The Hoover HFX is the best vacuum for cleaning around clutter

Hoover’s HFX can reach places other vacuums can’t. With its Corner Genie mode that’s designed to get into awkward spots, the HFX is the best vacuum we’ve tested for cleaning cluttered areas.

Design & Build

• Three cleaning modes
• Compact storage mode
• Large dustbin

Buy the HFX and you’ll get a lot of stuff. So much stuff, in fact, that it’s initially difficult to figure out how everything fits together.

That’s because the HFX is a modular vacuum that you can use in one of three formations: as a regular carpet or hard flooring cleaner, with an anti-tangle brush bar and LED headlights; as a handheld, with either a combi brush or crevice tool; and as a full-size vacuum optimised for corners, edges and difficult bits.

The instruction booklet that comes with it is similarly complicated. While it’s amply illustrated with the type of blandly reassuring pictures you see on airplane safety cards designed to alleviate your fear of death by fireball, there are just so many illustrations that it’s not particularly helpful until you decipher what’s going on.

Once you do, the HFX is easy to put together and use – but bear in mind that there are a lot of parts to store. Still, it comes with a stand you can wall mount and a drawstring bag for accessories. And the vacuum itself can fold in half for more compact storage. Break it down and a carry handle appears for easy portability.

Still, it’s far from the lightest vacuum we’ve used. With the main cleaning head on, its weight is a hefty 3.65kg/8lbs. This makes it heavier than Dyson’s flagship Gen5detect – although the vacuum head does help to support its weight in use. But we wouldn’t recommend it for elderly or frail users. Still, if you’re using it in corner cleaning mode, it weighs only 2.4kg/5.3lbs, which is really very light.

It also has a capacious, 1.2-litre dustbin that pushes out dust as you open it. The best bit about this is that it opens like a pump action shotgun – something that I am luckily not too mature to enjoy. Still, it is a very long bin and if you’re vacuuming up a lot of pet fur, it will likely get trapped and you’ll have to dig it out with a chopstick.

Will the HFX last? The vacuum is fairly robustly made but I did have issues with the dustbin jamming a couple of times and I didn’t always find it easy to click the parts into place.

Performance & Features

• Cleaning timer display
• 30 minutes maximum runtime
• 3.5 hour charging time

The HFX is comfortable to hold, with a moulded grip. It’s simple to use as well. Just above the grip are three buttons you can easily reach with your thumb: power, turbo and mode.

Turn the vacuum on and you’ll immediately see the number of minutes of vacuuming time you have left, shown on a clear digital display.

If you have the main cleaning head attached, press the mode button and you can switch between hard flooring and carpet cleaning. You’ll notice that the hard flooring mode, being less power intensive, will allow you a couple of extra minutes of cleaning time. If you don’t have the main cleaning head attached, this button won’t do anything.

The Corner Genie mode is the best reason to buy the HFX. You can vacuum down the side of the fridge, and behind the sofa without dragging furniture around – all without having to stoop

The turbo button switches between the normal and boosted power. Use the regular setting and you’ll get around 30 minutes of cleaning time. This doesn’t compare well to top-of-the-line vacuums, which will give you an hour of cleaning time. However, in turbo mode, you’ll get 14 minutes, which is in line with – or better than – high-spec models.

In standard vacuuming mode, it’s a fairly solid vacuum cleaner – although solid really is the word. It’s heavy in use and after a while, you can feel the drag on your wrist and hand, in spite of the comfortable grip. It’s also not brilliant at cleaning right up to edges – but this, of course, is where the Corner Genie mode comes in.

The headlights are good quality, however. They really illuminate pet fur, so much so that it’s more efficient to vacuum in the dark to get a good clean. The anti-twist hair wrap fins on the roller are good as well, although it’s not a flawless system.

Take off the main cleaning head, though, and it’s a completely different prospect. You don’t need to attach the Corner Genie – it’s already in place. At the end of the cleaning nozzle are two tiny wheels, which make it very easy to manoeuvre. (Still, they can jam up with pet fur, which means you’ll need to get in there with some nail scissors periodically.)

The Corner Genie mode is the best reason to buy the HFX. You can vacuum down the side of the fridge, behind the sofa without dragging furniture around, along skirting boards, and under chairs – all without having to stoop. The suction isexcellent as well. I found that I preferred to keep it in this mode for quick clean-ups.

Still, the end of the Corner Genie will make contact with your floor. It features a velvet strip but there are two hard plastic protrusions as well, and if these get scratched or damaged, so will your flooring.

Hoover doesn’t provide information on suction power but the HFX does feel effective – especially in Corner Genie mode.

Price & Availability

At the time of writing, the Hoover HFX is a fairly pricey buy. It doesn’t approach the likes of newer Dyson models but it is firmly outside of the budget category, with an RRP of £449. You can buy it at this price from John Lewis, Amazon and Hoover.

We’d expect it come down in price to £349 sooner or later, in which case it’s a good buy. At the time of writing, though, the way to save is to opt for the Pets Edition, which comes with an extra mini motorised cleaning head. It’s usually priced at £469, but it’s currently on offer from John Lewis, Amazon or direct from Hoover for £369.

The Hoover HFX is not yet available in the US. For a more affordable small cordless that you can buy in both the UK and the US, check out our review of the Shark Detect Pro.

If this isn’t the vacuum cleaner for you, have a look at all of our top recommendations in our round-up of the best vacuum cleaners we’ve tested.

Should you buy the Hoover HFX?

At its full price, we think the Hoover HXF is a bit too expensive for what it offers – specifically, we don’t think it’ll last as long as models such as the Halo Capsule X, which has a similar price point. But if you can buy it for less and you have a cluttered home, or lots of nooks and awkward spots that need cleaning, its usefulness could outweigh other concerns and it could well be the perfect vacuum cleaner for you.

Specs

• Weight: 3.65kg
• Dimensions: (H)112 x (W)20 x (D)25m
• Dustbin capacity: 1.19 L
• Running time: 30 mins
• Charging time: 3.5 hours