I bought the SZ for the looks, but I love it what it does. It really, truly does keep my produce fresher longer. I'm building a new kitchen, and I'm getting a second SZ, if that tells you anything.

I replaced my Viking fridge with a Miele as it fit perfectly and gave me the same look. Nearly a year now and very happy.

Ok, so this doesn't help. I need a tie breaker! ;) Roco, why did you choose Mile over SZ? Was it for looks or functionality? was your Viking also a problem?

Cheryl, Which SZ did you get? I am thinking of getting the French doors on top and freezer on the bottom?

I've had a Miele 36" fridge/freezer for 6+ years and I love it. I chose it over the SZ b/c I liked the looks much better than the SZ. I don't know if SZ has changed over time, but back then the SZ looked cheap inside. Everything was plastic, the lighting wasn't that great, nothing about it wowed me in any way. I liked it the least of any high end fridge/freezers I saw. The Miele has beautiful lighting, the hinges on the drawers both on the inside door and inside are metal and very sturdy-both in looks and in function. The Miele also had all the things I was looking for in a fridge-dual compressors, individual zones, I liked the layout of the shelving, I liked that I could see and reach everything very easily. And the freezer is laid out nicely also.

We're in the process of remodeling, we're going to put in a Miele. It is a little cheaper than the sub, will match the other Miele appliances we're putting in and I liked the hinge and lighting better than SZ.

Mskih:

I looked at Miele and Sub Zero in sizes larger than a 36"; looking for lots of fruit/veggie space and enough freezer in one unit, rather than de-centralizing and using multiple units (less efficient for me). While the Miele was beautiful and well-made, it had a strange compartment for deli that was only half the width of the fridge on a sliding rail, which I did not understand! They did not offer an internal water dispenser, which I find convenient.

Although I don't care for side by side design at all, I am nonetheless going with a Sub Zero 48" fridge/freezer (30"/18") with internal water and ice dispenser, as this unit gives me everything in the right proportions for our needs (large veggie and fruit bins + water and ice straight inside the fridge) and access for fridge AND freezer is super: shelves right in front of you, top to bottom, but not too skinny, as in a 36" side by side. And my old 36" French door fridge's freezer section was inadequate; I like to freeze leftover broth and partial packages of sausages, fresh herbs, frozen peas, that kind of thing, and in a bottom freezer, I lost items all the time. Now I will have many shelves in the freezer and the freezer door to place smaller items (that I will label well! ;-}

Style-wise, I find the lighting and current bin design in the Sub Zero to be the nicest among Thermador, Monogram and KA. Miele's construction looked excellent, I just did not find a model that had all the features I wanted (large deli drawer, large fruit and veggie bins, internal water dispenser, accessible shelving in freezer).

Good luck!

@msklh - The Viking was 10 and had been repaired several times including the freon, which I was told in retrospect is equivalent to open heart surgery on a fridge. Should have replaced it then.

I went through an exhaustive search for the replacement & there's a long thread on this forum with lots of details, plus back and forth from some really knowledgeable folk. Here's the link

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2312992/refrigerator-again-perspective-please?n=76

My opening was 24" deep and the Viking was integrated. But I didn't have depth for SZ integrated.

Long story short: Finalists were Miele & SZ. But we get frequent power outages here which Miele is built for and SZ is not. That was the deciding factor. Most decide on features like layout etc. Many like their Thermadors and that would have fit. But I didn't care for the interior quality and was unsure about service in my area. It also was nearly as much as Miele and I knew their quality & service.

I personally loathe the taste of fridge water so water in the fridge -- apart from ice -- is the last thing I'd ever want. I do miss that slim full width drawer in my Viking as it gave me 3 big drawers vs 2 in the Miele. The little deli drawer is OK. It can be removed but I cram it full. The two big crisper drawers are very deep and hold a ton. But the big difference is the openness of the shelves. What I like best is the door racks which are super sturdy and hold all our drinks. The fridge is quiet (there are some faint compressor noises but my Vike was so noisy we could hear it upstairs), temperature is excellent. Freezer is excellent with 2 shelves I like a lot.

Aesthetically, I wasn't mad for the look of the huge SZ grill which I would have had protruding from the cabinets with a standard install. Mieles vent is behind the freezer door on the bottom. That makes the compartment higher than the SZ's. The Miele lighting is outstanding. You can see everything even when the fridge is crowded. It was also about $800 less than the same style SZ here. Nice benefit since I had to pay for install. But either one is a good choice. When I compared them feature to feature it was a tough decision.

Thank you all so much! I think all this information will make my decision much easier.

Have Miele 36" for three years. Love it...Incredible hinges!!!

Great layout and elegant solution, Brett.