Hotpiont or Ariston
Hi Jon,
The Aqualtis is 100% Ariston, all components are specific to the Aqualtis and totally different from the GDA designed machines however the Inverter motor is also used in some of the GDA designed models.
I have found that the drum bearings are a weak point on some of the GDA design machines; some machines run for years with no problems while others (Identical models) fail prematurely. Bearing replacement in the GDA designed Hotpoints is generally expensive as the rear tub has to be replaced along with the drum shaft and spider, if the drum shaft is not replaced the bearings usually fail again within weeks or months.
The Aqualtis is a more stable machine during spin as the tub unit is suspended from the top of the cabinet by 4 springs with 2 dampers below the tub.
Two weeks ago I gave my old Hotpoint WF860P (To make room for my Aqualtis) to my cousin; it's well into its 6th year now, never gave me any problems and still running perfectly. I have encountered younger versions of the same machine with bearing failure.
Interestingly Which? Magazine rated the Aqualtis as a "Don't buy!" and as such Which? have lost all credibility with me. In reality the Aqualtis is a good solid machine, very quiet, delivers excellent wash performance, excellent spin performance at 38% remaining moisture for 1600RPM models, well specified and reasonably priced.
David