I tested Dyson’s most expensive vacuums side-by-side and there was a clear winner – and it wasn’t the one I expected

Are you trying to make a decision about whether to splash your cash on the Dyson^[1] V16 Piston Animal or the Dyson Gen5detect? I’m here to help. I tested both side by side, to determine which vacuum is the easiest to use, which offers the longest battery life –and, ultimately, which offers the best cleaning performance.

The Gen5detect is the older of the two models; it launched in Australia in 2022, and hit the US and UK markets the year after. It can sense the number and size of particles being sucked up, and display that information on screen as you clean. Head to our Dyson Gen5detect review^[2] for the full low-down.

Based on specs, the V16 Piston Animal is the best Dyson vacuum^[3] you can buy. At the time of writing, it’s Dyson’s newest model (launched in September 2025) and does most of the things the Gen5detect does, with added extras including onboard dust compression and an unusual new floorhead. Read more in my Dyson V16 Piston Animal review^[4].

Overall, I think the Gen5detect is the better choice, but that’s almost entirely because I didn’t get on well with the V16’s new floorhead. Despite being less powerful technically, the older vacuum performed better in my suction tests, tackling both fine and large particles more effectively than the V16.

The V16’s All Floors Cones Sense floorhead comes to a slight point at the front, which is frustrating for cleaning the edges of rooms – and especially when you can’t approach from the side. It’s worth noting that this design is meant to be better for clearing very long hair – I found both the V16 and Gen5detect’s floorheads worked perfectly fine with my armpit-length hair. However, if you have very long locks then perhaps the V16 will be more worthy of your attention.

The V16’s floorhead is a deal-breaker for me, which is a shame – because otherwise, it’s probably the superior choice. The dust compression is genuinely useful, the vacuum is easier to empty than the Gen5detect, and it offers longer runtimes in Boost mode.

That’s the short version. Read on for an in-depth look at how the Dyson Gen5detect and V16 Piston Animal compare, so you can figure out which is the best cordless vacuum^[5] for your needs.

Dyson V16 Piston Animal vs Gen5detect specs

Dyson V16 vs Gen5detect: price & value for money

• At list price, V16 costs from: US TBC / £749.99 / AU$1,349
• At list price, Gen5detect costs from: $1,049.99 / £769.99 / AU$1,549
• V16 cheaper at list price, but Gen5detect more likely to attract discounts

If buying direct from Dyson, the V16 Piston Animal is available at a list price of £749.99^[6] / AU$1,349^[7]. Currently, it isn’t available in the US – it’s due to go on sale some time in 2026, at which point the list price will be released. The Gen5detect costs from $1,049.99^[8] / £769.99^[9] / AU$1,549^[10].

The fact that Dyson’s newest release costs less than its predecessor is unusual – with the caveat that US pricing is to be confirmed. The Gen5detect isn’t fresh out of the oven works in its favor, though, because it’s more likely to attract discounts. Dyson promo codes^[11] are rare, but Dyson deals^[12] crop up semi-regularly. For example, at the time of writing, the Gen5detect was available for £160 off in the UK and AU$454 off in Australia.

I won’t pretend that either is a bargain, but Dyson goes some way to justifying those sky-high prices. Both vacuums are extremely well built, and boast features you won’t find elsewhere. While the V16 perhaps looks and feels slightly more premium, based on cleaning performance, I’d splash my own cash on the Gen5detect.

Actually, if I’m being honest, I’d opt for the model that came before the Gen5detect – the Dyson V15 Detect^[13]. See exactly how that model compares in my Dyson V15 Detect vs Gen5detect article^[14].

Dyson Gen5detect vs V15: design

• Both are premium vacuums with dust sensors and a screen for info
• V16 has onboard dust compression and quick-release tools
• Gen5 has a general floorhead and a Fluffy floorhead; V16 has one new-look floorhead

The V16 Piston Animal and Gen5detect look pretty similar, but the newer model packs a number of nifty upgrades.

My favorite is the lever on the dust cup, which compresses all of the air out of the dirt in there to make room for more. Dyson says the dust cup has a capacity of 1.3L, but that’s definitely post-squish – because to look at it’s clearly smaller than the Gen5detect’s bin, which has a listed capacity of 0.77L.

