The Shark Navigator Lift-Away NV352 is a vacuum that in many ways has changed the vacuum world and is still one of the best sellers 10 years later. It is one of a few cleaners on the market that has a sealed filtration system which is rare at this price segment.
Video made by Vacuum Wars
Nevertheless, the Shark Navigator Lift-Away NV352 is affordable, it is also one of the best cleaners for carpets that does not weigh a lot, if you compare it with other carpet cleaners, but does the job just fine and which is more important, is under $200.
Other models that are still in a budget category, the Shark NV360 Deluxe, and NV356e, are similar in terms of specs and performance. Choosing one might be a bit confusing, so let's compare the three and see which one is best.
| Specs/Models |  NV352 |
 NV360 Deluxe |
 NV356e |
|---|---|---|---|
Cord length, ft |
25 | 25 | 30 |
| Bin size, ml | 1,320 | 1,320 | 2,420 |
| Airflow, CFM | 61 | 58 | 56 |
| Wattage, W | 1,200 | 1,200 | 1,200 |
| Noise, dB | 80.4 | 77.3 | 77.1 |
| Sealed filtration system | yes | yes | yes |
| Lift-Away | yes | yes | yes |
| Weight, lbs | 14 | 13 | 13.7 |
| Accessories included |
|
|
|
| Carpet deep clean test score | 100% | 98% | 94% |
| Price | $179.99 | $159.99 | $159.99 |
The Shark NV356E compared to the other two has the biggest dustbin. The classic NV352 includes three extra tools instead of the two the others have.
What is similar
- Basic construction
- Lift-away feature
- Same 1200 W motor
- Same floorhead design with the same style brushroll and same size front gates
- Brushroll on-off switch
- 5-year warranty
- A sealed system with a HEPA filter
In many ways, these are kind of like the same vacuum. They all have the same basic construction. They all lift away meaning that you can push a button on the side to detach the motor and the canister from the floor head. With that feature, you can do all the above-the-floor cleaning with ease and not tiring your arm. The Shak Lift-Aways are still the most convenient to use in terms of releasing the hose.
They also all have a brushroll on-off switch where you can turn the brush off for hard floors to prevent scattering and then turn it on again on carpets for better agitation.
One of the most important things though is that they all have a sealed system with a HEPA filter which Shark calls the complete seal anti-allergen system. Basically, it means that they don't let dirty air out into your house.
The Shark Lift-Aways have a sealed filtration system which is rare for such price
This feature is a must-have regardless of if you have allergies or not.
The differences
- Price
- Bin size with the NV356e having the biggest
- Cord length. The NV356 has the longest 30-feet cord
- Weight. The difference is not significant
- Attachment set
The NV360 and the NV352 have the same 1.32-liter bin while the Professional has a bigger 2.42-liter bin making it suitable for bigger homes or those who have to deal with lots of pet hair. It should be noted that all three of these are extremely lightweight when compared to most vacuums in this price range which is another reason why people like these Shark Navigator Lift-Away so much.
The most noticeable difference is probably the attachment set
It's no surprise that the cheapest one the Deluxe has the fewest attachments just a crevice tool and an upholstery tool.
Shark Navigator Lift-Away Deluxe NV360
There are brushroll ON/OFF controls
The vacuum has a suction release slider.
$159.99 on AmazonThe NV352 has a crevice tool, a wider upholstery tool, a dusting brush, and a long 24-inch crevice tool.
Shark Navigator Lift-Away NV352
It isn't as noisy as other upright vacuums
Lift-away functionality adds more versatility to it and allows it to clean above-the-floor areas.
$179.99 on AmazonThe Lift-Away NV356e has a crevice tool and a suction-powered pet power brush.
Shark Navigator Lift-Away Professional NV356E
The vacuum itself is easy to clean as well
The upright is especially adept at removing dust, dirt, and hair from carpet and rugs.
$159.99 on AmazonWhich one performs the best?
In terms of picking debris up off the top of hard floors and carpet, there was virtually no difference with all 3 of these. And that's because they all have the same basic nozzle design with the same-sized gates. They all did better than average with everything from fine to large debris on both hard floor and carpet.
All of them perform equally good at picking up debris either on solid floors or carpet
But one of these consistently did better than the others.
The purple one the NV352 consistently scored higher than the other two with both suction and airflow & the NV365e consistently getting the lowest numbers
This seemed to be confirmed with the other power-related tests like the carpet deep clean test. And again the NV352 did marginally better than the other two the same was true with the crevice pickup test where the NV352 did the best.
The NV352 performs the best at deep carpet clean and crevice pickup test
The final confirmation though was with the noise test where the NV352 had been showing the most power. Also showed itself to be the loudest.
Conclusion
The Shark Navigator Lift-Away NV352 is designed to use a little bit more of that 1,200 W motor than the other two.
The Navigator Lift-Away series is the best all-around vacuum series in the budget category. It seems to have slightly more power than the other two and thus better overall performance. It also has a really good set of attachments.
If you need more power to clean carpets, go with the Shark Navigator Lift-Away NV352.
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