Dyson V16 Piston Animal Submarine Review: Powerful but Pricey

Published 28 July 2026 · tech

The initial, early-release V16 model I tested had some clogging issues, but I've since retested a current version, and I didn't have the same problem

The initial, early-release V16 model I tested had some clogging issues, but I've since retested a current version, and I didn't have the same problem. The V16 and its All Floor Cones Sense cleaner head had nice suction on my thick rug and bedroom carpets. Despite my having vacuumed the week prior, the powerful V16 still filled itself with dust and hair after covering two small bedrooms and a couple of stairs. The V16 did a great job overall, but testing it alongside the older (and cheaper) Gen5Detect proved the two models mostly worked equally. In some cases, the Gen5Detect even outpaced the V16, which had mixed results vacuuming sand, struggling to catch more than half on a thinner rug, and pushing some sand into a pile in front of itself on a thicker one.

It did a similar thing with cat litter on my vinyl plank floors. A second pass with the vacuum caught everything, but I'd prefer to see such an expensive machine get it right on the first try. That’s especially true considering cheaper vacuums, like the Shark PowerDetect Speed ($280), did so with no problem. While I like the included Fluffy Optic cleaner head, you don't necessarily need it, since the All Floor Cones Sense head also works on hard floors. Whichever cleaning attachment you prefer, the built-in release on the vacuum's tube makes it easy to switch cleaner heads without bending over. Still, when I'm vacuuming on my top floor, where there are carpeted bedrooms and hard flooring in the hallways and bathrooms, I just stick to the All Floor Cones Sense head for ease.

It's nice having a single head that can do a good job with both. Photograph: Nena Farrell The Submarine version of the V16 that comes with the wet cleaning head costs an additional $120, and if you need to mop, it's worth the upgrade. The Submarine version of the V16 Piston Animal impressed me much more than I expected. When you use the wet head, the LCD screen switches to give you two modes—Basic and Ma and I found the Basic option to be plenty powerful for scrubbing dirty stains on my LVP flooring. The V16 also pulls itself forward with this head attached, as it does with other Dyson wet floor cleaners, like the Clean+Wash.

This feature makes the mop easy to push around. It could handle various stains with just a few passes, though problem areas I mopped earlier in my cleaning sessions needed more swipes (likely because the roller wasn't optimally hydrated yet).