Dry times: It's a heatpump dryer. And 2 ½ hours is for a full 8kg load, spun at only 1000rpm. So, that time is actually not bad.
Wash times: 5+ hours is for the Eco cycle used to calculate the energy labels. It is basicly a 4 hour soak, with peak temperatures at approx. 40C or such. It incorporates pretty intensive wash periodes as well to compensate for the lack of heat. It is followed by 2 rinses, with long high interim spins, really low water levels and long rinse times. The final spin is designed to remove as much moisture as possible, despite any creasing or wear and tear.
The normal 60C cycle takes a little less then 3 hours or about 1 hour on the short cycle, latter with only 5kg load maximum.
The Eco-cycle should be 30% or 50% more efficent the reqiured for the EU energy class A+++.
There are few longer cycle times out there, but there are positive examples like some Sharp models (A+++ minus 70% in 4 hours) or Miele (A+++ minus 50% in 3 hours), both in the 8/9 kg class.
