AEG 8000 Series Cordless vacuum review: style meets practicality with this stick model

Though the AEG 8000 Series cordless vacuum is touted as the brand's most efficient model, it hasn't quite received the same amount of buzz as some of its rivals. Still, it enjoys strong reviews from users and seems to be a steady seller.

I've been testing out the AEG 8000 Series for a month, and in general, I'm impressed. We've tested plenty of the best vacuums on Real Homes over the years, and I'm pretty sure this is going to be up there with our top-rated picks. I'm certainly pleased to be ditching my old model for this one instead.

So, what's so good about the AEG 8000 Series? AEG is a solid brand to invest in, so we had pretty high hopes for this product. The design is one of the key selling points – it's one of the best-looking vacuums on the market, and AEG designed it to blend tastefully into any home. There's a high-speed motor with 150 air watt suction power, which delivers a deeper clean. Auto mode is another nifty feature, which makes it easy to switch between floor types – and preserves battery power.

It's also a pretty versatile vacuum thanks to the range of attachments that come with it – including the Pet Pro + nozzle, which makes light work of pet hair, and an UltimatePower hard floor nozzle that picks up fine dust and polishes your floors too.

If all this has you keen to find out more, read on to get the specifics of just how effective – and easy to use – the AEG 8000 Series is day-to-day, and whether it delivers enough to make it one of the best cordless vacuums out there.

Everything you need to know about the AEG 8000 Series Vacuum

• Model no: AP81A25ULT
• No. of settings: 3 (plus Auto)
• Bin capacity: 0.6l
• Suction power: 153W
• Runtime: up to 35 minutes
• Charging time: 150 minutes
• Weight: 2.9kg
• Accessories: Soft roller nozzle, delicate dusting brush, angled joint tool, Pet Pro + nozzle, small brush, crevice nozzle, charging stand

Ellen Finch

Ellen is contributing editor at Real Homes. She has worked on the brand since 2017, moving from features editor to deputy editor. In this time, she's been lucky enough to review a variety of products, from mattresses to cordless mixers, so she can advise which are worth the investment – and which aren't. Ellen has had the product in her possession for over a month, so she can be really honest about how it really works for everyday life. She lives with three other people and her home features a mix of carpet, tiled and vinyl floors.

Who will the AEG 8000 Series Vacuum suit?

• People with a mix of floors: The main floorhead of the AEG 8000 Series is for carpet, but the product also comes with the UltimatePower hard floor nozzle, which will simply take up space if you have few hard floors to use it on.
• People with small- to medium-sized homes: With a run time of up to 35 minutes and a fairly small dust bin, the AEG 8000 Series works well for smaller homes – but if yours is on the larger side, you might need a pit stop to recharge (for a mere 2.5 hours) halfway through, unless you invest in an additional battery.
• People who want a lightweight, easy-to-manouvre product: At 2.9kg, the AEG 8000 Series is easy to carry from room to room. Plus, a detachable head means you can whip it out to clean more difficult areas like the stairs.

Unboxing the AEG 8000 Series vacuum cleaner

On delivery, the AEG box is nestled inside a slightly larger cardboard box. It feels heavy, but don't worry – a lot of the weight comes from the base for the charging station. Opening the box up, I was impressed to see each item wrapped in paper with cardboard separators, making this a plastic-free affair. There's no bulky manual, either – just a quick-start and troubleshooting guide with diagrams.

To set up the AEG 8000 Series, you assemble the floor-standing charging station and connect it to your power supply. It's a small detail, but I liked the fact that there's a groove in the underside of the base to fit the charging cord so that it lies flat on the floor. You then attach the accessory holders to the base at whatever level feels most comfortable to you – it's something of a modular approach that I really liked. The accessories simply snap in and out of their holders by pressing a button.

Perhaps the most satisfying part of the process is the click you hear as the vacuum snaps magnetically to the charging stand. It's quick, easy and secure to store it, and the whole unit is compact enough to fit into a corner.

AEG 8000 Series features

Versatile attachments
One of the biggest strengths of the AEG 8000 Series is its range of attachments. Along with the main floorhead, which is for carpet, you have the UltimatePower hard floor nozzle, which picks up the finest dust on hard floors and gives them a light polish at the same time. The pack also comes with the Pet Pro + nozzle, an upholstery brush that makes light work of dog and cat hairs on the sofa. I found it's also really useful as a smaller brush to clean carpeted stairs.

Adjustable height
The design features a telescopic tube, which can be used to adjust the height of the vacuum cleaner – perfect if you're on the taller side and find vacuuming to be a strain on your back.

Auto mode
There are three power settings depending on what suction power you need, but for ease of use, auto mode senses changes in floor type and adapts the power to suit. It also makes your clean more energy efficient and helps conserve battery power compared to keeping the vacuum on the highest power setting.

