We just purchased a KitchenAid counter depth french door model with bottom freezer and water dispenser inside the refrigerator. This model is slightly taller than others and offers more space in the fridge and freezer. It is engery star rated with an annual estimated energy cost of $41. Very good for this size unit. The model numbers in this series start with KFC and is one of Kitchenaid's newest and most energy efficient models. We like it.

We just installed our kitchen aid counter depth frige. It does not have counters next to it but rather pantry style cabinetry (which are standard depth). It looks like it sticks out about an inch or slightly less than I want it too (not the doors or the handles but the body of the frige). Once the doors of the cabinets are installed it shouldn't be as noticeable. My cabinet guy did recomend to notch out some of the sheetrock in the back of the frige where the plug is (because the stiff cords are preventing the fridge from going all the way back) and it should fit even better. The kitchen aid frige we have is model KFCS22EVMSO.

Most built-ins can be fit in 25" deep exclusive of handles. I think all free-standing counter depth fridges are in the range you specified, but I think the larger number includes the handles and possibly the inevitable amount of space between the unit and the wall. I don't know about freestanding SubZero. It might be as shallow as their built-ins, or Sammy might have been referring to built-ins. Liebherr is a little less expensive than SubZero (not all that much) and there's a free standing version that might be shallower than the standard counter depth.

We were actually looking at this same Kitchenaid model today. We went back to a local appliance store to take a second look at the Fisher Paykel flush 36" french door fridge. I really like that fridge, but the interior is a bit small, even for us. Then we looked at Kitchenaid again. The SxS actually seemed practical for our needs (household of 2). With the French door, I do like having the flexibility of a wide fridge section, but am not very fond of the freezer bin drawers. I like the thinner depth doors in the Kitchenaid SxS and the door hinge design lets you recess it slightly further into the cabinet area. I don't like the grey plastic grill on the bottom. It looks unfinished. So, I'm still waffling, but the KitchenAid SxS is what I would buy for a SxS. I currently have a Samsung 4 door counter depth that is only about 2.5 years old. It has been reliable and is great except for the horrible icemaker. The ice maker has a horrible design flaw where the gasket design allows the warmer fridge air to leak into the icemaker area, causing the ice to partially melt and jam up the icemaker. We have to chip out the ice about once a week or so and it is getting tiresome (reviews seem to indicate getting it repaired it doesn't fix the issue long term).