Porcelain does not bubble!! If your finish bubbles up then you don't have porcelain. Porcelain is fired at 2000-3000 deg F. The flame temp of a gas burner is probably up in this range. The burner grate does not reach that temp because heat is conducted away from the flame contact area by the rest of the grate and your cook pot. Porcelain like everything else comes in varying qualities and some might chip off or crumble or wear off. In order to form a bubble it would have to become a liquid or at least a semi liquid paste. Porcelain just won't do that. I'm not sure what porcelain would do if it was heated over 3000 deg. You can't get to those kind of temps with an open gas burner. Porcelain coating is expensive and Kitchen aid may be using a cheaper coating. There are some high temp powder coatings that are supposed to be pretty good. But aparently not for direct flame contact.

We just built a second home and I spent many hours reading about and looking at all of the more moderately priced gas ranges. I have a 48" Dacor that we've had to 12 years - love it - but bought a Frigidaire gas range for the cottage and it is surprisingly good. The burners are in a couple of different sizes - one small and one for a quick boil - there is an oval burner for a griddle in the middle. The oven heats really fast and no trouble at all baking. The racks don't feel as sturdy as the Dacor, and it seems a little bit less insulated, but all in all for a range under $100 I think it is a winner ! Frigidaire had consistently good reviews on their gas ranges.

My kitchen had all Frigidaire Gallery Professional appliances. They were installed in 2000, by the house's previous owner. The refrigerator died in 2012 (12 years life), I forget what the problem was but some fluid was pooling under the unit and the repairman said it couldn't be fixed (part not available). The range died this month (16 years) and it will cost $600 to fix the multiple problems, including circuit board, temperature sensors, and LCD display (but the burner that won't self-light cannot be fixed, part NLA). The dishwasher still works, but the door cladding has come off its frame a few times, the springs that lower the door have broken, the lower rack is missing half its wheels, so we'll replace it next year (17 years). I'm not sure if 12-16 years is generally considered a good service life for modern appliances, but I don't think it is acceptable. I replaced the refrigerator with a commercial True T49. We just ordered a new range, an American Range ARROB636. Now I'm shopping for dishwashers. In general, I'm looking for the simplest models with as few electronics as possible.

I am not sure I agree with M (a first! I always agree with M). LOL. Thank you for the compliment ❤ Shannon, let me make an effort to put you at ease again. You said that you have gone years with having a tile backsplash behind a high-powered range, even though it came with island trim. I believe you. There is a difference between what you can probably get away with, and what building codes tell you to do. When I was younger, I for years lived in an apartment that pushed a gas stove directly against a wall. Since it was just a rental apartment, I couldn't make many changes. I simply decided to mount a glass cutting board to that wall. It helped quite a bit, as I left an air gap behind. And that's pretty critical. That's why the manufacturers backsplash works, too. Nonetheless, when I moved out, the paint behind the cutting board had bubbled up in places and gotten scorched. But it never caught fire. So, there's that. So, the same is true in your situation. You most likely will get away with tile on a combustible surface. There might be hidden damage to the wall. Or there might not be. Impossible to tell. And if you sparingly use both oven and rear burners, then there might never be an issue. But nobody can tell in advance. And building codes have to deal with people doing stupid things. Such as setting your oven on fire (which my dumb ass has managed to do twice in my life) You don't want your house to catch on fire, simply because you forgot what material the backsplash happened to be built from. And if the stove manufacturer explicitly tells you that operation without a backguard isn't safe, then they probably have a reason for that statement.