Taking a look at Neato's wallet friendly robot vacuum

Hi. I'm Megan Wollerton for CNET Appliances here with the review of the Neato XV Essential Robot Vacuum. This $379 vacuum may look very similar to a Neato that we reviewed last year, the Neato Signature Pro, and it is. But this one is actually $70 cheaper. So, it's basically the same machine, but the accessories are different. So, you have a different filter and a different brush. This one is good overall, but the other one that's actually better at tackling pet hair. So, if you have a pet, it's really the best option. This is a great machine. It did perform very well, but for $20 more you can an even better machine with much better accessories. The basic filter offered on this one is kind of a usability nightmare. It's hard to take off and it spills stuff everywhere. So, Neato's lineup of products is a little bit confusing. A lot of their robots have the same brains and guts, but different accessories that come with it. And that will really inform which one you buy. This one is one of the most basic models available. It's $379 and has a basic filter and a basic brush. It did perform really well, but the basic components make it a lot harder to use. It's harder to take the filter out 'cause it's flimsy and it's cheaper. I hate to say it because this model did perform well, but I can't recommend it over the Signature for $399 or the Signature Pro for $449. The Signature comes with the pet and allergy filter, a lot easier to use and the Signature Pro comes with 2 pet and allergy filters and 2 brushes. But on the whole Neato versus Roomba debate, I actually really like both. The Neato's are kind of more of a budget option and the Roomba's are a bit pricier, the 880 I recently reviewed was $699. But it did offer top performance, great usability, great features, but I would still recommend the Signature or the Signature Pro Neato's for their price. Thanks for watching. This has been a review of the Neato XV Essential. I'm Megan Wollerton for CNET Appliances.