Canister vac fan here. Metal wands preferred over plastic.
Historically, always used Kenmore for better part of my 40 years. Spent $400 or $500 back in the 90's on a Progressive model (Panasonic, made, I think) with HEPA filter. Loved it. Wore down the bristles on two floor attachments and working on my third.
With age, the power hose didn't make a secure connection to the power wand, so it was arcing and overheating. Didn't realize this until it was too late (charred connectors and melted plastic). Hacked together a connector of my own to get it working again. New wand and hose was half the price of a new vac.
Acquired my mom's old Miele Pearl S444i. Love how quiet it is. Love that someone made a four CASTER canister (always hated Kenmore's three-wheel can't go siedways design). Not really impressed with this Miele beyond that.
I swear the old Kenmore has more sucking power.
The accessory attachments on the old Kenmore are superior. For example, the dust attachment had longer bristles. The bristles on the Miele attachment are so short the plastic underneath can scratch surfaces! Unless I tilt the hard floor brush up and down, it seems to push debris out of the way, clinging to the outside of the bristles.
The Kenmore has a powered upholstery attachment, too.
Her Miele came with a pretty lame power head, too. SEB 217, I think. Friction belt. Slipped like crazy, even after replacement. As picky as she is with her vacuums, I can't believe she never noticed the beater bar would stop spinning at times.
I dropped $200 or so on a SEB 236, I think. The belt is cogged so it doesn't slip.
I miss some things about the Kenmore. The control deck on the host is nice. I know newer Miele's have this. I recall you mentioned in a past post that you hacked your Miele and upgraded it to a control panel on the hose. Can you share the details?
I like other things on the Miele. The adjustable wands are nice. It's quiet, too. I'm amazed at how short the Miele's power cord is compared to the Kenmore, tho ...
I still haven't tossed the Kenmore.
My house is a mix of carpet and ceramic tile. I have cats. I wish it to be carpet free some day.
Your opinions? Stick with Miele or go back to Kenmore?