For cleaning out dust and dirt fillings, the Shark Stratos cordless vacuum cleaner (IZ400UK) is flexible in design and capability and makes vacuuming carpets and boot linings a brief job. In fact, even though it’s primarily designed for housework, we’d like to add it to our top list of recommended car vacuum cleaners.
It’s a cordless vacuum cleaner that can more-or-less transform in size, depending on your requirements, and runs off a 25.2V lithium ion battery and has a run time of up to 60-minutes. That’s mightily impressive from a cordless unit, and one that will last more than long enough to clean out an entire car cabin.
It feels like a quality product. The materials feel thick, and the controls feel substantial. The flex tube feels like it can last a long time as well. To compliment its premium feel, the Shark Stratos cordless vacuum also feels smooth and well-engineered under operation. You even get a five-year warranty along with 700ml of dust capacity, which brings the Shark right up to the top of the cordless vacuum cleaner segment. But can it out-do its competitors?
The rivals for the Shark Stratos vacuum cleaner consist of firm competition from the products of Dyson and their illustrious V8, V10, or V12 range, or the equally impressive Henry Quick and the subsequent pet variant. It sits below Shark’s own Stratos IZ420UKT cordless vacuum, yet is still quite firmly priced along with the best from other manufacturers. Needless to say, it’s a far cry from a basic wet and dry vacuum cleaner.
The Shark Stratos vacuum cleaner was tested by Aaron Hussain. As an commercial content writer and avid tester of products from glass cleaners to pressure washers, he has a keen eye on whether a product is worth your cash and whether it could enhance your car cleaning life.
Verdict: a great quality, well-engineered cordless vacuum cleaner that’s powerful enough to lift up strong dirt. We just wish it was a bit lighter and friendlier to use in the tight spots.
Verdict score: 4/5
Pros
- Immensely smooth operation and well-engineered motor
- Surprisingly quiet and isn't intrusive to your senses
- Powerful for cleaning all manner of filth on your vehicle's carpets and interior
Cons
- Not as handy as rivals in tight spaces, such as door pockets and crevices
- Feels slightly bulkier than the Henry Quick when hand-holding it
| Dimensions | 27cm x 17cm x 114cm |
| Weight | 5.1kg |
| Power (Watts) | 309W |
| Capacity | 700ml |
| Run time | 60 minutes |
Shark Stratos Cordless Vacuum: The Good
Immediately upon operation, I couldn’t help but feel impressed at how smooth the Shark Stratos cordless vacuum was at cleaning the interior of the test subject vehicle. A lot of vacuum cleaners tend to be fairly intrusive to your ears and senses, but the Shark Stratos isn’t one of them. It’s quiet, it never vibrates, and feels well-engineered enough to balance a coin without it falling over.
But while the smoothness can lead you into thinking it’s not sucking very much, don’t let it fool you. Because its suction power is equally impressive, bits of loose filth and embedded dirt in the carpets of my Mercedes were effortlessly dealt with, thanks to the anti-hair-wrap head design. At 25.2V from its lithium-ion battery, it was powerful enough to do the tasks I set it and some. And because it’s designed to tackle a house as well, its 700ml dust capacity helps neatly as well. You’re left with plenty of space left after doing a bit of heavy vacuuming throughout a car.
It’s ideal position is standing upright, so if you have carpets which are removable from your vehicle, along with the boot lining, the Shark Stratos is a perfect tool for clearing away the very filthy debris. What’s more, it has a runtime of up to 60-minutes, so no matter how large your vehicle is, it’s pretty much guaranteed to last on the same charge of battery. I cleaned my car’s cabin for about 15 minutes (including stops) and had only used just over 10% worth of battery.
Shark Stratos Cordless Vacuum: The Okay
To handle, the Shark Stratos cordless vacuum was manageable enough. It isn’t too heavy, nor bulky in most situations. At 5.1kg, it’s about five times as heavy as some handheld vacuum cleaners. However, the difference in performance is profound, and you feel the engineering difference as you go around all the major areas.
It’s also that easy to pack away. All you have to do is fold it up via the flex tube, and you have a compact unit which can be efficiently stored away in a cupboard or by the side of the hallway. It took a few goes to get used to the folding mechanism, but I eventually appreciated it to be a clever bit of ingenuity.
For car vacuuming, the Shark is a great option and one of the most capable machines I’ve tested. The main anti-hair wrap head fitted snugly into my car’s carpeted areas, albeit it was a bit of a squeeze, thanks to the size of it. The other attachment for smaller areas wasn’t bad either, but a slight lack of suction performance was felt when I removed the main head. But overall, I found it to be a fine cleaning companion, despite the slight weaknesses I encountered.
Shark Stratos Cordless Vacuum: The Bad
With that said however, some of the competition does make things easier for when you have to hold the entire machine. My immediate thought goes to the Henry Quick Hen.100 cordless vacuum – which represents slightly better value for money and is easier to hold in one hand as you move it around on the footwells and boot carpets. The Henry even weights a couple of kilos less, so the advantage is supported there, too.
