CR Washer Tests January 2007!

[westytoploader]

Received the issue today, and there were quite a few surprises! First, the Whirlpool Cabrio HE and Kenmore Oasis HE received the top two ratings in the TL category, respectively. Third and fourth place went to the Cabrio and Oasis AGI versions, as both received a "poor" score for water efficiency (YAY).

What I find quite interesting are the discrepancies between the ratings of otherwise identical models. The Kenmore Oasis HE was only "good" for Gentleness, while the Cabrio was very good. The Oasis AGI was only "good" in Energy Efficiency, while the Cabrio AGI again scored a "very good". Dead last for the top-loaders was a $360 Frigidaire Gallery; odd because a comparable $330 Frigidaire (not a Gallery model) scored better. The Gallery, a Kenmore Elite, and a Whirlpool all earned a "poor" score for washing.

For the front-loader tests, the LG Steam Washer earned the top rating, with the Bosch Nexxt 500 coming in a close second. They actually tested a Miele this year (Touchtronic W1113 to be exact), but it somehow was rated dead last and earned a "poor" score for capacity. Shame, shame, shame. What surprised me were the Kenmore HE2 and Whirlpool Duet Sport. They earned relatively low ratings, but the HE2t fared a little better. The Frigidaire Affinity was the only front-loader to receive a "fair" score for washing. Hmmmm.

Well that's pretty much it. Oh, and the F&P IWL16 was #6 in the TL category, right under the GE Harmony! None of the new SQ top-loaders were tested, even though the SQ front-loader was tested in a previous report.

--Austin

 

[exploder321]

They just don't know whats really good.. I love my Affinity and it washes superbly, then again this is my first forray into a front loader... I am an online subcriber only, so i will have to wait and see....

 

[appnut]

Austin, teh Oasis AGI may have gotten a pooer energy rating than the comparable Cabrio AGI because the Cabrio could have had dumbed-down water temps. Sears actually has two Oasis Agi models, one with 500 KWH/year and the otehr 420- KWH/year, prolly cuz of the dumbed down temps. And just another fine example of CR inconsistence--they have to give one of teh "cousins" a slightly different rating, it probably would just seem unseemly for the two cousins to be identically rated lol.

 

[launderess]

CR Has Alwasy Rated Miele

Poorly because of capacity, which brings down the entire score.

L.

 

[westytoploader]

It's a shame because the other ratings were relatively good. I wonder when the new Mega-Mieles will be arriving?

 

[appnut]

Mega-Mieles

Supposedly January 2007

 

[golittlesport]

One reason I think Frigidaire is rated "fair" in washing performance is that they have one of the shortest wash times for a front loader (except Speed Queen, which was rated "poor" last year) on the normal setting. The cycle is less than 45 minutes....more in line with a top load agitator machine. On mine, for dirtier laundry, you can select a "heavy" cycle and even add a few more minutes on to that by selecting heavy soil option. But CR tests only the normal cycle as far as I know.

 

[frigilux]

I have to admit that more stains are removed when I add 10 minutes to the wash cycle on my Frigidaire FL'er--another reason I like having a cycle dial to modify as I please. My poor Frigi TL'er was dead last in cleaning scores in last year's CR tests, too. I do tend to wash the really dirty loads in the FL'er. Other loads seem to come out fine in the TL'er. Plus, I just love the unequal agitation strokes and the indexing tub! Very entertaining to watch.

Austin, I think the Frigidaire TL'er cleaning scores were better back when they had full-length straight-vane agitators in them. I'm tempted to order one and put it in mine to see if there's a difference.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I will admit that I do not do very large loads in my Mieles, but I don't need to wash large loads. There is one super advantage to the smaller drum diameter of the Mieles: They do not have nearly the trouble trying to distribute the load evenly for a spin as the larger tub machines like the Duet and the ghastly awful Chinese GE front loader.

 

[peterh770]

I load my Miele right up to the gills and let it work its magic. Such a phenomenal washer.

Tom: Why are the Chinese GE's ghastly? Freinds of mine with a growing family and who are non-laundriphiles have the set and love them.

Austin: Where in the review were the GE's?

 

[vintagesearch]

CR reports...

i dont know if i agree with everything they claim. there may be some truth but we consumers know more or less what we want i bet our washer if they tested it they would claim it "fair" i'll cut our GE (bought in 2002) some slack it leaves my whites white even without bleach and yes its only a middle of the line washer with no frills and yup its a toploader HOWEVER its a discountinued model. and leaks water becuase the model is defective and makes more noise than a kindergarden class lol!but i can fit my king sized comforters in it and put up to 6 pairs of jeans and they come out really clean! CR's are actually better for judgement on value of products and brands that are reliable all together however, certian things like some automoblies,foods, and some appliances i would disagree on judgements

 

[oxydolfan1]

Tom wrote:

"and the ghastly awful Chinese GE front loader."

And I BEG you to elaborate, because the Adora is one of three machines on my "maybe" wish list!

