying time to deal with.

Sebo and Miele are quality German built appliances, that get over 90% satisfaction ratings, that's why they are my favourite modern brands for vacuum cleaners.

Dyson, Hoover, and Vax are all built in the far East to a price rather than a quality line, and again, its up to Harry to decide whether he wants a vacuum made in China, Malaysia, or in Germany.

Harry might like to watch the following video on the Sebo Felix, done by one of the most respected members of the vacuum collector world. Roger highlights the features and benefits of this model, and I must point out that neither Myself nor Roger are in any way affiliated to Sebo, nor any other company that makes vacs - we just own or have owned a good many makes and models.

The other possibility that is being highlighted is the cylinder cleaner by Sebo, the D2 Total, also reviewed by Roger on his channel

Roger is the most unbiased reviewer I have seen - he reports on the vacs as he finds them, but I'm sure you'd agree, they are very helpful in deciding what to spend your money on - especially since some vacs nowadays sell for up to £500!

Sebo Felix review:

For availability and prices - Peter Tyson do the Felix Pet, which has a turbo brush and parquet head, for £228 - they can supply bags for it as well.

John Lewis supply this vac as well, but will charge you £270.

Here is a link to an available Sebo D2 Total from Freenet Electrical. I have used them before and they are a reliable seller, The price for the basic machine and free delivery is £219. They can also supply the bags, but the bags can be sourced cheaper elsewhere.

They do charge £15 for delivery to the remote areas of Scotland, so it could cost you £234, as opposed to £279 in John Lewis.

Freenet are one of the cheapest online suppliers of the German brands - they usually carry most stuff in stock, but not always, and this will be highlighted on each item's page.

Here is the link to Roger's Sebo D2 Total review:

For Bags for the Felix - this is a good value supplier that you can get 16 bags for £17 with free delivery - They give free delivery on orders over £10 and multi discounts for buying more than 1 item, so it works out cheaper to buy one order of 16 bags rather than 2 orders of 8 bags.

Unfortunately they don't sell the D series bags, but these can be sourced direct from Sebo, and other dealers - bearing in mind that Sebo charge about £4 for delivery on orders under £50.

Well Harry, I hope we've provided you with enough information to make an informed choice on what to get. It seems a toss up between the Sebo Felix Pet, and the Sebo D2 Total - each will give you great cleaning, and its gonna be your choice of whether you want an upright or a cylinder.

You may decide to go for the Miele S8320 at the end of the day - Miele are great - I have several Miele machines, including S8 models, but with a German built machine, I think Sebo just has the edge in terms of rugged reliability, but Miele win on the style and fancy gadgets score. Bear in mind also that Sebo started off in the 70's producing commercial machines and only make vacuum cleaners, its their speciality and their machines, whilst they may never win a fashion show like Dysons, are built to do one thing well - that is clean your home.

The Dart and Professional D are both commercial variants of the domestic versions. The Dart was released first, for commercial use, and later released as the Felix, in more trendy colours for the domestic market. I think the Dart doesn't have the adjustable power control, and lacks the upholstery tool, but otherwise there is not much difference. The Professional D does not have a cord reel - the cord is detachable from the machine and wraps around the top of the machine when not in use. The professional D does not have a turbo brush nor a dusting brush, and is only rated at 1200W.

Personally, I'd stick to  the domestic versions of these machines, as they are more suited to homes than offices, and have more tools/heads.

Jon, I think that If you have dogs, the smaller bags are better than the larger ones, as the strong smell from the bag often means that you throw out the 6 litre bags in the X series or the D series way before they are properly full. In short, dogs make most vacs smell rather quickly, bagged or bagless, so at least you have more chance of filling a 3 litre bag before it stinks to high heaven.

I have bought some second hand bagged and bagless vacs that have really howled - all of them came from homes with dogs.