When it comes to stoves, cooktops and wall ovens GE has been among the most reliable appliance brands according the the annual membership surveys compiled by Consumer Reports. GE had some issues with dishwashers, but reliability has been improving. It was refrigerators where the company had (and contiues to have) a reputation for poor quality control and warranty service failings. For severa years, GE outsourced all of its refrigerator production and those had a truly abysmal defect rate (close to one in four needing service in the first five years of ownership). GE has "onshored" production of some fridges to its Kentucky plant and those, apparently, are more durable and reliable. The GE stoves have been a completely different story of class leading reliability and longevity. CR's membership experience for over a decade now have been showing the GE and Hotpoint electric ranges to have been the most reliable and among the best performing (at least by CR's lights.) . I really don't know where to find hard data on the Bosch electric ranges. Not enough CR members purchased Bosch electric ranges to generate what CR regarded as a statistically significant sample, so Bosch stoves didn't get listed in the survey reports. A couple of friends have had Bosch dual fuel ranges for five and six years without problems, but that's hardly data of any scope. You might check out the complaints on www.consumeraffairs.com and look for patterns. (IIRC, most f the complaints will be about washing machines and dishwashers with relatively few about the ranges.) BSH is a big company, and all big companies will generate some hundreds of complaints. The new Bosch Benchmark Induction Range has an interesting burner layout that may work well for some and not for others. It has touchpad controls on the cooktop surface which some like and others do not. I'm personally prejudiced against cooktop touchpads because of some bad experiences with cooking spills on older induction ranges with cooktop controls a decade or so ago. For me, there is also potential control issues that can turn up if you pull hot pans out of the oven and place them on your cooktop over the control panel. Other folks do not have this problem and they swear by the cooktop touchpad controls. It is really a YMMV thing. The Bosch has some very nice features including individual timers for the each of the burners. (AFAIK, it is the only induction range that offers this in the North American market). The oven may be a mite too small for some folks. If you regularly use two half sheet pans on a rack, I'd want to check it out it person to make sure that the convection fan housing doesn't impede this. BSH has been making induction appliances in Europe for decades now and some of the divisions (Gagenau) apparently have a good reputation for reliability but I have yet to find an solid data comparable to the CR membership surveys. (The data may well be out there for Europe or Australia, and I just have not found it yet. Maybe somebody else has?) If you like using a rectangular griddle(for pancakes, tortillas, etc.), check the Bosch owner's manual as they might prohibit burner spanning on this particular model. (IIRC, the new Benchmark induction cooktops are specifically set-up for this but the new Benchmark range is not.) If burner spanning is of interest, both the GE freestanding induction range (PHB920) and the slide-in (PHS920) permit spanning but you have to control each burner separately. If you can't lay hands on an actual Benchmark in a store, I'd suggest printing out a top view of the cooktop and then make a full scale drawing of the burner sizes and layout on a piece of newspaper. Pull out your pans and see how they fit onto the burner circles. To me, the Bosch layout would be preferable to the Whirlpool/Maytag induction range layout, but still would be problematic for the kind of entertaining and projects I do. (I often use three or four largish pans, but not everybody does or cares about this so YMMV.) One final thought: If you wind up having to choose a single oven induction range, then consider adding second oven capability with a countertop oven with either the Breville 800 Smart Oven (around $250) or the Cuisinart CSO-300 countertop combi-steam oven (around $300). Each seems to have a fairly devoted and impressed following as reflected in several threads here and at Chowhound. Although the countertop units eat some counter space (like toaster ovens), both seem very capable small units. One of them might be a workable alternative to the twin oven capacity you were looking at. This post was edited by JWVideo on Mon, May 5, 14 at 17:59

I'd rule out the hybrid option, if you can. Induction is far better; you will be annoyed at having two hobs you like and use, and two hobs that are slower and mostly unused. In the years ahead, you'll be happier with induction vs. an electric range option, if you can afford it. Downdraft may be a problem with some slide-in induction ranges, like the E'lux (which pushes the downdraft vent so far to the rear that it may be ineffective). Perhaps GE's induction range is a better option for you; I'm not sure.

I considered each of the ranges you mention above as well as the Kenmore. The Jenn-aire has terrible rating from everyone I spoke with so I ditched it in a hurry. The KA has one large handle too many, besides, I didn't care for the lip which is found at the front of the flat top leading up to the controls (do they still make it that way?). The Kenmore also has the 2 huge handle which are darn ugly and I didn't care for its looks. The Bosch received great reviews, is sleek, has one handle, oven is larger, so we bought that one. Search around the Internet for the Bosch and see what prices you find. Some stores, like Sears, will match an Internet price with an extra 10% off but the Internet store must have a physical address (no PO BOX). I was able to do this with Sears for more $$ off our Bosch Integra, but still paid over $2K. As for the fan, it's not very loud, IMO. It's much lower than than our OTR microwave when it's running, and it's certainly lower than the OTR vent when it's on. Our kitchen and family rooms are open, and we do not have to raise our voices or TV volumn when then Bosch oven is on. It's a gentle sound. It doesn't bother us, and you will get used to it. If you can find a great price that comes close to your $2K budget for the Bosch, it's worth it. I love mine. It is a breeze to clean up too and it cooks wonderfully.

I'm planning on putting in a 30" all gas range in my kitchen remodel and was set on getting a Bluestar RCS. While shopping for other appliances, I was offered some pretty decent deals on other ranges and now I have no idea what to choose. Here are my options: 1. Bluestar RCS : $2,400 (new) 2. Capital Culinarian : $3,800 (used as a model for an appliance show, never hooked up) 3. American Range Performer : $3,550 (new, may be able to get a discount on the showroom unit) These prices are all in CAD, so keep in mind that USD prices would be roughly 12% less. I've read about all the ranges and there doesn't seem to be a wrong choice. Which one would you choose?