I love this razor but, just as with a half dozen others I've tried, it does not shave as close as my Sensor blades with my "old fashioned" razor. However, this one doesn't leave stray, flattened hairs untouched as with my most recent Remington Platinum. The cleaner is a bit bulky but if you pop the razor foil (but still attached) and run it for 5 seconds most shavings fall out, it cleans on "economy" status which is shorter. It is left perfectly sanitized. It has two settings for a fixed shaving position or the free floating movement. I have no idea why it is called "360" since it only pivots in a back and forth manner and it's less than 45 degrees! The fixed position is better for hard to shave areas which negates the 360 feature. For me, a less expensive model with the same shaving head and cleaning system might be just as good.

I rather resent the expense of the cleaning cartridges given the considerable cost of the razor and the need to replace the head after 18 months (or when the machine tells you to.) I bought some denatured alcohol and fill the cleaning cartridge when it is half empty. This doubles the use of each cartridge. I also found a plastic container that fits snugly over the unit and prevents much of the evaporation of the alcohol. Buy cartridges through Amazon as they are cheaper that way. The listed ingredients simply indicates denatured alcohol and says nothing about lubricants as some reviewers indicated.

The cleaning unit senses when it needs to be charged so you don't need to give that a thought. It runs a long time between chargings.

One other very nice feature is that this razor captures all of the shavings unlike others I've had, so you can wander around using it while doing other things without fine clippings decorating your shirt.

I've been a Braun user for over a decade using the 7500 Syncro shaver. The 8985 is more quiet and shaves about the same, however, it seems to be more consistent across the whole face. The indication lights for low cleaning solution and which cleaning process is chosen (eco-normal-intensive) is more informative. It has the same difficulty with the lower neck area. Overall it's better and keeps me a loyal Braun customer, but not dramatically.

Razor works fairly well. Its nice having the self cleaning option but it does not shave as close as a blade (of course what elect will.) Battery lasts a long time and it is quieter than the older versions.

This shaver looks great and cleans itself well, but it doesn't give a super close shave. I'm aware that electric shavers normally don't give a very close shave, but all the reviews and ads made this one out to be the messiah of all shavers so I expected more.

I have used manual razors all my life and thought I would give a good quality electric razor a shot. I haven't given an electric razor a try in about 8 years and figured they have improved by now. This electric razor reminds me of the experience I had a long time ago but worse. It's terrible at cutting hair and irritates my skin far worse then a manual razor. The instructions say to give your face 2 to 3 weeks to "get used to the razor"... omg. I am not gonna go to work with razor burn and stubble on my face for 3 weeks. Braun, your razor should adapt to my skin, not my skin adapt to your razor.