 

[oxydolfan1]

vintagesearch wrote:

"CR's are actually better for judgement on value of products and brands that are reliable all together however, certian things like some automoblies,foods, and some appliances i would disagree on judgements"

I absolutely agree. I like to "collect" (read: buy and play with) vacuums, and I can't tell you how many crappy machines I've bought, that I'd never in my right mind have considered, if it weren't for the folks at CU.

Ditto on cars. They are obsessed with models from about six automakers, and not all they glitter is gold....time and time again, I've taken exception to their evaluations after testing .

When they test coffee, it is IMPOSSIBLE, because different people have different tastes, and the descriptions are impossible for a non-coffee snob person to relate to ("Fragrant? Fruity"...)...lol.

 

[neptunebob]

Are you referring to the vacuums that CR recommends that you otherwise would not have bought? Awhile back mother bought a Hoover Windtunnel that they recommended. Noisy, heavy, expensive, all made out of plastic and the "trolley" on the bottom broke so only a LO setting. I finally wore it out on a cleaning job I had. She eventually bought an Oreck - Noisy, expensive, bags are expensive, wussy, but "It's only 8 pounds!". My favorite vacuum now is a Hoover convertible I bought from an old lady for 25 dollars and a little Sanyo canister I bought at Woolworths 15 years ago.

On another subject, what did CR test recently? Big SUVs, including the Escalade! Who buys those vehicles besides pimps and drug dealers? I feel like cancelling the subscription soon as they seem out of touch with the buying public. I mean, do people REALLY need to spend 3000 dollars on a TV? Yet CR tells you to go get one now!

 

[oxydolfan1]

Well, I bought a Eureka Boss upright and a Sharp Twin Energy, both fairly inexpensive, but not at all what I expected in terms of durability.

IMO the Oreck is not a bad upright at all and is wonderful for older and disabled people to stay independent and get aerobic exercise....to me, it is simply overpriced, for what it is.

I disapprove of all WindTunnels currently on the market, except for possibly the LG-made WindTunnel canister.

Hoover has a few decent models I like, particularly the inexpensive hard-to-find Sprint base model, and particularly the new, updated Hoover Constellation, which is a WONDERFUL vac for so many people, and quite affordable.

CU, of course, did not rate the Constellation, sadly, for its popularity would have been a real shot in the arm for what's left of the Hoover brand.

AND they did not rate my Kenmore Iridium vac (made by LG and known overseas as the "Cyking"), and that irks me, because it really is IMO excellent and was deserving of mention.

This month, they rated five subcompact hatchbacks, and included two models, the Kia Rio and the Hyundai Accent, that are virtual copies of one another! Why?

Grrrr....

 

[appnut]

Bob, our one and only lightedcontrols has an Escalade. As does some friends of mine from church

 

[westytoploader]

I thought this thread was about WASHERS?

But I feel the need to chime in on the vehicles as I was a little offended by NeptuneBob's comment, and I hope Mark sees this as well. What's wrong with 'pimp' to begin with? Being of a younger generation, I myself quite like that look on new cars. I also believe that if someone has money, they should feel free to display it as they wish, and if it's on a nice SUV, so be it! The Cadillac Escalade's current body style is very classy and is one of the vehicles I would love to purchase in the far future (either that, the Infiniti QX56, or a Dodge Ram 3500 diesel Laramie Mega Cab), provided all of them are still around (I plan on keeping my '04 Dodge Ram 1500 for a while) and I have made enough $$$ to afford them considering the price range. I've always been a truck/SUV person anyway, and if I can't have either of those, I would like something vintage and large, such as a Bel Air. Something that cannot be easily intimidated; it's bad enough when the driver (me) is! LOL

Back to the topic at hand, again! Hi Tom, the new Chinese-made GE was rated 35th, about in the middle of the FL group. One of the things I find most interesting is that reliability for GE front-loaders is 10, right below Whirlpool which is at the top of the list, however, CR makes no mention of whether they're referring to the new models or the previous Electrolux-made version (Frigemore clones). It is worth noting that their reliability data from the survey goes from 2002 to 2006. They also mention that "historically, Whirlpool/Kenmore high-efficiency top-loaders have been less reliable than their regular models", but they failed to mention again that the Oasis and Cabrio are a completely different design from the ground up, for which the reliability is unknown as of yet.

The Miele was rated either "very good" or "excellent" for the other qualities. I can't believe the capacity was the only thing that brought it down. But then again, since when was CR considered a reliable source on household appliances anyway?

--Austin

 

[oxydolfan1]

Austin, here on the East Coast, the Escalade has something of a negative aura, not because of its styling and lines, but because of the character and attitude of some of the individuals who are known to drive them, and how some tend to accessorize them.

CU is just one of several resources one can use to cull information from, and use when making a decision on a product.

 

[washoholic]

What kills me about the CU article is the way they took the cost of a washer and added in the energy it would use in 12 years to come up with a “total cost.” They did this for 2 front loaders and 2 top loaders. However in a previous issue they suggested that consumers replace all washers that were 6 to 8 years old. It started a discussion here about “throw away products.” Does anyone remember the article?

Anyway I do like Consumer Reports, and subscribe to the magazine and their web site. If they could make one improvement I would vote that they be more consistent.

Jeff