I don't normally use an upright vacuum cleaner, although I did evaluate one a few months ago. That one did have some pros, but also had some cons, so wasn't for me. I thought I'd try this Electrolux ZAS1000A Airspeed Pet Bagless Upright Vacuum Cleaner instead, to see if it would be right for me (and ideally for my better half, so that I might do slightly less vacuuming!).
When the Electrolux arrives, it needs to be assembled by the recipient. The instructions are adequate. For a while, I thought there was a piece missing, only to find that two of the tubes/pipes were delivered one inside the other. Once I had realised that (it wasn't obvious), assembly was simple enough.
In use, this Electrolux is a bit cumbersome and difficult to manoeuvre. However, it makes up for that by doing a very good job on carpets. Just make sure you specify the right pile depth, otherwise you'll find half of your carpet inside the vacuum cleaner. I like bagless vacuum cleaners, but if you do too much vacuuming without emptying this one, you may find it difficult to empty because of the design.
Where this cleaner (as delivered) isn't so good is when you move away from carpets and onto vinyl, or when you use the tools to vacuum surfaces, nooks and crannies etc. Our utility room gets treated as a boot room, with quite a lot of mud walked in, getting dropped onto the vinyl. With this vacuum cleaner, a lot of the mud just gets flicked backwards from underneath the cleaner to where you are likely to be standing. I tried various options, but in the end reverted to a long-handled brush and/or my old Miele vacuum cleaner to clean it up - the Electrolux as delivered couldn't cope (I believe you can purchase another head separately that will presumably resolve this , but IMHO this really should be included).
Other than that, the loop handle is fairly comfortable, the power cord a metre or two shorter than I would have liked (but that's fairly typical), the pedals for locking the tilt and for turning power on and off are both really well implemented, the tube length is a bit short. The plastic feels a bit cheap, but I'm sure it's designed to last a reasonable period if looked after.
So, to summarise - this Electrolux is very good on carpet, if a bit cumbersome. However, on vinyl and for other cleaning, it is not so good (although the vinyl issue may be solved by purchasing another component). I'll be keeping it and using it for the carpets, but I'll also keep hold of my old Miele for vinyl and surfaces.