I have the Breville Quick Touch that I really like...

At one point, I tried to find the perfect microwave; and the longer I read reviews the more disillusioned I became. I feel nobody really makes great microwaves. Of course, the flipside is that microwaves are pretty cheap these days. So, maybe I just need something good enough and then replace it every so often.

We have generally been very happy with Panasonic microwaves, as they appear to be one of the few (the only ones?) that can truly modulate power output; most other microwave manufacturers turn power on and off periodically, instead of outputting reduced power.

I find, this makes a huge difference when gently heating up food or when defrosting food. I take advantage of variable power output all the time.

The downside is that they seem to die every 3 - 5 years. Our current microwave is almost dead already, and I think it's only just over four years old. It now regularly turns off by itself, whenever I push the start button. Oh well, time to renew my Panasonic subscription.

And no, I won't ever buy a built-in microwave. I am not going to take the risk that I have custom cabinets that won't fit the replacement microwave that I inevitably have to buy a few years down the line.

we're in this decision process too. I have no additional information to add except my neighbor's panasonic microwave died after 3 years. she did not get another one, but can't recall what brand she ended up with. my sister has a cuisinart and is happy with it. But it's an older model and I don't know how it compares to the new ones - seems many have convection built in, which i don't want.

We bought a Panasonic Model #:
NN-SD681S Inverter microwave almost three years ago, and really like it. The Inverter technology works great. If it dies, I will buy another one. Microwaves are no longer built to last, which is very sad.

link to one at amazon