Hi Guys.
I popped into Comet a couple of weekends ago and they had two machines on display - the Ultima and a fairly low level Aquarius.
They are deffo an acquired taste!
To my mind they are very fussy to look at, especially the dial controlled machines (the machines with finger and thumb grabs on the dial look very awkward).
One major dislike I have of them is the Ariston, swivel powder drawer which is across the range - looks and feels cheap. Very retrograde step I feel.
The design just looks out of balance, with big dial in the middle and smaller dials and buttons placed all around them in banks rather than rows.
The weirdest thing to me is the doors and the solid moulding which conceals the door release. I really dont know how to explain this, but the solid moulding makes the door look unbalanced, whereas the current machines with their all moving grab handles dont (again to my eyes anyway).
When I downloaded the brochure and saw the Aquarius+ dryers one thing jumped into my mind - CYCLOPS.
Having looked again at the brochure, I am tempted to write an e-mail to Russell T. Davies, recommending a them as a new enemy of Doctor Who, for they have the look of Daleks about them with that protruding central programmer/timer dial.
They have even done them in a couple of suitable colours for Russell, so he wouldnt even have to spray them - satin aluminium, graphite and black.
Have to say though, I do like the dishwashers.
I hope the series will grow on those of us who have mixed feelings about them - time will tell I am sure!
Cheers
Paul