Miele Triflex HX2 Pro/Cat & Dog Vacuum Review

The Miele Triflex HX2 is a sturdily-built cordless vacuum. It's similar in quality to its predecessor, with a body made of thick, high-grade plastic, which doesn't creak when it's moved around. It doesn't really differ much in overall appearance either, with only slightly more pronounced gold accents, a dustbin made of darker, more opaque plastic, and a redesigned filter system, which also features an eye-catching gold finish. The vacuum's color depends on the trim you select: the basic HX2 is made of glossy white plastic, the mid-range Cat & Dog has a glossy black finish, and the flagship Pro has a matte grey body. Like its predecessor, the handle does feel somewhat cheap and hollow. If you value build quality above all else, consider the Miele Duoflex HX1, which uses more premium materials. 

All parts clip together and come apart fairly intuitively, though its handle takes a bit of force to remove, and you'll need to make sure the dustbin is precisely seated in its slot when reinstalling it.

This Miele Triflex HX2 is quite easy to maintain, as the few parts that require regular servicing are readily accessible.

• Dirt compartment: You need to twist the dirt compartment's lid counterclockwise to unlock it. Turning the lid further releases the compartment's bottom door, allowing you to empty any debris over a garbage can. You must empty it when it gets full and occasionally clean it with water and dish soap, but remove the pre-filter first.
• Pre-filter: You need to completely rotate the dirt compartment's lid counterclockwise until it releases and can be lifted out. The HX2 also features a 'ComfortClean' feature; turning a dial on top of the dustbin lid in a counterclockwise direction rotates a plastic lattice inside the pre-filter system to dislodge any stuck-on debris. You can see that feature in action here. The user manual recommends giving the dial ten 180-degree rotations regularly to ensure there's no significant debris buildup. You should also take the filter completely out of the vacuum to give it a thorough clean every three months.
• Fine dust filter: The fine dust filter is a bit of a hassle to remove. You need to remove the dustbin from the body, release the pre-filter system, and rotate the 'ComfortClean' dial in a clockwise direction, lifting the fine dust filter out of the pre-filter assembly. In practice, it can take quite a bit of force to spin the dial in this direction. Once you remove it, tap it against the edge of a trash can to dislodge any embedded dirt or dust, but don't rinse it under water. You should clean it every three months.
• Multi-floor XXL floorhead: You can flip the vacuum head over to cut out any hair wraps with scissors. You can remove the brushroll by lifting the brushroll cover on the left side of the floorhead and then simply pulling the roller out. This Pro variant of the HX2 comes with two interchangeable brushrolls, one with bristles for cleaning carpets and the other being a soft nylon roller intended for hard floors. You can cut out any tangled hair in the bristled roller by cutting along the embossed grooved on the roller. You can do the same for the soft roller, too.

Any part you can wash under water should completely dry before reinstallation.

This vacuum has very few recurring costs.

• Fine dust filter: Even though Miele advertises this filter under the name of 'HEPA Lifetime filter,' it doesn't actually last the lifetime of the vacuum; you should replace it after three years of use. You can buy a new one here.

The Miele Triflex HX2 is impressively easy to store. It doesn't take up too much space and has a rack station with designated storage slots for the three included tools and accessories.

The Miele Triflex HX2 has a fairly small dirt compartment. Not only is it just under half the capacity of that of alternatives like the Dyson Gen5detect/Gen5detect Absolute, but it's also actually a little smaller than that of the older Miele Triflex HX1, which has a marginally higher max fill line. At the very least, the dustbin is easy to release and empty.

• Miele Triflex HX2 stick vacuum
• Power Unit
• Dirt compartment
• Wand
• Handle
• Pre-filter (inside dirt compartment)
• Fine dust filter
• 2x Batteries
• Vacuum User Guide
• Various tools and brushes
  • Multi Floor XXL Electrobrush head
  • Multi-Floor XXL brushroll
  • Hardfloor Care Soft Roller
  • Crevice tool
  • Dusting brush with flexible swivel brush
  • Upholstery Nozzle XL
  • Wand clip
• Charging station
• Vacuum wall dock
• Vacuum wall dock cable cover
• Tool holder for wall dock
• Wall mounting bracket
• Battery charger
• Power cable

Since it's a cordless vacuum, the Miele Triflex HX2's range is limited only by the remaining battery life and room left in its dirt compartment.

The Miele Triflex HX2 is very portable. While it's a little heavier than alternatives like the Dyson Gen5detect, it's by a slim margin. Using it in its upright configuration, with the motor unit placed low to the ground, puts very little weight in your hand, minimizing fatigue. However, using it in its stick configuration, with the motor unit sandwiched between the handle and wand, does increase the weight in hand to 4.89 lbs (2.22 kg).

