The Riccar Radiance is an upright vacuum built to last. It foregoes the plastic found on most models, opting instead to use stainless steel for the vacuum's high-wear areas. We were pleased to discover this use of metal extended to the vacuum's bottom plate and foot pedal. In addition, many of the vacuum's interior moving parts used reinforced metal for durability. The Radiance has an impressive 6-year warranty.

The Radiance uses dual motors to clean; it's a process the company calls the Tandem Air System. Air is pulled into the vacuum by one motor and then forced through a sealed pathway before it is expelled by another motor. The air is filtered seven times as it passes through the vacuum. The filters include a charcoal filter to remove odors and an S-Class HEPA filter to remove pollen, pet dander and other particles.

The Riccar Radiance is pleasantly simple to use. Although not self-propelled, it is easy to push. It has several convenience features we like, such as LED headlights. By using LED headlights, the Riccar easily illuminates its cleaning path while still remaining energy efficient. It also has indicator lights so one can know, at a glance, if the filter or bag need changed or if the vacuum's rotating brush heads are jammed.

The Riccar Radiance is built to clean bare floors and carpets. It did a nice job cleaning carpets and has five manual carpet-height adjustments. However, we noticed other models in the Riccar lineup actually powered through carpets better. Still, the Radiance outperforms many of its competitors that are made by other manufacturers, so this is a relatively minor complaint. When it comes to bare floors, the Radiance is unbeatable. It cleans bare floors with such aplomb we're tempted to throw away our broom for good. The one thing we'd change is that we need to manually adjust the vacuum to move from carpets to bare floors. The carpet/bare floor switch is conveniently placed on the vacuum's handle, but we've tested other models that make the change automatically so we know it can be done.

The Riccar Radiance is heavier than some of its competitors, so this may be a consideration if you'll need to move the vacuum from one floor of your home to another. We like the Radiance's telescopic wand built into attachment hose, and it comes with 3-in-1 tool that converts from a dusting brush to an upholstery tool to a crevice tool. We especially like the ability to adjust suction power when using the attachments. Overall, we were very pleased with the Riccar Radiance. It is a powerful, efficient vacuum that has an impressive filtering system. If you're a pet owner, allergy sufferer or just want very clean carpets and floors, the Riccar Radiance is a solid choice.


Pros: S-Class HEPA filtration system, use on carpets and bare floors
Cons: Heavy

Warranty
6 years