Berob

Why did the Bosch series end up 12 and 13?

Do you have the Consumer Reports TL washer ratings?

Consumer Reports TL ratings:

Maytag Bravos $950 75 (out of 100)
MTW6600TQ

Whirlpool Cabrio HE $1000 74
WTW6600SW

Fisher & Paykel $900 74
Aquasmart WL26CW1

Whirlpool Cabrio $700 69
WTW6200SW

GE Profile Harmony $950 65
WPGT9360EWW

GE $490 64 (rated a best buy)
WJRE5500GVWV

The first three are pretty tightly grouped. I wonder why the GE Harmony scores lower than this top group. After all, it has an impeller wash plate just like the Bravos and the Cabrio.

Why would the Cabrio and the Bravos get different scores when they're the same machine except for aesthetics? According to CR, Bravos is slightly better at washing, but the Cabrio is slightly more gentle.

BTW, for those who want to compare the scores of the TL to the FL, the top FL got an 81 and #13 Bosch got a 77--spread out pretty close together there.

Hi there. New to this board. I'm in the process of getting a FL and am in between the LG and Miele. Can you tell me what the difference in ratings from CR was for those two washers and dryers?

Thanks!

In other forums in this website, LG has been harshly criticized for their unreponsive customer service department. After reading those comments, I would never buy anything with that label.

LG Tromm: 81 pts
Miele 4840 81 pts.
LG rated better on energy efficiency and gentleness
Miele rated better on washing and noise.

Both received mostly excellent or very good ratings on all crtiera.

The Cabrio and the Bravos probably have different cycle times for wash because there's a direct trade-off between being and gentle and having good cleaning performance. I'm guessing that the Bravos takes longer to wash, which gives it more time to clean, and also more time to abrade clothes. The real question is whether or not both machines wash well enough, and are gentle enough, to satify consumers.

I noticed the wash plate on a new Bravos was shapped differently than on the Cabrio and older Bravos. Different wash plate designs may cause difffernet results.

Joe

Hi everyone,

Here is Australia's March 2008 equivalent to your latest CR reviews. Our testing body is called Choice and they compared 43 washers (both TL & FL). Since you are talking about your newest CR reviews I thought that you may be interested to compare the two.

Do CR in the US test for rinse performance also? Choice look at dirt removal, rinse performance and they average out both to get an overall performance rating. They also rate gentleness, spin efficiency, water consumption, list purchase costs, running costs and so on.

I noted with interest that the large (> 7kg) F&P Aquasmart is rated 81% for dirt removal, 74% rinse efficiency and 78% overall performance by Choice. Assuming that this is the model rated by CR in the US, I am surprised that it only scored 74 points over there - I'd like to know how come?

Do CR in the US test front and top loaders using the same water temperature? Apparently here in Australia top loaders are usually tested with cold water and front loaders with warm or hot water.

According to Choice, top loaders average out higher for overall wash & rinse performance than front loaders. I was surprised that a few top loaders actually scored 90% for rinse effectiveness. Not one front loader scored that high. In fact, front loaders don't seem to rate all that well for rinse performance.

Anyway, have a look, compare and give us your thoughts.

Cheers

Turbo

Here is a link that might be useful: Choice washer reviews for 2008

CR likely runs their tests using the designated "normal" cycle at the default options. They seem to not investigate options and setting much, if at all, and don't do more than a cursory exam of the machine. Their review of whatever F&P toploader was on the U.S. market at the time I canceled my subscription said the machine did not have ATC, which was incorrect. I brought it to their attention, and they never corrected the error. CR is a joke.

I took a look at the CR ratings yesterday. The Meile dryer was rather poorly rated -- for drying and whatever the second category was. I don't remember anything rated very well on that and it surprised me, but they dont' tell you s much about how they test them as they used to. It's hard to know if you would have the same feelings about simething they didn't like or that might have limited their test.

lascatx,

The Miele being poorly rated doesn't surprise me as it can be tailored via a Miele Service Rep or the upcoming MieleVision Module (not yet released in the US, but undergoing the final stages of testing in Germany), and I seriously doubt CR even had a clue. My wife and I are in process of having ours tailored to our usage by Miele.

I ceased reading CR years ago for the many reasons others have posted here, and elsewhere in the forums.

Buying a new washer/dryer and am considering the new LG steam washer/dryer model WM2487, in navy with the LED panel on front. Quote of $3000.00 Canadian for the set. Is this a good deal and how do they perform???

I recently bought the Maytag Bravos MTW6700TQ (instead of the 6600 model) washer because the 6700 model is said to be even better, eliminating a problem which the 6600 model had with the impeller. So far, I'm extremely happy with mine.

washer_man, the only reason I can think of that GE Harmony does not rate as high as Maytag Bravo and Whirlpool Cabrio (and Sears Kenmore Oasis) is that those three are all basically the same washer, all manufactured by Whirlpool with minor differences in features.

I can only tell of my experience: my Maytag is much gentler on my laundry than was my old Sears Kenmore traditional TL, which I dearly loved, for it had served me faithfully for almost 15 years. I averaged 10 loads a week during that time.

However, it was aging, the dual agitator was no longer functioning as it should, I wanted to be able to wash huge loads (including king-size comforters) because I have a large family - meaning I could wash far fewer loads each week - and because I was looking for ways to save on electricity bills and conserve water, I chose to replace Old Faithful with the Maytag Bravo HE top-loader.

My ds and dil purchased a Sears Kenmore Oasis washer not long ago, which is very similar to my Maytag Bravo, and she has raved about it. She is hard to please, she has to wash very dirty laundry (ds works an outdoor job and they have toddlers); they also have a large family, so her experience definitely influenced me. They found their washer at a local Sears outlet/scratch-n-dent store - it has a tiny dent at the bottom - so they saved $$$ on it.

We made quite an investment in our new washer, but we also are getting big rebates from Home Depot and Maytag, which definitely sweeten the deal.