I have the Dimension G 5675 SCVi, here is a link to their page for it:

Miele Link

We love love love the 3-d cutlery tray, we never want to go back to any other way. It is super easy to use and frees up so much space below.

As for other brands to consider a lot of people talk highly of the Bosch lineup.

I say go with the Miele if you can afford it, you won't regret the choice.

Phil

Miele and KA are the preferred brands around here. Not to say that others don't love their Boschs or Asko. But overall those are most recommended.

Some Miele folk go with top of the line. Others pick out features they want -- interior lighting, 3D cutlery, water softener, then how many cycles and which ones, panel/nopanel and hidden or front-panel controls. Some are content with the basic.

One determiner is whether you want/need china-crystal (a 115 degree wash) or not. That's sort of a dividing point. But I would not get a machine today without Express (the quickest cycle). Some are happy to go with no lighting and no china-crystal as those aren't needed.

I've had 2 machines with china-crystal as I need that. I loved Express and wouldn't do without it. I also like the hidden controls -- both mine have had those. One had a panel and one had SS. I much prefer the panel. If I bought a new one I'd go for the interior lighting and the 3D cutlery tray. (But the lighting is more optional to me). I don't care about the door opening on its own.

Unfortunately, their website does not make the differences very clear. And it must be read very carefully to distinguish between models that take panels/not and those with hidden controls.

But if you read carefully I do believe they let you do a comparison of 3 models -- easier to see what each has.

i love the dimension and i love the 3D tray, and all the different configurations on the baskets. I dont' think interior lighting is necessary at all. You usually load and unload with the basket slide out so I dont' see why you need lighting inside. The also haven't use the crystal china cycle. I clean some reidel wine glasses from time to time and they turn out great with just normal cycle. I do use the turbo cycle when things are not that dirty. good thing about dimension is that it has auto open door for drying at the end of the cycle and it's quieter.. you can barely hear it going.

What dishwasher does not get "mixed" reviews?

What dishwasher brand does not have at least a few "I will never get an appliance from THAT brand again" reviews?

Most negative reviews for Miele center around people that are comparing them to old top of the line dishwashers that were not energy or water efficient. And they complain about wash times.

Or people that used phosphate based detergent then unknowingly started buying new phosphate free formulas and thought something was wrong with their dishwasher. And bought a new Miele and did not notice an improvement. And are mad about.But that has nothing to do with Miele.

And a few had install problems and a few got a Miele Lemon. It happens to all appliance companies.

If you have consistently soft water you should consider Asko, Bosch or Miele Classic. I think they all clean equally well in this situation but Miele has better long term durability.

If you have hard water that has a consistent hardness level you should consider Bosch 800 Plus that has a manually operated water softener.

But if like most Americans you have hard water that varies in water hardness you should strongly consider a Miele Crystal or higher that have automatic water softeners. The Bosch softener you adjust for water hardness level while the Miele continually adjust as the water hardness level changes. This really gives better results.

The benefit to Dimension Plus with Q4 sound rating and Diamond is that they have auto open door that helps in drying by letting steam out at end of cycle.

The Diamond also has auto close as well, the LED lighting, standard 5 year warranty with 24 hour monitoring by Miele HQ via wifi.

BTW I love the cutlery tray. It saves more time during unloading that it cost during loading. Plus cutlery gets cleaned better. You can buy a Miele basket and use it instead if you really want to.

That is all very helpful. Can someone expand on the use of the china setting? I have one set of china I run through the dishwasher, but they are dishwasher safe, I've always washed on normal for those.

The china setting is for non-dishwasher safe dishes, and crystal, usually vintage stuff. But some artisan dishware as well.

Normal cycle is too hot and may wash any color off of dishes or cloud vintage crystal.

You get a Miele with china/crystal cycle and hook up the machine to cold. If you hook up the Miele to hot water it may come in hotter than 115 degrees defeating the purpose of the cycle.

If you are a wine connoisseur Miele is the only Riedel authorized dishwasher for washing their stemware.

I have a lot of old dishes and Riedel as well. But I use china crystal for light soil loads with no pots and pans. Or for small loads.

The big difference is water temperature. The china setting is not as hot so helps protect items. I would not run my china or glasses (on purpose) on pots and pans (Don't ask and yes, I forgot to switch it a few times)

Good thing I bought a Miele - cause I put my Riedel (and Waterford) as well as my "Magic Flute" china in the DW. I figure it is safer than hand washing...
Everything has done fine - there is always a risk of etching but this can happen with hard water and hand washing as well. So far, has not been a problem (and I used a Whirlpool prior to this one but not with the magic flute or Riedel as I obtained those in the past 10 years)

BTW- My first Miele was a lemon but after reading reviews, I stayed with Miele and glad I did. (The only appliance that I bought a maintenance contract - how do you say ESP - full refund after 4.5 years)

a2gemini, good to know about the maintenance contract. I don't normally, but there are a couple things in this kitchen I am thinking about doing that with.

I usually hand wash my Waterford, so maybe I do have a use for the china setting. Now to dig in a little more on which one I think is the right model. I appreciate all the help here.