Yet moar kitchen appliances - combi microwave

[Mrs Pingu]

Bloody microwave has just died. Meh.
It's a combi grill/fan oven/micro.

It's my third Sharp brand model of said appliance (my mum & brother also have Sharp combis).
I looked up Money and that one was bought in Jan 2005. It seems just the micro bit has gone.

I just wondered if it was worth trying any other brand?

[pcolbeck]

We had a Samsung one for years it was ace. Got rid in the end as it was too big for our purposes but it's still doing sterling work in my friends firm heating up lunches and soup. Must be 14 years old now and still going strong.

[nuttycyclist]

We have a Belling.  Ten years old.  Frequent microwave use (I prefer proper cooking though, hence not daily use) and still looks and operates as good as new.

Oven or grill have only been used a few times (every time the NEFF crappy pile of shite oven breaks down), but always has fired up without complaint.

[pcolbeck]

Forgot to say we used the oven a lot in our Samsung as for three years we had a really poor proper oven and it was much easier to use the one in the Microwave.

[Feline]

This is copied from the Which? magazine's best buys for July 2010. You can't access this area of the Which? site unless you are a member so I've copied it here.

Microwaves: Best Buys
Microwaves are easy to use, but Which? Best Buys shine at cooking. There are big differences between the best and the rest when it comes to microwaves.

All Combi Grill Microwave-only
 
Which? score: 78%
Price: £200.00
Type: Grill
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Whirlpool - JT366/SL
This Best Buy grill microwave is a good choice if you like steaming food, and it's good too at all other microwave and grilling tasks.

To make steaming easier, the Whirlpool comes with a steaming dish as standard. In our tests the potatoes, salmon and broccoli we steamed were all pretty good.

Read more about Whirlpool JT366/SL

 
Which? score: 78%
Price: £200.00
Type: Grill
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Whirlpool - JT366/BL
This Best Buy grill microwave is a good choice if you like steaming food, and it's good too at all other microwave and grilling tasks.

To make steaming easier, the Whirlpool comes with a steaming dish as standard. In our tests the potatoes, salmon and broccoli we steamed were all pretty good.

Read more about Whirlpool JT366/BL

 
Which? score: 77%
Price: £429.00
Type: Grill
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AEG-Electrolux - MCD1762EM
We were impressed with this Best Buy microwave with grill from AEG-Electrolux; it works extremely well whether you're grilling, cooking or defrosting. It cooks food quickly and evenly, and defrosts effectively on both the manual and auto-defrost settings.

Quick to heat up
Food heats up quickly in microwave mode without losing much weight in the process, so if you follow the cooking instructions, your food should stay moist and appetising.

Read more about AEG-Electrolux MCD1762EM

 
Which? score: 70%
Price: £124.00
Type: Grill
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Samsung - GE109M-S
This large Samsung grill microwave is great at heating, defrosting and grilling, and a worthy Best Buy.

It's a good choice if you like to cook large dishes in your microwave as it has a roomy 22 litres of usable space. You can also turn off the turntable to fit in larger, square dishes.

Read more about Samsung GE109M-S

 
Which? score: 69%
Price: £140.00
Type: Grill
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Whirlpool - MAX38/BL
This retro-looking microwave with grill from Whirlpool looks more like a TV than a microwave, but the Max 38 cooks, grills and defrosts so well that it fully deserves its Best Buy status.

Excellent results, but needs stirring
The Whirlpool Max 38 cooks quickly so food doesn't have time to dry out, which means dishes remain moist and appetising. It's easy to produce well-cooked jacket potatoes, and defrosting is excellent, too.

Read more about Whirlpool MAX38/BL

 
Which? score: 69%
Price: £117.00
Type: Grill
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LG - MH6589UR
This LG grill microwave is every inch a Best Buy - microwave cooking, grilling and combination cooking work well.

It looks the part too, and design touches stand out. The control panel is made up of an iPod-style rotary control to set the time and weight of the food, and there are a series of clearly marked buttons for different types of cooking.

Read more about LG MH6589UR

 
Which? score: 66%
Price: £102.00
Type: Grill
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Whirlpool - MAX 28 Aluminium
If you want a microwave that stands out from the crowd, this distinctively-styled Best Buy grill model from Whirlpool may be just the ticket – and cooking performance is excellent too.

This model is aluminium, with rounded edges and top, and controls running along the top front edge above the viewing window (rather than at the side). From a distance, it could easily be mistaken for a portable television. Blue and black options are also available.

Read more about Whirlpool MAX 28 Aluminium

 
Which? score: 66%
Price: £95.00
Type: Grill
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Samsung - GW76N-S
Samsung GW76N-S 6The GW76N-S grill microwave is the latest in a run of Best Buys for Samsung. It does a great job of heating quickly in microwave mode and is excellent at defrosting.