You can also deploy the V16 lever to push all the dust out of the bin when emptying. This works a treat, and means minimal finger intervention is required. You might have spotted that the Gen5detect also has a lever, but don’t be fooled – this is a far inferior lever. It’s just part of the empty mechanism, and simply pushes the outer casing forwards to encourage the dirt out. It’s good, but it’s nowhere near as efficient as the V16 setup.

All of the insides have been rearranged on the newer model, to cram in more power: the V16 has 315AW compared to 280AW on the Gen5detect. (That doesn’t necessarily translate to better cleaning power, though; I’ll get into in a second.) In terms of weight, both models are similar: the body of the vacuum, with no wand or tool attached, weighs 4.93lbs / 2.24kg for the V16, and 4.75lbs / 2.16kg for the Gen5detect.

Moving on to the tool setup, and there are further differences. Dyson has added a red cuff onto the wand of the V16 Piston Animal, which you press down to release the tool at the end of the wand. The docking section of the main tools sits upright, so you can also click on a new one from a standing position. The joints all feel a little stiff, and the new setup does mean that the V16 isn’t compatible with older Dyson tools, but it may still be helpful for those who struggle with bending down.

If you opt for the Gen5detect, you’ll get two floorheads bundled in as standard: the Digital Motorbar head and the Digital Fluffy floorhead. The former is for any floor type, while the latter is designed specifically for hard floors and has a built-in laser to illuminate dirt that might otherwise be missed.

With the V16 you get just one floorhead – a new design that offers a combination of the two previous floorheads, while adding a few extra flourishes. It can be used on any floor type, and continues to include a laser – here it’s in the middle, rather than off to one side. It also has conical rollers rather than regular tube-shaped ones, apparently to avoid hair tangling.

There are plenty of similarities between the Gen5detect and V16 Piston Animal, too. Both have buttons to switch suction on and off, and enable you to toggle between modes (Eco, Auto and Boost). Both have a nifty screen to display information, including mundane stats such as how much battery power you have left, and more exciting figures such as the number of particles of each size the vacuum has sucked up. The V16’s screen is slightly more logically presented, with a traffic light system to indicate dirt levels.

Dyson Gen5detect vs V16 Piston Animal: performance

• V16 officially has more power, but Gen5detect performed better on test
• V16’s dust compaction very effective, but floorhead poorly designed
• Similar Eco mode runtimes, but V16 lasts much longer in Boost

Officially, the V16 Piston Animal is the more powerful of the two vacuums, but it was the Gen5detect that shone in my side-by-side cleaning tests. Below you can see how the two vacuums handled spillages of oats and tea in Auto mode.

(I’ve cropped to the section that shows the Gen5detect followed by the V16 Piston Animal. You can see the full video, including the results for the V15 Detect on the left, in this suction comparison^[15].)

The Gen5detect proved better at sucking up large particles without pushing or pinging them around, and it was better at clearing fine particles, too – I think because the V16’s floorhead has a section down the middle where nothing is sucked up.

It’s worth pointing out that in the wider market, both are excellent cleaners. The V16 has a more advanced Auto mode, where it will adjust not only suction power but also brushroll speed to suit the cleaning situation.

Overall, I far prefer the Gen5detect’s floorhead(s) to those of the V16. Not only is the Digital Motorbar floorhead a better cleaner (as evidenced above), it’s also far better for tackling the edges of rooms. The V16’s All Floors Cones Sense floorhead comes to a slight point on the front, which means you need to clean the edges of rooms from the side – and if you can’t get in from the side, you’re in for a world of pain.

The idea behind the conical rollers is that they’re better at handling long hair. I didn’t have any issues with my (armpit-length) hair tangling around the All Floors Cones Sense rollers, but neither did I have that issue with the Digital Motorbar floorhead. If you have extremely long hair and find most modern anti-tangle floorheads aren’t up to scratch, the V16 might be worth a punt.

There are other areas where the V16 wins out. The dust compressor / dirt ejector lever makes emptying the canister easier and requires you to do so less frequently than when using the Gen5detect. The quick-release cuff makes it easy to swap tools without bending down, and the real-time dirt reports are more logically designed, with their traffic light-inspired color coding.

In terms of battery life, both promise 70 minutes in Eco mode. However, the V16 lasts significantly longer in Boost mode; I managed just under 17 minutes, compared to just 8 minutes with the Gen5detect.

Should you buy the Dyson Gen5detect or V15?

Buy the Dyson V16 Piston Animal if…

Buy the Gen5detect if…