Not much is the answer. Rack doo-dads that you won't use and might break. Cycles you don't need and won't use. Perhaps slightly quieter because, for example, the higher-end models ship with an extra rubber pad for the DW to sit on. All are essentially the same machine. Best advice: if you want KA, integrated, stainless (I believe all KA qualifies there), buy the least expensive model that delivers those.

gwentm, I'm about to install our KitchenAid KUDE70FVPA (panel-ready) dishwasher, and our cabinet maker is creating the custom door panel as I type... When making my appliance purchase decision I was out here quite a bit, reading about this issue, and I was real specific with my GC and cabinet maker about this question. Our lower cabinets are the standard 24" depth, but given that the wall behind them isn't perfectly flat along the long length of this wall, the dw opening happens to be about 24 3/16" deep from the rear wall to the front of the cabinet structure. Although the KUDE70 specs state that the total depth of the DW is 24 7/8", I measured our panel-ready model (ordered well-in-advance) and determined that when pushed flat against a wall, the front of the DW door that the custom panel attaches to is actually 24 1/4 inches out from the wall. Our cabinet style choice was to have overlaid drawer and cabinet fronts (with added raised molding, fwiw). The 3/4"-thick door/drawer fronts, with the little vinyl pads, protrude about 25" from the wall. So, I expect our 3/4" custom panel, added to the 24 1/4" panel-ready DW, to fit perfectly :-). Note that had we opted for *flush* cabinets and drawers, we would have needed to find another inch of depth to match up with the custom DW panel... Also, our granite counters have a 5/8" overhang past the door/drawer fronts, so the DW will be "totally integrated" under the counter. Pictures below... Good luck to you, -- brian

With my fully integrated Miele Optima: 1.It beeps audibly for a while at cycle completion. 2. I typically turn the DW on as a last task of the day before bedtime when it doesn't much matter when it completes. 3. Upon programming, the machine reports how much time it takes the cycle to complete. (E.g., if I choose a 2 hour cycle, I don't open it at the 90 min mark). :-)

"I think I would miss the food grinder." In our last house we had a Bosch (no food grinder and no heated dry), and a top of the line Maytag (with both). The Bosch gave us cleaner dishes, drier dishes, and MUCH less noise...So in our new house we have 2 Bosches.