It depends on whether you want cabinet front or not also how much you care about when people walk into the kitchen and say ooooh, SubZero. Most people don't think there is any great advantage to any one of these brands, and some people think SZs are more repair prone and expensive to maintain. Others disagree. I had the choice between an $8000 SZ built in 42" and a $4750 Kitchenaid built in. I'm putting cabinets on the front....so no one will really be able to tell much. I went with the kitchenaid. Even the SZ guy said "a box is a box" and "they all do the same thing pretty well." I would save the money for something like a really nice range or add a warming drawer or wine cooler or something else you want.

Can't speak for the SZ models but we purchased the Miele units (fridge and freezer) and are THRILLED with them. Ours have custom panels and do not look at all like appliances. In fact most newcomers to our kitchen ask where the fridge is and when they open it is is a definite WOW!

Here's a previous post I made on the Miele units:

We initially installed GE monogram all fridge freezer units. Needless to say (and if you need to know details you can find them on the forums or email me for details) these units needed to be replaced within a very short space of time. Our only choices as the kitchen was custom built to fit the specs of the GE units, were to go with new GE models (no way no how), Miele or Sub Zero.

Our experience with Miele had been fantastic so we went with those. The fridge and freezer are everything we anticipated. We had one installation issue. Both the fridge and freezer were shown in the specs with a 90 degree door. While this is true for the fridge, it is NOT true for the freezer due to the extra insulation in the door. We could not open the door far enough to allow the draws to open unhindered. Miele was great and authorized a replacement freezer for one with the hinges on the oppposite side. I believe they have changed their spec sheets on the freezer as well - or at least I hope they have. The original misleading photograph is still on their website.

Some things I have discovered as we live with these models

They really are shallow BUT you can get a LOT in them. If you have a large platter too big for the shelves, it will probably fit in the drawer. (I've stacked them in the draw using glasses between "layers" and it's worked fine.) The blessing of a shallow fridge and freezer is that it is impossible to lose food in the back. We also switched to glass storage so we can easily see what's in the fridge. Where we used to throw out lots of food that we had no idea what it was, we are now finding that there is often "nothing to eat" or at least that's what my kids tell me :)

As previously mentioned, the door shelves are shallow. You can fit a half gallon in the door but not a gallon.

Because the compressor is at the bottom, the top shelf can be rather high. We're all tall so it doesn't matter so much but if you're short...

Another advantage of the bottom compressor is that if you plan to panel the fridge, it is one panel. Ours is so integrated most people think it's a pantry and not a fridge at all. The freezer in the butlers pantry is the same sleek and streamlined look.

Also as mentioned, the ice maker is TINY. We haven't had the freezer over a summer so not sure how that will pan out but we have needed to purchase ice for parties.

Both the fridge and freezer have full extension drawers. This makes it so easy to sort and store produce and to find them. We've dedicated one draw for fruit, another for veggies and the smaller drawer in the fridge is for deli.

Our freezer is now organized with each section in the drawers holding different frozen goods. I also found some Rubbermaid plastic containers that fit on the shelves with no wasted space and improve the "holding" capacity. I can fit a lot in those open containers and it doesn't fall out when you open the door. If I was organized enough, I could plan it out and put ice into one to collect for parties :)

Food lasts longer without a doubt. I have some rhubarb that I just used today to make cupcakes. It was still crisp and fresh and had been in the drawer for at least two weeks. I notice celery lasts longer too.

Both the fridge and the freezer hook up to your computer network through wireless technology. Ha you might say but last week when I was out of town, dh grabbed something from the freezer on his way out the door and it didn't close properly. He was on the train when he got an email saying the temp in the freezer had dropped and the alarm had gone off. He called a neighbor who came into our house and closed the freezer properly for him. That probably saved us a $1000 right there!

I am not sure how long they will last but past experience with Miele has been positive. We reinstalled our Miele DW from our old kitchen that is almost 10 yrs old. Our previous Miele DW was 20 yrs old and could have been fixed and gone another 5 years but we chose to replace it. Our second Dw is also Miele as are our DO. Wasn't planned that way but that's what we ended up with. After going with cheaper (and never let anyone tell you GE is cheap) and having products not last a year, we're hoping these are our forever fridge and freezer.

They're pretty expensive but we hope they are worth it. So far so good.

You'd kinda be an early adopter with either. The BI series is a new generation and has different doors, filters, and some internals. The Miele is entirely new from a new factory. They are outsourcing this unit from BSH.

Both are really good companies, with great products and service to back em up. I'd get the one that best meets your needs and leave the intangibles out of it.

You'd kinda be an early adopter with either. The BI series is a new generation and has different doors, filters, and some internals. The Miele is entirely new from a new factory. They are outsourcing this unit from BSH.

Both are really good companies, with great products and service to back em up. I'd get the one that best meets your needs and leave the intangibles out of it.

i have purchased a SZ BI-30u locally last november. i definitely did not get the sz for any oooh-ahhh factor--it never entered my mind. i'd lived in my house for 8 years with a 1986 SZ, before katrina flooded it and we had to throw it out. it was an excellent piece of machinery and i loved, loved, loved it, rusted(!) wire shelves and all. my mother bought hers about, hmm, 12 years ago and it's had NO mechanical problems whatsoever. no question that i would replace my post-katrina fridge (that freezes everything toward the back of the shelves) with a SZ in my current kitchen renovation. i've also recently purchased an undercounter SZ online (not the one with drawers, btw), and the other guiding factor for choosing SZ for both, was that both my SZs are energy star rated. i am very disappointed that i hadn't looked into this when purchasing my miele single masterchef oven, which uses 338 kWh annually--"using the MOST energy" according to the Energyguide sticker that came on the oven. so, you'll definitely want to check on that while you're comparison shopping.

now, i did read on the internet (also, from my neighbor) to stay clear of the SZ with front door icemaker...

Do they have internal ice-makers? I could not find it mentioned... Thanks!

The freezer has an icemaker - small but efficient. Not big enough for parties unless you prepare in advance and store the ice elsewhere in the freezer.