Having suffered through years of rubbish vacuum cleaners (ones previous tenants had left in houses I was renting!), this Christmas I decided it was time to finally get a decent one, and my mother-in-law helped me research some good options that wouldn't break the bank.
The Miele S2111 came up a few times, with good reviews by Which among others, and at a price of £149 seemed like a good option - especially as Miele products have such a good reputation for lasting!

I actually managed to get the S2111 for the bargainous price of £99 in the sale at Comet.co.uk, and I was really happy with their service overall, with a really quick delivery, not to mention the £50 I could now spend on Christmas treats!

The first time I got it out to use it, I was astonished. I'd forgotten vacuum cleaners could actually suck so well! This is so much better than the hoovers I've used in recent years that I actually got excited about cleaning.

The S2111 looks like a fairly standard cylinder vacuum cleaner, though relatively sleek and tidy looking. It comes in a few colours, including red, but I got a dark grey one as that was the only one on sale! It's quite compact and light, and has a really handy slot to hold the long nozzle neatly in place when it's in the cupboard, as well as a holder for the attachments that come with it: a long thin nozzle for getting into crevices, a small 'normal' shaped rectangular nozzle with a bit of lint-collector-type grippy that I use for my narrow stairs, and a circular brush nozzle. The holder is really handy as it keeps the parts from falling all over the place! The light weight and small size is great for carrying it upstairs and so on - not too cumbersome.
The main hose is a good length, so you don't have to be constantly pulling the cylinder about, and the head has a retractable brush, for using on carpet or hard floors. The head also swivels easily, which is great for getting round furniture.

I'm also really pleased with the length of the cable - I think it's 5.5m long, and plenty long enough to cover a whole room in my house. This is particularly handy as we have a chronic lack of power sockets here! The automatic cable rewind is also really handy so you don't have to deal with loops and loops of cable getting tangled.

I haven't had to replace the bag yet, but it looks relatively simple, and replacement bags are widely available, including on Amazon.co.uk. It also has a light to remind me to empty it.

As I said, it produces really good suction, but it also lets you adjust it, which makes it much easier doing rugs, etc - there are six suction settings, adjustable with a really simple big dial on the front of the cylinder. The diagrams indicate that, from low to high, the settings are for: cleaning curtains, upholstery, rugs, a "quiet" setting for normal hoovering, then carpets and finally hard floors. It's quite a big range, with the suction level changing a lot from lowest to highest, so you can find the right level.

Despite the presence of a quiet setting, I've never had a problem with the noise levels on any setting - this is a remarkably quiet vacuum cleaner, especially if you're used to rubbish old ones like me!

I'm really very pleased with this vacuum cleaner, and can't think of anything negative about it - the only thing I'm not sure about is how good it would be at pet hair, as we don't have any pets. However, it does seem to get our floors very clean.
It's really easy to use, with a nice big on/off button - it's easy to just prod it with your foot. The only other controls are the dial for suction strength, and another big button to activate the automatic cable winder.

Even at the full price, I think this is a good choice. It's available through quite a few retailers, including Comet and John Lewis, so it's worth checking if any of them have an offer on though!