Consumer Reports rated an earlier version (4870) as a "best buy." By the time their articles went to print, two models 4870HG and 4870HZ, were released and neither has had a price increase. I bought the recent HZ from Amazon.com and it was delivered UPS in two days in a tall box which told me it was already assembled. Assembly for attachements and a reading the instructions was a 3 minute process. It is much quieter than my prior 1999 Hoover Bag Model and Bissell 2003 Bagless, both of which still ran but did not pick up much. It picks up so much and so fast, you won't have to waste $150 to have your carpets cleaned (assuming no embedded stains like grape juice). You will love it. There is not enough space on here to say all the great things about it. The price ended up including a second replacement bag and a replacement drive belt. Too many great features to mention here.