Electrolux is one of the real innovators in the manufacture of vacuum cleaners. The company pays attention to consumers needs and then makes the sort of appliances people actually want. One such item on peoples? wish list was a machine that combined the power of an upright with the compact storage of a canister. Electrolux responded with the release of the Intensity upright vacuum cleaner.

Upright vacuum cleaners are more powerful than canisters simply because there is less tubing from the brush to the dust bag. Electrolux has reduced the tubing in the Intensity even further; there is only a 3? air path in the Intensity. This, the company claims, increases the suction power by 50%. The Intensity has a 12 amp motor ? the same as the Electrolux Oxygen 3 vacuum cleaner.

Getting rid of a lot of the tubing and vents has also meant that the Intensity's casing could be made smaller. The small casing is then combined with a bi-fold handle that means that less storage is required when not in use. The ?wish-bone? design of the handle does make the look of the Intensity a little ?odd? if not rather ugly but performance and compact storage, not ?prettiness?, was the driving force behind the design of the Electrolux Intensity.

The Electrolux Intensity vacuum cleaner comes with a fully retractable power cord that is 21 feet long ? the length or which, matches most other uprights.

Other good points about it are that it has a HEPA filter and weighs in at only 16 lbs.

There are some drawbacks to the Electrolux Intensity vacuum. Because the handle folds there is a carry handle on top of the motor which makes for good portability, but this does somewhat restrict cleaning under low furniture. Also, there are no cleaning attachments. People like the suction power but complain about the lack of a hose for those small or hard to get at places ? it is strictly a floor cleaner.

The biggest complaint is the size of the dust bag; it has a capacity of only 1 quart compared to 2 quarts of the Electrolux Oxygen 3 vacuum cleaner. This does mean that bag changing is frequent and that the cost of buying new bags is something to be considered. However, the use of a small dust bag in the Electrolux Intensity is understandable; it was always going to be tough to get a powerful motor, on board tools and a large dust bag into a small, foldable and lightweight vacuum cleaner.

The Electrolux Intensity is a good vacuum cleaner. It's not an all rounder; it's for those who want an upright that can be folded down and stored in a small place and who only want a machine for floor cleaning. You get the performance and storage but not the versatility. But if those are your requirements then the Intensity could be the one for you.