Self-cleaning catalytic back wall
You won't find too many microwaves with any sort of self-cleaning function, but the Samsung comes with a lined back wall that absorbs and breaks down spills and splashes, then burns them off during cooking. Only the back wall is lined, though, so you'll still need to wipe the other surfaces clean with a cloth.

Read more about Samsung GW76N-S

 
Which? score: 66%
Price: £103.00
Type: Grill
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Whirlpool - MAX 28 ANB
If you want a microwave that stands out from the crowd, this distinctively-styled Best Buy grill model from Whirlpool may be just the ticket and cooking performance is excellent too.

This model is aluminium, with rounded edges and top, and controls running along the top front edge above the viewing window (rather than at the side). From a distance, it could easily be mistaken for a portable television. Blue and black options are also available.

Read more about Whirlpool MAX 28 ANB

[valkyrie]

Panasonic - our house had a  fitted Neff microwave when we moved in and the door broke after about 5 years. The Neff replacement (micro-only) was about £400, but I found when I took the old one apart that the innards were all Panasonic. Managed to get a Panasonic micro/grill that fitted the same housing for less than half the price. Doddle to use and pretty effective.

[Feline]

Here are the combi ones:

 
Which? score: 79%
Price: £137.00
Type: Combi
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Samsung - CE1031-B
This Best Buy Samsung CE1031-B is a star at all of the cooking, defrosting, grilling and heating tasks asked of a combination microwave, and it comes with several handy features to make your cooking experience a little easier.

If you're using the microwave function on its own you can be confident that the Samsung will not overcook or dry out your food. But if you're cooking more than one meal, you might want to add a little extra time for the second dish, as the temperature drops off a little after it's been in use for a while.

Read more about Samsung CE1031-B

 
Which? score: 78%
Price: £155.00
Type: Combi
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Panasonic - NN-CT559W
This Panasonic combination microwave, grill and oven excels at microwave heating, defrosting and convection, and joins the growing number of Panasonic Best Buy microwaves.

This model blew us away in our microwave heating tests, setting a standard that other microwaves will struggle to follow. Food is heated quickly and evenly, and loses little weight during cooking, so it's unlikely to end up dry or shrivelled. And the jacket potatoes we cooked were good.

Read more about Panasonic NN-CT559W

 
Which? score: 78%
Price: £145.00
Type: Combi
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Panasonic - NN-CT569M
This Panasonic combination microwave, grill and oven excels at microwave heating, defrosting and convection, and joins the growing number of Panasonic Best Buy microwaves.

This model blew us away in our microwave heating tests, setting a standard that other microwaves will struggle to follow. Food is heated quickly and evenly, and loses little weight during cooking, so it's unlikely to end up dry or shrivelled. And the jacket potatoes we cooked were good.

Read more about Panasonic NN-CT569M

 
Which? score: 75%
Price: £703.00
Type: Combi
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Neff - C57M70N0GB
The Best Buy built-in Neff C57M70N0GB is a feature-packed microwave with oven and grill that can heat, defrost, bake and grill.

Built-in appliances are always at the top end of the price range and at about £800 the Neff is no exception, but it's not lacking in features.

Read more about Neff C57M70N0GB

 
Which? score: 74%
Price: £175.00
Type: Combi
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Panasonic - NN-CT579S
With outstanding microwave heating, defrosting and convection heat, the Panasonic NN-CT579S combination microwave and grill is easily good enough to join the line-up of Panasonic Best Buy microwaves.

Heating in microwave mode is excellent. It heats reasonably quickly, food cooks quite evenly and doesn't lose much weight so it's unlikely to end up dry, shrivelled or not hot enough. And it was just as good at heating after it had been in use for a while - so if you regularly heat one dish after another, you can be confident that the second will be just as thoroughly heated as the first. Jacket potatoes cooked in microwave mode were also excellent.

Read more about Panasonic NN-CT579S

 
Which? score: 74%
Price: £146.00
Type: Combi
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Panasonic - NN-A554WBBTQ
Whether you're cooking, defrosting or reheating, the Best Buy Panasonic NN-A554W combination microwave oven is hard to fault in microwave mode, and it bakes extremely well when used as a convection oven. It's a little disappointing when used as a standalone grill though.

This microwave cooks quickly and evenly, so your ready meals will be piping hot all the way through and won't shrivel up around the edges.

Read more about Panasonic NN-A554WBBTQ

 
Which? score: 73%
Price: £209.00
Type: Combi
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Whirlpool - JT369W
The Best buy Whirlpool Jet Chef JT369W is a good all-rounder with lots of features and accessories and an excellent manual-defrost feature.

This microwave cooks quickly and evenly and the quality of reheating is adequate, so you shouldnt end up with a ready meal thats too dried out. Its excellent for cooking several meals in succession, as theres not much of a power drop, but the only snag is its inconsistency at reheating from a cold oven.

