Powerful. Even on medium flow, plenty of air to dry even thick hair. Good discernible levels of heat from the three heat settings. Never use the top heat setting, but the heat is there if you want it. The cool button is definitely cool, not just air with the heat absent,, so great for setting. The machine is surprisingly quiet, even on the high flow setting. I find the controls on the side of the handle a bit awkward. I much prefer the more conventional controls on the front of the handle, where your fingers naturally fall when gripping. Overall, it feels and works like a quality machine. Not inexpensive, but not over the top in price either. I can happily recommend this to anyone.