When making an investment in an appliance, you must consider what your number one objective is. While Miele is a fine manufacturer (I own a few) their niche isn't range/cooktop/rangetop. A simple metaphor to use is; would you go to a steak house and expect excellent seafood? The answer usually is a resounding "NO". You would go to a restaurant that specializes in seafood. The old saying, "Do one thing and do it well" is the word here. When purchasing something as important as a cooking appliance, you want to try and stay away from manufacturer's that produce a myriad of products. When making a decision about a range/cooktop/rangetop there are many things to consider. First do you want a professional look or a professional result? This may seem like an odd question to ask yourself but it is paramount to making an informed decision. Many home "Chefs" are after one thing and that is appearance. If this is your goal, then any one of the manufacturers' you have mentioned will work just fine. However, if you are an above average cook or even a professionl Chef, then the only decision you have to make is which manufacturer "Performs" the best. For this purpose WOLF or BLUESTAR are the obvious and only choices. Wolf offers a high BTU of 16,000 with a 500BTU simmer. Bluestar offers an unpresidented 22,000BTU and an incredible 300BTU simmer. WOW!!! Any professional Chef would not be caught dead with a cooktop or rangetop with "Sealed Burners". While it is true that a sealed burner is easier to keep clean you will never obtain near professional results. The reason for this is that a sealed burner cannot truly get as hot as an open burner. The surface area the flame comes into contact with a pan also becomes compromised. It is a simple matter of physics. Bluestar does not offer sealed burners due to this fact. Wolf however does. Wolf began as the only commercial maufacturer that modified their range/cooktop/rangetop for home use but now they offer sealed burners which do not comply with any restaurant standards. Bluestar however is the ONLY commercial maufacturer to offer a 22,000 BTU burner for home use in an Open Burner for home use. A truly professional appliance. Period. So when all is said and done ask yourself which is most imporant....Professional Appearance or Professional Results? If you choose the later then the obvious choices are BLUESTAR and WOLF. My personal preference is BLUESTAR because it comes as close to professional results without stepping into a commercial kitchen. If what you are after is appearance then any number of ranges/cooktops/rangetops will do. You can also save yourself a lot of money if all you want is a "nice" looking appliance. Unfortunatley a lot of people who are remodeling their kitchens only dabble in cooking and do not really understand the importance of the specifications outlined above. They end up purchasing an expensive range/cooktop/rangetop merely for the status of a name and not to use it to it's full potential. They purchase for the wrong reason(s). This becomes evident when someone doesn't understand the importance of sealed burner versus open burner. I hope this helps you to ask yourself what do you really want out of your appliance and what kind of a cook you are. Only you have that answer, but hopefully you have been armed with enough facts about the features that will help you to make the best decision for you and your family. Warmest Regards

We've had our 30" RNB for two years. The oven gets used a lot, as often as 4 times a week when my wife is baking all of our bread. During those two years we had periodic troubles with the door sticking, so I greased the hinges frequently. Finally the door stuck so hard that getting it open damaged the inner panel. Unfortunately, it was essential that it be opened, because it had our Thanksgiving food in it. That sounds grim, but Michael at Bluestar service responded promptly to my email, ordered a new door (reportedly with design fixes), kept me informed as to when to expect it to arrive, and, most importantly, came through exactly as promised. The new door was very easy to install and it works great. I can't say I was thrilled about the hinge problem, but I was very satisfied with the way that Bluestar remedied it. Apart from the hinge issue, the range remains a joy to use.

Just went through the Blustar "cooktop vs rangetop" research myself, just bought a 30" cook top, but not installed yet. The grates on the cooktop are exactly the same as on the rangetop, so you lo se nothing in cooking space (unlike other brands). Re wok cooking, you can remove the grate and that leaves a perfect bowl that fits the bottom of the wok (there is a video of this out on Youtube somewhere) Re dimensions: the cooktop is a bit deeper than most other cooktops - 22", so plan your countertops accordingly. It is also thicker and will take about a 9" deep cavity to hold, so you will lose a drawer below the cooktop (vs. 4" for other, lesser, cooktops). Good luck!

Would love to hear about your satisfaction or lack thereof with this 'newer' product...wall oven with french double doors. The doors make sense for our application. what about oven performance? Anything you miss? sorry to start anew but oven threads seem 6-8 months or older