We bought the KA KUDS30IVSS in October 2009. It does not have the venting issue that another KA DW line did. The store we purchased from carried Miele and KA as their 'top' lines. I thought the Miele had a wonderful build quality, but my dishes and cookware simply did not fit. I have a lot of oversized cookware that will literally take up half a rack with one piece. Some of it is tall and was a really difficult fit. The KA had a much more flexible arrangement, and in that respect has worked out very well for us. When the phosphates were removed from detergents in Jan 2011, I had some cleaning issues that went away when I switched to Finish, as recommended on this forum. The KA DW is definitely a little noisier now than it was before. 'Noise' is always subjective, but we have an open plan in a small house, and both upstairs (where the DW resides) and downstairs (it is above our master bath) it can now be noticed when the DW is running, whereas before it was almost unnoticeable. We had recurring issues with the soap dispenser unit which was documented here in other threads, so I won't repeat myself. Poor repairman competence was a major contributing factor to a nine-month saga of why we are on our fourth dispenser unit. I was told by the original installer that these DWs have an issue with the pump unit failing after about three years. He congratulated us on getting the extended warranty and certainly it was of great use during the dispenser problem. Now that Miele has finally recognized they need a more flexible loading arrangement, when this KA fails - not if it will fail, but WHEN - we can replace it with a Miele. The KA is good, but it is nowhere near the build quality of Miele. From the plastic hinges to the rickety sprayer arms, KA just can't compare.

The Euro Miele manuals give the water and electric consumption for each program cycle. The USA manual doesn't but using the Euro example it seems that the dishwasher uses between 4 and 5 gallons of water(about 1 for rinse hold) depending on load and cycle and could use 6 if the load is very dirty because it will add extra rinses for very dirty loads, or times when the detergent is not completely rinsed away. So the Miele is not too bad with eco-friendliness but perhaps not as good as Asko DW. I can tell from opening the door during the wash and rinse that there is so very little water inside that it is scary-- to think that it could do anything with it -- but still it washes and rinses completely. Most fills last 34 seconds, but not always because this depends on the load size and because it doesn't use a timed fill it will draw water until it has enough so time could vary with water pressure changes due to what is going on elsewhere in the supply lines. The Miele brochure mentions that the parts are labeled so that they can be manually sorted by different materials for recycling at the end of their life...No mention of who is doing this sorting or if it can be done here in the U.S.A. We are going to sort DW parts? I doubt it. Maybe Miele employees do but everyone else? Yeah. Unless their repair people have to turn the parts back into the company..that's a possibility. If you have friends that have Asko's and you are intrigued by them then perhaps you should get one. Maybe if you don't you will always wonder "what If I had that Asko DW?" I mean we ARE talking Dishwashers not husbands and wives so you could buy one and if you don't like it wait a while and buy something else and just say you made a mistake..things didn't work out. Stuff happens.

Do you think the viking microwave/convection with recirculating fan will be sufficient? Our appliance dealer has said it'll be fine if it's mounted at 21" instead of 18. I do have a window fan next to the range that blows outside. I am re-doing a galley kitchen and have chose the exact same appliances as you, except for the hood, but have not purchased them yet. Tomorrow is supposed to be stove choice day, so I hope you see this and can respond!

A year ago I was in your shoes. I wanted two 27" or 20 30" units. I honed in on SZ and Thermador Columns. I chose the Thermadors for the following reasons: Thermadors offered more internal cubic feet of storage Thermadors were 25% less in price - so more storage for less price! The Thermadors hinging mechanism swung the door out and away from the interior giving better access to the interior. It just felt so much more accessible than SZ. Hinges are great by the way! Loved the placement of the interior ice maker and ice bucket - right at lower chest/upper waist height. SZ reliability was questionable based on experience by friends, neighbors and what I'd read on GW. I'm 5'2 and don't have any problem with storage, in fact, I'd rather reach up than down for something. They were installed last Dec. 15th - not a problem yet! You can see exterior pictures of mine by searching GW for MN Kitchen. Good Luck!