My husband got this for me as a gift for my birthday. I had to leave my professional series vita mix in Canada when I moved over to join my husband and had been missing it dearly. This is the perfect size for our small kitchen and it blends just like the pro series! I love that I can also blend right into my smoothie cups and the containers are also perfect size for our family of 3. Can’t wait to keep creating!

I already own the larger regular size Vitamix which I use when I cook. My husband has a Nutribullet for daily use to make smoothies. He is on his third Nutribullet in three years. The machines keep breaking just out of warranty. I convinced him to not buy another one but get this smaller Vitamix instead. The refurbished price tag made buying it an easier decision. So far it's been great. I'm taking smoothies to work in the to go container as well. The 20 oz. to go container is slightly problematic. The lid is bulky and the latch is pretty tight and hard to open. The 20 oz. to go container doesn't hold as much as the Nutribullet container so it has been an adjustment. Once I learned to put in the right mix of leafy greans, fruits, ice and water - it's been a dream. Make sure you add enough liquid.

Sorry, I can't do a review of this particular machine because it's a Christmas gift to our Grandson and family. But I can review my own purchase of an identical machine a couple of years ago! It has been one of the best blenders I've ever owned. It puts the ninja blender to shame. The build quality is far superior and the blending job is much smoother than other blenders like Oster, Kitchenaid, and the ninja types.