Shark Navigator Lift-Away Upright Vacuum, HEPA, Pet Hair, Lavender, NV352

Why it's worth it

The Navigator Lift-Away has been a bestseller for over a decade for a simple reason: it cleans well, the canister detaches for stairs, and it costs a fraction of what the cordless models do. You give up cordless freedom and get unlimited runtime.

Plug it in and it runs forever. That sounds obvious, but it's the whole argument for a corded upright — no runtime math, no boost-mode anxiety, no dead battery three rooms from done. If you have a large house with a lot of carpet, this is genuinely more practical than any cordless stick here.

The lift-away canister is the feature that keeps this model selling. Press one button and the motor and dust cup detach into a portable unit you carry by a handle. Stairs stop being a chore. So do sofa cushions, car interiors, and the tops of door frames. Consumer Reports has pointed to exactly this detachable design as the reason the Navigator has stayed a top budget upright for so long.

From our review of 8 shark vacuums

What we like

• +Plug it in and it runs forever
• +The lift-away canister is the feature that keeps this model selling
• +You also get sealed HEPA filtration on a machine that sits at the bottom of this lineup, which is unusual
• +Owners with multiple pets consistently describe the same first impression: it pulls up an alarming amount from carpet they…

What to know

• –At 12.5 pounds it's the heaviest thing here that you push around, and several owners say it's hard to shove across thick, plush…
• –It's loud. The brushroll setting in particular draws complaints, and there's no quiet mode to fall back on
• –Hard floors are its weakest surface