Read more about Whirlpool JT369W

 
Which? score: 73%
Price: £214.00
Type: Combi
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Whirlpool - JT369S
The Best buy Whirlpool Jet Chef JT369S is a good all-rounder with lots of features and accessories and an excellent manual-defrost feature.

This microwave cooks quickly and evenly and the quality of reheating is adequate, so you shouldnt end up with a ready meal thats too dried out. Its excellent for cooking several meals in succession, as theres not much of a power drop, but the only snag is its inconsistency at reheating from a cold oven.

Read more about Whirlpool JT369S

 
Which? score: 73%
Price: £229.00
Type: Combi
Find lowest price
Whirlpool - JT369
The Best buy Whirlpool Jet Chef JT369 is a good all-rounder with lots of features and accessories and an excellent manual-defrost feature.

This microwave cooks quickly and evenly and the quality of reheating is adequate, so you shouldn’t end up with a ready meal that’s too dried out. It’s excellent for cooking several meals in succession, as there’s not much of a power drop, but the only snag is its inconsistency at reheating from a cold oven.

Read more about Whirlpool JT369

 
Which? score: 72%
Price: £280.00
Type: Combi
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LG - MC8088HL Duochef
The Duochef MC8088HL combination microwave oven from LG gives an excellent performance across the board in our cooking tests, so it's a Best Buy.

It's great in microwave mode; food is cooked quickly and evenly, and ready meals retain plenty of moisture. Unlike many combi microwaves, this one benefits from an excellent grill - it heats an impressive 97% of the surface area, so you won't need to cram your bangers into the middle to get them evenly browned.

Read more about LG MC8088HL Duochef

 
Which? score: 68%
Price: £200.00
Type: Combi
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Panasonic - NN-CD767MBPQ
This Best Buy Panasonic is great in microwave mode, but its convection oven and grill settings are disappointing in comparison.

The microwave is very quick and doesn’t dry food out when it cooks, so you get excellent, moist results. Ready meals are reheated evenly all over to just the right temperature, and jacket potatoes turn out well too. The auto defrost program is impressive and thawed our test sample of frozen mince perfectly.

Read more about Panasonic NN-CD767MBPQ

 
Which? score: 67%
Price: £160.00
Type: Combi
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Sharp - R959(SL)M
If top-class grilling and good combination cooking are your priorities then look no further than this Best Buy Sharp combination microwave.

Its grill is first-rate; there’s ample room for several pieces of toast, and browning is very even across the whole surface. Our challenging roast-chicken test proved no problem either: the cooked chicken was juicy and succulent, although, as with most models, we’d have liked the skin to be browner and crispier.

Read more about Sharp R959(SL)M

 
Which? score: 65%
Price: £243.00
Type: Combi
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Panasonic - NN-CF768M
This Best Buy Panasonic combination oven impressed us in microwave and convection mode and is especially good at defrosting.

If, like most people, you mainly use your microwave for reheating and defrosting, you won't go far wrong with the NN-CF768 as it does both jobs admirably.

Read more about Panasonic NN-CF768M

 
Which? score: 65%
Price: £247.00
Type: Combi
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Panasonic - NN-CF778S
This Best Buy Panasonic combination oven impressed us in microwave and convection mode and is especially good at defrosting.

If, like most people, you mainly use your microwave for reheating and defrosting, you won't go far wrong with the NN-CF778S as it does both jobs admirably.

Read more about Panasonic NN-CF778S

[Mrs Pingu]

oooo thx Feline!

[Mrs Pingu]

Oh well, looks like it's a Panny. Jacket potato test tick.

[Nightfly]

On Amazon there are a very large and disatisfied bunch of people who have bought Panasonic Combi microwaves and by all accounts Panasonic customer service is pretty poor like the durability of their microwaves.

I had a SHARP RG-57 which lasted 16 years before it when bang. I mean stuff isn't made to last 4 minutes these days. I purchased a SHARP R86STMA combi microwave with micro/grill/conventional oven as the replacement. It's been pretty good in the year I have had it. I did look at Panasonic as I wanted a white microwave, but then I read some of the feedback on Amazon for Panasonic microwaves which is when I thought oh-oh! SHARP's colour scheme is now brushed stainless steel and black, not the prettiest IMHO, but does the job.

The SHARP R959SLM is a big beast and very heavy, but apparently excels at cooking pretty much everything. Amazon are currently doing it for a good price.

[Mrs Pingu]

Yeah, I noticed after a rummage on Amazon how all the Sharp reviews were several paragraphs long and waxing lyrical, while a lot of the panny people only used it as a microwave and there was a lot of talk of things going on fire, so I've pretty much decided to get the same thing as I already had. At least I already know how to work it.