Deep clean
The AEG Series 8000 boasts 150 air watt suction power for a deep clean.

Quick release
Each of the accessories can be added with a click and removed with a quick release button, while the floorheads can be swapped by pressing down on a lever.

How does the AEG 8000 Series Vacuum perform?

As something of a disclaimer, I previously owned an old and heavy corded vacuum that was particularly cumbersome to use – so using the AEG 8000 Series for the first time felt like a revelation. Even so, it's impressively light and when on Auto Mode, feels easy to move around – though trying to push it on Turbo Mode, the highest power setting, proved much more difficult.

Something to consider is the fairly limited battery life. Cordless vacuums do, of course, have fairly limited battery power as standard, but compared to something like the Dyson V15 Detect, which has a runtime of up to 60 minutes, 35 feels a little paltry. Having said that, it's enough to do a quick run-around of my three-bed house, or to do a couple of rooms more thoroughly. The charge time is 2.5 hours, which beats the Dyson V15 Detect. Larger houses might benefit from investing in an extra battery.

The vacuum features a screen that shows the battery level (to the nearest 33%) and the power setting. It's fairly minimal and in my opinion, could be improved by showing the actual battery level. There are two buttons – the on button and a button to scroll through the power settings.

I appreciated the ease with which I could reach under the sofa or up over the top of the wardrobe with the AEG 8000 Series, and the handy light on the floorhead is useful for highlighting darker areas like under furniture.

On hard floor
The UltimatePower hard floor nozzle is one of the key features of this vacuum, so it's no surprise that I was impressed with how well it picks up even the smallest bits of dust on hard floors. I tried it out on my kitchen floor, which is stone, and the bathroom floor, which is vinyl – it was effective at both, and I liked the fact it gave the floor a bit of a buff while it was doing its thing.

On carpet
I was pleasantly surprised at just how good the suction power was considering the lightweight design. Having three modes helps: you wouldn't want to complete a full vacuum on Turbo Mode, since it's harder to push around and drains the battery in a matter of minutes, but it does a great job at picking up the most stubborn bits of fluff. For everything else, Auto Mode did a great job at picking up even the smallest bits of dust – and it was smooth to move around.

Stairs
With so many attachments, I was spoilt for choice when it came to vacuuming the stairs – I could use either the original floorhead, the Pet Pro + attachment or the crevice nozzle. It was a little easier to use the Pet Pro + to get right into the corners, but a quick once-over with the original floorhead was also effective.

Higher up places
The AEG 8000 Series package features a brush nozzle at a right angle to help reach places up high. The handheld part of the vacuum is the heaviest part (except for the charging base), so it's a little tiring after a while, but having the angled brush was really useful and meant I could reach the dusty no man's land of the top of my wardrobe with relative ease.

Cleaning and maintaining the AEG 8000 Series Vacuum

Cleaning and maintaining the vacuum is generally pretty standard, but there a few clever bits and pieces to help make it easier.

Firstly, the AEG 8000 Series comes with BrushRollClean™ technology. When hair and fibres get stuck in the brush roll, you simply press the pedal on top of the nozzle and it cuts and removes them for you.

The dust bin is easily removed with a quick pull, and it and the filters should be cleaned regularly under warm water and left to dry. 

Most of the attachments should be wiped with a cloth, but the vacuum comes with a handy illustrated guide showing you exactly how to care for each nozzle.

How does the AEG 8000 Series Vacuum rate online?

The AEG 8000 Series cordless vacuum cleaner currently sits at 4.6 stars out of five on AEG's website, with high ratings across design, functionality and quality.

Meanwhile, on John Lewis & Partners it boasts 4.8 stars; all ratings are either 4 or 5 stars.

Should I buy the AEG 8000 Series Cordless Vacuum?

I was genuinely impressed with the power, lightness and general ease of use of the AEG 8000 Series, and have already recommended it to family members – including my grandma, who could really benefit from the careful design of this product. There are no wasted attachments – they all come in handy and together offer a complete clean of your home. The 35-minute running time is the only element that lets it down slightly, although it does run for 60 minutes as a handheld. All in, this is a great cordless vacuum at a mid-to-high price point: with the great suction power, ease of use and lovely design, I think it's worth the investment.

About this review - and our reviewer 

We take how we test seriously at Real Homes, which is why this vacuum was tried out at home for a number of weeks before we came to our verdict. This was Ellen's first try with a cordless vacuum, which means that she got to experience just how convenient it is to have one at home. She tried it out a variety of floor types, putting to use the various attachments and modes in order to get the most from this vac, before telling you exactly what she liked (and disliked) about it. 

The AEG 8000 Series Cordless vacuum was gifted to us for review, which means we'll be able to update this piece over time to see how it fares in the long run.