David - interesting to hear the Dyson's do contrarotate for a long period... for some reason I was under the assumption that they only contrarotated for a few minutes.
I agree with you that the Dyson still truly holds more laundry than one of the newer Bosch or Electrolux 8 kilo washers, unfortunately Mrs Joe Housewife wouldn't really know the difference when it comes to that as, as you probably know, manufacturers like to exaggerate rated load capacities nowadays and when Mrs X is buying a new 8kg washer she takes that as gospel. Saying that, I'm able to wash all the duvets in our house in mum's 6 kilo Miele (I think the drum is 54 litres), especially with the Pillows cycle which uses a higher water level and a specially adapted wash rhythm as well as a pre-spin, and the only duvet I can't fit in is the one that won't fit in a washer smaller than the 35lb Ipsos at the local launderette

. Unfortunately due to the way I sort laundry I struggle to build up 6 kilo loads in a fortnight (only weekly loads that are done are jeans, which I change once or twice a day, ending up in a load of 8 or 9 pairs of jeans every week) I doubt I'd ever be able to fill a Dyson, or one of those new 8 kilo machines.
I agree with you entirely about the rinsing on newer machines. Worst offender we had was the Bosch - even 4 rinses would leave clothes smelling of detergent and left clothes strewn with lint, yet even the 2 standard rinses in our current Miele rinses perfectly, even more so if you select water plus and extra rinse - no Allergy approval but the fact that I can use Ariel or Persil biological on the laundry now without skin complaints from people in the family speaks for itself. Also manages to wet the load down thoroughly within the first minute or two of the cycle... I'm sure the Dyson is similar with the amount of water it uses. the amount of water your Dyson uses isn't really that inefficient anyway, bearing in mind 10 years ago machines would easily use 70-90 litres of water to wash only 5 kilos of laundry.
I still have to say though that I've always had great wash results on a short cycle on a standard washer, except one we used to have but that's a different story. I think our Miele averages 1.05-1.38 on cottons, depending on the rinsing needed based on the absorbency of the load, and about 1 hour for minimum, but then I have always used a good washing powder - that and clothes in this house are rarely more than normally soiled.
As I've learnt more about these Dyson washers (and had a good experience from the Dyson company itself in the form of the DC14), it saddens me that this great washer design was discontinued and I really wish I wasn't so stubborn in my own ways back then and bought one while I could!
Would love to see some pictures of your Dyson when you have the chance!
Take care,
Jon