MrsPete- The low-flow toilets that are now required to be sold use as little as 1/5 of the water as the old toilets we grew up with. To work well they depend on careful engineering of the trap so there is an efficient flush with this reduced amount of water. You can't tell by just looking at them, but some toilets do this better than others. For example the Toto has a somewhat larger trap diameter than many toilets and this makes a big difference in clogging or not. I used to think that all toilets did the same thing until I had experience installing and using a variety of brands. Some of the money you pay for expensive toilets can be a premium for the style rather than better operation, just like a lot of items around the house. I have bought the $99 toilets before: some were ok, some were terrible. I finally decided I was willing to pay several hundred dollars for something I could install and forget about for the next 40 years, rather than get a plunger out every couple of weeks. Read the review links in this thread and decide for yourself.

I'm certain a standard elongated seat will work. Do you mind me asking why you chose to not go with the soft close? We just installed an Ultramax w/ soft close in my husband's bathroom. Knowing you're not supposed to sit (with lid closed) on the Washlet soft close lid, I called Toto to ask about the other soft close lids. Not recommended to sit on those either. DH isn't terribly happy about that :( Monica

If you are set on the Toto brand, then anything you want will probably work. I live in new hotels most of the year and use all the new toilets. After having a Toto Drake for 6 months, the toilet I bought was an American Standard Cadet "3." You can get the same toilet at Lowe's and Home Depot for about half the cost of Toto's lowest cost model. The Cadet "3" has the equivalent of sanagloss on every style and color. My second choice in toilets would be the Kohler Cimmaron. All three (including Toto) flush fast and quietly. The AS and Kohler are much less expensive. The parts you will need for maintenance is the same on all three. I think the low volume flush technology problems have finally been solved. Toto seems to have started it, but the other brands now have models that are just as good. I have noticed a difference in the 'sanagloss' finish. My AS Cadet "3" never gets black spots in the bowl. My other toilet develops spots in a few weeks (sorry but cleaning toilets is not my priority). One-piece toilets are supposedly easier to clean. They are much harder to heft through the house to install, but you don't do that every week. Your pipes should not need to be rearranged. If I was to buy a Toto I would get it locally for the reasons you stated. With Lowe's or HD you cannot buy any kind of loyalty. My plumber had never installed a Cadet "3" before and allowed half a day to install. He was out of the house in 30 minutes raving about how easy it was to install. I'm not sure what that means, but he wanted me to know it was the easiest toilet install he could remember. If you have not noticed on the Terry Love site, there is no discussion about toilets other than Toto. I used to have posting privileges on his site until I started mentioning the positive features of other brands. Then I was banned without notice. So if you only want to read good things about one brand, then his website is a great one. According to independent testing, the Cadet "3" and I believe the Cimmaron both out perform the best Toto models by a considerable margin. However, the performance of the Toto is very, very good.

Skirted would save time every single week. I'd pay real money for this. I'm short, and my husband isn't exactly tall. We're not really into buying anything with "tall" in the name ... but my reasoning may not be applicable to you. I know a number of people who have the two-flush option, and it seems to work well. Built in deodorizer? Never heard of it. I vote no. I'd just as soon keep a jar of spray in the bathroom and control when I use it. I'm pro built-in bidet. Something I saw on HGTV the other night: When you open the powder room door, the toilet seat rises for you. How does it know whether to raise both the seat and the ring for a man, or just the seat for a woman? I don't think I'd pay for it personally. Something that does interest me: The self-cleaning feature. I figure it's more expensive than regular cleaner because you'd have to buy their special-sized bottle ... but anything that cleans itself has to be good.