The amount of included attachments isn’t quite as substantial as I would’ve liked, either. You get two heads along with a plug to charge up the battery. There’s no wall mount like other Shark vacuums, and in your basic purchase, the pet tool and Shark’s car detail kit aren’t included.
To really get an eye ahead of the competition, it would’ve been nice to have all the relevant attachments included in one purchase – especially as cordless vacuums are frequently used between car and household tasks.
Second opinion: Luke Wilkinson, Deputy Editor of Parkers
“The Shark Stratos packs a surprising amount of punch for a handheld vacuum. Out of the box, it feels every bit as powerful as the Dyson V12, although I’d be curious to see whether that suction can last long-term. In any case, it made short work of sucking up the pebbles, leaves, and ground-in dirt our Editor, Keith, had deposited in the footwell of my long-term MINI Cooper. It also managed to leave some very fashionable lawn stripes in my carpets during the process, which is a bonus.
My only criticism is that it’s a little nose-heavy and, therefore, quite difficult to wield one-handed. You need to rest the bin on your off hand, or else you’ll never be able to aim at what you want to clean. The fact you’re using the bin as a grip feels odd, too. I’d have preferred some sort of handle. This isn’t a problem you get with the Dyson. That’s much more of a point-and-suck tool.”
Other items to consider
The smoothest running cordless vacuum cleaner
At a mere 2.2kg, it's the lightest of the lot and this made it easier than the Shark to move around different areas of the test vehicles. We felt it was worth stretching your budget to the premium price point simply because of how clever, versatile, and refined it is at whatever task you throw at it. In terms of running smoothness, I'd say it just about matches that of the Shark, but this edges ahead slightly due to it weighing over half as much.
Pros
- Incredibly refined and smooth in its running operation
- Clever, versatile, and able to lift up heavy amounts of dirt from your car's interior
- Great build quality and materials throughout
Cons
- It doesn't represent as great value for money as the Henry or indeed the Shark cordless vacuums
| Dimensions | 126cm x 25cm x 25cm |
| Weight | 2.2kg |
| Power (Watts) | 548W |
| Capacity | 350ml |
| Run time | 60 minutes |
The best value cordless vacuum cleaner
It also boasts very impressive suction power. A few runs across the boot carpet full of holiday-caused muck, and it was looking immaculate afterwards. It also felt thick in its build quality, which is reassuring when you're looking for a product that's going to last.
Read our full review of the Henry Quick here.
Pros
- Easier than others to move around, thanks to relative lightness and comfortable handles
- Impressive suction power that clears very filthy car interiors
- Represents slightly better value for money than the Shark Stratos
Cons
- Struggled in the really tight compartments, such as cupholders and door bins
| Dimensions | 27cm x 24cm x 122cm |
| Weight | 3.2kg |
| Power (Watts) | 300W |
| Capacity | One litre |
| Run time | 70 minutes |
The best cordless vacuum cleaner for attachments
We also like the selection of mini-powered brush heads and floor attachments, although some weren't quite up to what we expected, which is a slight shame.
It also has 45-minutes worth of runtime, which while it isn't as much as the Shark, is still a substantial amount of life to thoroughly clean out the interior of a vehicle. Overall, we rate the Blade 4 as it can tackle a versatile amount of tasks using the same machine - which, in some ways, is more efficient than having to use two machines to clean one vehicle.
Pros
- Comes with a great selection of useful attachments, unlike the others
- Mini motorised brush head is a very useful bit of kit, especially
- Easier than the Shark to manoeuvre about, thanks to its 3.1kg basic weight
Cons
- Some of the attachments need improvement for the vacuum to be fully ideal
| Dimensions | 24cm x 18.5cm x 114cm |
| Weight | 3.1kg |
| Power (Watts) | 120W |
| Capacity | 600ml |
| Run time | 45 minutes |
How the Shark Stratos Cordless Vacuum was tested
The Stratos was tested by cleaning out the slightly dusty cabin of my Mercedes 230E. With over 140,000 miles and still in regular use, the cabin naturally builds up a bit of filth over time, which provided an ideal test bed for the Shark to stretch its muscles. We’ve tested corded car vacuums in it before, so the Shark had a benchmark to meet.
The cordless vacuum was used to clean the rear seat carpets, front footwells, and the crevices between the seats themselves. I spent approximately 15 minutes on the task itself and wrote down frequent notes about its performance and cleaning capabilities along the way. My main benchmarks were the Dyson V12 and Henry Quick Hen.100, which we’ve tested before on Parkers.
Who tested the Shark Stratos Cordless Vacuum?
The vacuum cleaner was tested by Aaron Hussain. As one of the avid and experienced product testers on Parkers, he was the ideal candidate to put the Stratos to its limits to find out what it could and couldn’t achieve in a realistic car vacuuming scenario.
Aaron Hussain is a commercial content writer at Bauer Media writing for Parkers and CAR. He is obsessed with classic cars and anything with a fascinating story to tell.
Luke Wilkinson is Deputy Editor of Parkers. He has five years of experience in car journalism and spends his time writing news, reviews, features and advice pieces for both Parkers and its sister site CAR magazine.
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