Dyson V11 Outsize cordless vacuum cleaner: ours just arrived and holy sh*t, it is HUGE

While we wouldn't say the Dyson V11 was undersized or underpowered, those who worry about such things should prepare to get excited: the Dyson V11 Outsize is here NOW (in the UK. It's been in the US and Australia for a while). If you haven't guessed already, this is the Dyson V11 but a bigger, if you will, 'outsized' version. 

Sir James Dyson just personally dropped off T3's sample and we have not really done much with it yet – you need to charge it up before using, and it's late. However, we can confirm in no uncertain terms that it is large. It's huge. It's luge. But it works.

Quite often, when contemplating new Dyson products, the first thought that comes into your mind is, 'Well, that looks ridiculous,' and that certainly applies to the V11 Outsize. However, from our brief spin around the bathroom, which was all full of hair as Thursday is Lockdown Haircut Day, we can confirm that the second thing people usually end up thinking about new Dyson products – ie: 'actually, that is really good' – seems to apply here as well. 

Yes, despite making us feel like Gulliver in Lilliput with its outrageously enormous bin and a cleaning head that can only be described as 'very wide indeed', the monstrous V11 Outsize felt very much like the old, normal-sized V11 in use. It also sucked up everything in sight, as you would expect, but wasn't too noisy about doing so. Our most recent go-to vac has been the Samsung JetPro and, good as that is, we found getting cleaning done without being assailed by its hellish banshee wail was quite a blissful experience. 

In short, this beast may be ugly and bizarrely elongated but, like Peter Crouch, Shaquille O'Neal or Adam Gilchrist it has surprising subtlety and deftness of touch alongside its power.

Anyway, we will get back to you with a proper review soon, here's all you need to know in the mean time. 

Headline stats: the dustbin is 150% bigger, the cleaning head is 25% wider. Given that the V11's old head was by no means small, that means we are talking considerable girth here.

Cordless is the way to go if you’re looking for hassle-free vacuuming and Dyson's newly-launched, bigger vac combines the same number of cables (none, unless you count the charger) with much more capacity and ability. It’s designed to take on the dust and dirt in bigger homes, with a specification that really means business compared to even the best cordless vacuum cleaners out there.

The design has its roots in the Dyson V11 Absolute, which is top of our Dyson cordless vacuum chart. In fact, to our well-trained eye, it looks essentially identical, apart from being, obviously, bigger.

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Dyson V11 Outsize: price and release date

The Dyson V11 Outsize is available in Nickel/Red and will be available in the UK from January 20. It costs £649.99. 

The Dyson V11 Outsize is already available in America, where everything is bigger, and Australia which ditto. In the US it's $799. It starts at $1,299 in Oz.

Dyson V11 Outsize: features

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Suction power has been bumped up by 20% to make the most of that chunky new cleaning head. Dyson’s Hyperdymium motor and multiple cyclone technology should more than able to tackle anything in its path, at least judging by the gallery of photos above.

Dust, pollen and bacteria are all quickly dispatched with the fully-sealed filtration system cornering 99.97% of particles according to the Dyson boffins. They’ve also tweaked their DLS technology for the new model, allowing it to optimise cleaning performance based on the type of flooring. If you’re vacuuming oak flooring in a mansion or a Wilton in Walthamstow then it’ll know and adjust suction accordingly. 

This helps to an extent with cleaning  but its main use is to eke out more life from the battery. As a result, Dyson claims a maximum battery life of 60 minutes, the same as the standard V11. How long you get from the turbo and optimised modes remains to be seen but presumably that will also be in line with the V11 standard edition – and we didn't have any complaints about that. 

Arguably the most Outsized upgrade of all is to the dustbin, which is 150% bigger than its baby brother, with a market-leading capacity of 1.9 litres.

An on-board LCD screen keeps you up to date with vacuuming performance, your chosen power mode and remaining battery life. It’s also good for general housekeeping of the machine, as it flags up time until the next filter clean, and alerts you to any blockages, just in case you can’t figure that out for yourself. Yup, the V11 Outsize isn’t just able to take on mountains of dust and dirt; it’s idiot-proof too.