andiswife-I have a GE Cafe dual fuel range, and I love it. It has a huge oven and I have not had any problems with any of the burners. Yes, there is an oven fan that comes on, but to me anyway, it not that annoying, and it has never blown out the back burners. This range also sat in my garage for over 1 year before it was installed and it has always worked perfectly. I love the power boil and it simmers and I truly mean simmers. The thing with the griddle is that to use the griddle, you have to take off the grate. I tried to cook on the griddle with the grate on and I did take forever and did not heat up very well, but once I read the owners manual and it said to take off the grate, it was perfect. I have seen on this forum and on the kitchen forum complaints and boasting about every appliance manufacturer, so I guess you should just take everything with a grain of salt. Yes, I would buy a GE Cafe range again. I also purchased the GE Cafe vent hood, and I must say it is very quiet on low and med low. Does start to get loud on med hi and hi. Just my opinion.

Okay. You asked for cons. Here are mine: 1. IMO, for a family of 3, a 24" rangetop is very small . I think you need to ask yourself whether the gain in countertop area is actually worth it. As you've already noted, you have problems now in navigating your 30" rangetop which, because of side-mounted controls, is effectively 24" in width. That problem won't improve with the Companion. Another question would be whether you've considered 30" ranges with front-mounted controls? 2. Yes, the Aga's ovens are Euro-small. Depending on your baking/roasting needs, this could be a problem. Maximum size bird you can fit in the Companion's one roasting oven would be a 16 pounder. Baking a lot of cookies? You're looking at lots of rounds of small baking sheets. Something to consider. 3. The Aga's ovens have no glass in their doors, no lights, and no internal thermometer. If you need to check on your foodstuffs while they're baking, you chance temp drops each time you open the door to do so. That said, I do understand your willingness to live with no increase in range area if installation of the 24" Companion will allow you to have more countertop area. If I were dealing with the kind of space issues your struggling with, I think the latter change would be a big plus in my book. Onto the ovens. Personally, I've experienced no problems whatsoever with the size of the Aga ovens. In fact, how they look in size is rather deceptive. In practice, I've been able to shove all manner of roasts, casseroles, etc. into those cavities without fretting. However, keep in mind that I'm a single empty nester with 4 Aga-size ovens! (Also, I'm not much of a baker). So while, generally, I hardly ever need to use more than 2 ovens at a time, I do have the option of using all four when cooking for a crowd. The Companion alone will not give you that option. Something to consider. And, while I don't like opening the oven doors to check on the progress of my food, I haven't yet found that action one to negatively impact my cooking results. As for Aga service, I would not worry about those 2 reviews you found. First of all, user complaints are to be expected when it comes to reviews of mass-produced items -- especially consumer appliances. More importantly, in this instance, neither of those complaints on the AJ Madison site were about the Aga Companion; one was about the 6-4, the other about the Legacy. Also, keep in mind that the essence of both complaints really went to poor service response from Aga. But know this: Aga service in North America used to be handled by a team based in Canada. However, since late 2011/early 2012, all that has changed. Aga service in North America is now handled by a team based in Michigan. From what I've heard from others as well as what I've been able to pick up from my own simple phone conversations with the tech staff, there's been a marked improvement in Aga technical services since they made the move across the Canadian-US border. Again, given the generally good rep that the Aga Companion has, I would worry about service issues only if you find a heap of bad reviews about the Aga Companion that are dated from very late 2011 forward. Finally, when it comes to looks, I hear you. My choice of the Aga 6-4 was one that was primarily based on looks. First I wanted a quality range that would meet my performance requirements, but secondly, I wanted a quality range that would best fit in with the look of my new and final kitchen. While there were several quality brands with similar cooking specs available to me at the time of purchase (arguably some even "better" and cheaper than the Aga 6-4), none of those ranges in a comparable performance class beat the 6-4 on the looks I wanted. That's why I chose it and I still don't regret having done so. All this is also why I continue to recommend Aga ranges to a certain small group of TKOs who, like you, gravitate towards a particular kitchen design that is not necessarily for the "mainstream." :-) Again, best of luck in choosing whatever you feels works best for you and your kitchen!

Hi, I lurked on here last year while our kitchen remodel was in full swing. At the time I noticed there wasn't much feedback about these ranges...we purchased a 30" dual fuel model anyway and we've been pretty happy with it. Likes: - the bridge burner and griddle - 18K BTU burner for wok cooking and water boiling - analog oven temp dial - convection oven - in-oven temp probe for roasts - looks Dislikes: - oven racks a little sticky pulling in and out, wish it had the roller racks - lack of fine burner control on the back left burner - ceramic range top kind of a pain to keep clean I found out that these ranges are made by Electrolux in Canada. The Pro ranges are essentially rebranded Electrolux Icon ranges with a few different bells/whistles. We got it from Sears for about $2800 on sale and at that price it was a no-brainer. If you can get it for that or less, I'd think its a great value for a pro-style range. Hope this helps. Chris

First off, it sounds like you don't have any need for a larger range. You have the perfect size for you. I have a 48" blue star heritage with raised grill and a salamander. But we entertain family and friends A LOT. F&F with multiple needs and desires. Vegans, Veg, full on meat lovers. People with allergies or dietary constraints. So we'll find on any given day, making multiple meals/choices for guests. Say....less spicy red beans and rice,polenta, spicy shrimp, alligator gumbo and then a full on spicy red beans and rice with sausage. Or pasta, gnocchi with fresh herbs, sweet potato gnocchi, two types of sauces and something meat or fish. Or whatever meets our fancy but must be constructed to fit family and guests. Some days I use very few burners and never use the griddle. Other days I use them all. We have multiple cooks in the family and a few real life chefs in the extended. The range is there for when it's needed....and beloved by all.(I love it when friends come over and it's a huge party around the range) For us a big range works. But that's the point...a range NEEDS to fit you and your lifestyle. Anyone can cook on anything. But overkill is overkill and nothing but waste. There are sooooo many other ways to show off than a range:)