Are you looking to outfit a new kitchen but are dismayed at the huge range of items available? How do
you choose home appliances? Is price more important than quality? What about variety and customer service? In this article, we compare kitchen appliances to help you make the best decision for your home.
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Top 5 Kitchen Appliance Sets
1. Bosch
Bosch is one of the most reliable names in home appliances and offers some of the best customer service you’ll find anywhere. That said, they are also quite expensive, particularly Bosch’s new Benchmark line of products. If you’re Benchmark to “ordinary” appliances, they’re expensive. If you’re looking at them as luxury appliances, which is Bosch’s intention, they’re a steal. The Benchmark series packages offer a microwave, dishwasher, refrigerator, and oven. Everything in this line is made in Germany.
What’s to Love
Digital Trends gives the oven 4 out of 5 stars as a premium oven available for the home at a reasonable price. The newest Bosch Benchmark dishwashers offer some great features based on recent customer feedback, including nearly inaudible noise levels at just 38-42db, gliding racks, and a clear, full-color display that’s easy to understand at a glance.
Many French door fridge designs leave you with a huge freezer where food gets lost, but that’s not the case with the Bosch’s two-drawer design. The fridge has plenty of space, retractable shelves with room for 2-liter bottles, and whisper-quiet running. Microwaves are relatively new for Bosch, but reviewers are raving about the sideways opening door on this model.
What’s Not to Love
The only serious downside we noted as we compare kitchen appliances comes with the refrigerator in this Bosch line. It lacks a water/ice dispenser, and there’s no filter for the internal ice maker. Other than that, there’s really not much to complain about with this series other than the price.
2. Frigidaire
Frigidaire is a solid name in American home appliances and a brand to consider any time you compare kitchen appliances. Overall, Frigidaire offers decent design, capable function, and excellent prices. You won’t get all the bells and whistles you’ll see on the Bosch, but you also won’t pay nearly as much. Where Frigidaire falls flat is in customer service.
Sets from Frigidaire are available with oven, microwave, dishwasher, and refrigerator. There are many packages available, but one of the best is the Gallery Series.
What’s to Love
The oven has a clean look and performs very well, with plenty of power in the burners and a temp probe in the oven that makes cooking simple. The fridge is a French-door style that looks and feels high-end and offers plenty of space, with a deli drawer you can use as a wine cooler.
The dishwasher is a solid performer that’s truly smudge-free, looks great, and is surprisingly quiet for the price. The microwave is quiet, functional, and looks great when combined with the rest of the series.
What’s Not to Love
All these appliances are a bit on the noisy side. The oven’s factory warranty specifically excludes rust, which is unfortunate, as the stainless steel coating is prone to rust without care. The fridge offers very consistent temps, but the freezer doesn’t.
The dishwasher does collect food at the bottom, and you’ll have a hard time telling when it’s running by sound alone. The microwave is the weak point in this series. It feels cheaper than the rest of the line—though, when new, it performs beautifully.