Battery performance is great. The flagship Pro variant of the HX2 comes with a pair of batteries, so you can swap in a freshly-charged pack if you run out. A single fully-charged battery yields a maximum runtime of over an hour when you use the vacuum in its 'Min' mode with only its crevice tool attached. Using the HX2 in its high-power 'Max' mode with the floorhead attached can run a single battery dry in about 15 minutes. In both respects, these figures are similar to market standouts like the Dyson Gen5detect. It also handily outperforms the older Miele Triflex HX1 in this regard. The vacuum also features a trio of battery indicator lights, which gradually turn off as the charge level drops.

The Miele Triflex HX2 has a couple of quality-of-life features. Three power settings are available, aside from '0', which is the off setting. In increasing order of suction power, there's the low-power 'Min,' the default 'Eco,' and the high-power 'Max.' You can switch this setting via a slider on its handle. Like its predecessor, the HX2 has a floor detection system, which allows it to automatically adjust the brushroll speed and suction power depending on the surface you're cleaning; this feature works regardless of the power setting you have the vacuum set to. It's worth noting that this vacuum's Cat & Dog and Pro variants come with a floorhead with a headlight to illuminate darker corners. The standard HX2 has a simpler floorhead with no headlight.

The Pro variant of the Miele Triflex HX2 has a couple of tools and accessories. It comes with an upholstery cleaner to remove debris from fabric-lined furniture, a soft-bristle dusting brush, and a crevice tool to tackle messes in tight corners. There's also a pair of interchangeable brushrolls for its floorhead, one with bristles for cleaning carpets and the other being a soft nylon roller to clean delicate surfaces like hardwood without creating any scratches.

This vacuum is all but identical to the older Miele Triflex HX1 regarding configurability. You can use it as a traditional stick vacuum by moving the main power unit between the wand and handle or remove the wand entirely to use it as a compact handheld.

This vacuum's hard floor performance is only passable when used with its soft roller. While it's very effective in clearing away finer debris, its floorhead sits very low to the ground, causing it to push around large amounts of bulkier debris like cereal. Any remaining large debris that does make its way into the floorhead can also jam the brushroll, as seen here.

This vacuum does a poor job of handling debris on high-pile carpets when used with its multi-surface roller. It leaves behind a small amount of larger debris along walls and in corners, but it has a really hard time with finer debris embedded within deeper carpet fibers.

This vacuum's performance on low-pile carpets is sub-par. It can clear away the majority of large and medium-sized debris within a pass or two, but you'll need to spend a fair bit of extra time dealing with any finer debris that's been pressed into lower-pile carpet fibers.

This vacuum does a good job of clearing away pet hair on low-pile carpets. It'll clear away the majority of hair within a single pass, but you'll probably need to go over the same area more than once to fully clear away any shorter remaining strands that are pressed a little more deeply into carpet fibers.

This vacuum has decent real-world suction performance. It can't compete with standouts like the Dyson Gen5detect in this respect, though its upgraded Digital Efficiency motor yields significant performance gains over the older Miele Triflex HX1. While it isn't the most powerful cordless vacuum on the market, it won't have too much trouble lifting away lightweight debris embedded in carpet fibers or trapped in crevices.

This vacuum has decent airflow performance. While it might lag behind alternatives regarding suction performance, its raw airflow isn't far off of other premium models like the Dyson V15 Detect, indicating that its filtration system isn't all that restrictive.

This vacuum isn't too loud. There's little difference in overall volume if used with either its soft roller or multi-surface bristled roller. It's unlikely to be too disruptive if you use it in a partially enclosed room.

The Miele Triflex HX2 has great maneuverability. Using the vacuum in its upright configuration keeps weight low to the ground, making it very easy to maneuver. However, cleaning under low-lying furniture like couches and tables with the vacuum set up this way can be tricky. Its self-adjusting brush speed makes it easy to transition from cleaning bare floors to carpets. While it feels easy to use for the most part, it's worth noting that its floorhead is noticeably bulkier than that of a comparable Dyson, like the Dyson V15 Detect. It also gets bogged down on thicker carpets more easily than the older, less powerful Miele Triflex HX1.

This vacuum's pet hair-cleaning performance on fabric furniture is okay. It'll take a few passes to clear away most pet hair with its upholstery tool, and even then, some shorter strands may be left behind. If you have a pet, it might be worth going for the Miele Triflex HX2 Cat & Dog variant, which comes bundled with a mini turbo brush tool. The vacuum's side-exit exhaust can also blow hair away when cleaning furniture, which is annoying.

This vacuum does a great job of sealing in fine particles. The Milele HX2 features an onboard HEPA filter to seal in airborne allergens.

This vacuum does a great job of handling debris in cracks and crevices on hard floors when used with its soft roller and set to its default 'Eco' mode. It's worth noting that its performance didn't increase by a noticeable amount when cleaning cracks in its high-power 'Max' mode, as seen here.

This vacuum has no real impact on stains.

This vacuum can't suck up liquids.