I've had the GE 30" Induction top since Dec. 2007 and I love it! I doubt you'll use those gas burners at all... I've had no problems at all, no scratches on the top, it's not noisy. I rebelled and ignored the clearance requirements in the manual and put in a top drawer for spatulas, etc. just beneath the unit. I don't put anything super combustible (paper, fabric) in it, but I do keep wooden spoons in it. Now some would say, don't do that- you risk voiding the warranty, etc. Your choice. I can tell you I did it, I'm out of warranty with no issues, and it doesn't get that hot under the drawer. If I have all the burners going at once, I just open the drawer a bit for some extra ventilation -- that's probably not even needed. I think the clearance requirements are just for CYA. Anyway, I chose GE because: I didn't want trim around the unit to clean, it was nearly flush with the counter (barely an 1/8" high), the burner arrangement had the large burner in the front - which is the burner I seem to use most and because I'm short I wanted it in the front, and finally - the price was right! Hope this helps!

villandry, I know the 30" version is available in Europe as it's the standard size for the generally smaller kitchens over there. I was told that this one will not be distributed on the North American market as it's considered an upscale product here and the vast majority of upscale kitchen owners are looking for 36" models. On the German Miele homepage there are 11 induction models, all of them detect pan size "Topfgrössenerkennung" I almost bought the AEG as that one is definitely available in 30". In the end Miele won out as with its special promotion it ended up being the better deal. And my kitchen is big enough to handle the larger cooking space. We ordered the Miele induction cooktop last December and finally dropped it into the granit cutout a couple of days ago. It's still not installed and by the rate our reno is going I'd be lucky if I can cook Christmas dinner on it. Here is a link that might be useful: Miele Germany

Thanks. Our new KD sent me to a home across town with the exact cooktop (KA) and 30" drawer base. Wow!!! Yep it fits with a haircut. The KD designated STDW (scooped, or cut down) option for the top drawer, and the sides of the cab got a trim, but the top drawer holds (as mentioned) potholders, tools and about five lids - great use of space and very cook friendly.

I had wanted 6 hobs so it was easy for me to choose the 5 hob over the 4 hob. Last summer when I was canning with my 21 qt. stainless steel water bath canner I called Miele directly to ask if it was ok that the bottom of pan was about 1" larger than the hob outline and they said it was not a problem. I've never asked about the smaller pans. I have a 30" oven under the 36" cooktop so the cabinet maker adjusted the top drawer fronts on either side of the oven so you cannot tell they are reconfigured on the inside. I had posted pics last year but if you'd like to see them, it's no problem for me to post them again. What other appliances or cabinets/drawers are on your 9' counter/cabinet run? Are you considering not centering it over the 30" and aligning one edge and having the other edge 6" past the cabinet below? I definitely understand your statement about not getting "swept away" by the bigger size - so easy to do. But with Miele, at least in my experience thus far, you can't go wrong and in my case, bigger was better because I'm like cotehele and many times use all the burners.