Miele S2121 Olympus Review

Introduction

Even though it sells for the relatively high price of $299, the Olympus isn’t a full-featured vacuum. There’s no motorized or even turbine powered brushroll — just a straight floor brush, and HEPA filtration is also absent out of the box. While its MSRP may seem high compared to vacuums from other manufacturers, keep in mind that this is one of Miele’s least expensive vacuums: Their higher-end units sell for upwards of $800. While the Olympus isn’t quite up to the standards of its pricier siblings, its fit and finish are head and shoulders above any other vacuum we’ve tested in this price range.

Design & Usability

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This vacuum shines as far as fit, finish and ease of use.

With three casters, the Miele S2121 Olympus’s canister will follow you around without flipping over or getting caught on a piece of furniture. It glides smoothly over all kinds of flooring, and is extremely lightweight—it weighs less than 13 pounds, about half the weight of similar canisters. Despite its lack of bulk, the cleaner itself feels quite substantial and well-built. Plastic latches click into place with ease, and nothing makes any unpleasant rattling sounds.

The brush is a bit of a different story. Again, its apparent that this vacuum was meant for use on short carpet and hard flooring, as it gets bogged down in high carpet and has no wheels, only some smooth fabric on its underside. While the buttons on the back of the cleaner are easy to get at without bending over, it’s still more of a pain than fingertip controls on the hose handle itself.

Our biggest complaint about the Miele S2121 Olympus is its extremely short cord. While the extendable wand makes it easy to maneuver around a room, an 18 foot cord is just too short for cleaning a whole floor without having to stop, unplug, and find a new outlet. It’s nice that the cord is easily retractable with a mechanism that doesn’t snag or whip, but we’d prefer a cord at least 25 feet. The hose and extendable wand combine to give nearly a nine foot cleaning radius around the canister. The wand itself extends to four feet, which makes it easy to clean curtains or suck up spiders crawling across the ceiling.

Unlike others we’ve tested, the Miele’s cloth dust bag features a plastic collar that easily slides in and out of the canister, and a flapper that keeps dirt from escaping. It’s easier to get dirt out of the Olympus than any other vacuum we’ve tested, bagged or bagless. It's worth noting, however, that unlike other Miele products, this one doesn't come with any HEPA filtration.

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Features & Performance

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Strong suction decimates debris and dirt on hardwood floors, but don’t even think about using this vacuum on high pile carpet.

It’s clear that the Olympus was designed for cleaning hardwood, tile and other solid floor types. In our tests it mastered hardwood floors and didn’t do too badly on short carpet, either, but on high-pile things just fell apart. The lack of a motorized brushroll means that the vacuum’s performance depends solely on straight suction. That’s fine with larger debris, but fine dirt and dust need to be agitated out of thick carpet fibers. For that, straight suction just doesn’t cut it.

If you’re thinking you can just add one of Miele’s optional powered brushes to the Olympus, that’s unfortunately impossible. The hose carries no wiring harness, so it wouldn’t get any power from the canister. You’d just have a heavier, less effective, more expensive straight suction brush.

As far as bag capacity, this machine will definitely cost you. Our tests show the disposable bags are pretty large, holding about a half gallon of dirt each. At $15 for a five pack according to a quick online search means you’ll still spend more on cleanup than if you bought a more expensive bagless unit. If you don’t want clouds of dust flying around every time you empty a vacuum, though, it may be worth it. Our favorite thing about this vacuum, though? It's one of the quietest we’ve ever tested. The motor even “ramps up” when the unit is switched on, giving your ears a chance to adjust to the noise.

Conclusion

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This Miele is ideal for cleaning up hard floors.

At $299, the Miele S2121 Olympus is pricey for a straight-suction canister vacuum that’s only effective on hard floors and short carpets, but its performance in those categories in superb. It’s also lightweight, quiet, and is built with the precision of an architect's tool or a soldier's weapon as opposed to a small cleaning appliance.

Science Introduction

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With superior suction but no powered brushroll, this Miele is ideal for cleaning hard floors. If you’ve got high-pile carpets, steer clear of the Olympus. Alternatively, you could buy an upright for your thick rugs, or rip them up and put down hardwood instead. If you’re cleaning a mix of flooring types, though, less expensive vacuums provide much better overall performance.

Dirt and Debris Cleaning

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On solid floors, you can't get much better.

On wood floors, the S2121 Olympus was among the best vacuums we’ve tested. It repeatedly trapped more than 98 percent of the dirt we put down during testing. It also made short work of pet hair on all surfaces. Regardless of floor type, the Miele’s strong suction also got rid of all the debris we put down for testing. Heavy coins and tiny grains of rice were no match for the Olympus, which left a path of clean floor in its wake.

Just forget about using this Miele on high carpet, though. In our tests, it left behind 88 percent of the dirt we put down for testing. That’s dirt that will get ground into your carpet and accumulate, potentially aggravating allergies and causing odors, which is why you shouldn’t even consider this vacuum if you’ve got lots of carpet in your home. That said, the Olympus performs so well on other floor types that—if money is no object—it might be worth buying another upright vacuum to complement its bare floor cleaning power.

Despite its utter failure to get dirt out of long carpet, the S2121 Olympus had no problem picking up the dust we put down on short pile, leaving behind less than 15 percent in the carpet’s fibers. That’s better than many vacuums we’ve tested with motorized brushes, making for very impressive performance.

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Noise and Energy

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This is one quiet vacuum.

Most vacuums are loud and bombastic, like sports radio hosts bloviating about a blown call. The Miele, by comparison, is closer to the dulcet tones of NPR. We measured its overall noise output at around 68 decibels, which is pretty impressive when compared to most vacuums that snarl and whine at over 74 decibels. This Olympus won’t wake sleeping babies or terrify dogs, and the noise it does make is limited to a soft, high-pitched hum.

Interestingly, pressing the Miele’s power button doesn’t immediately unleash the wrath of an electric motor. Instead, the sound ramps up softly as the motor gently increases to full power. Should you be tasked with late night vacuuming near a newborn’s crib—hey, we're not judging—it’s also possible to leave the vacuum running at a lower power to create less of a racket.

The Miele S2121 Olympus draws about 1150 watts of electricity, about average for a vacuum without a motorized brushroll.

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