It really depends on what you're willing to spend and what features you want. Do you want top of the line, something on the cheaper side or something in the middle?

I'm in the exact same boat as you, someday soon - are you looking for induction? We've been considering Kitchenaid or Electrolux but as you said, reviews are anywhere from great to scary. Of course you can find bad reviews for absolutely any product. Wish I had an answer.

Sorry, but I do not understand why you are most concerned with the look of appliances versus functionality. A much better approach is to determine which manufacturer produces the best product for each function. Usually different manufacturers have different strengths and weaknesses rather than being equally good across the board for all the different appliances. The fact that every appliance in your kitchen has matching handles is not going to matter one whit if you are upset and angry because of breakdowns and service calls or the need for early replacement.

I am not pointing my finger at Kitchenaid (in fact I am getting a new Kitchenaid wall oven combo installed right after Christmas) but at the idea that everything needs to match and be from the same manufacturer.

If you want to stick with one brand, I would look at Bosch.

Also I wouldn't go with an electric cooktop but with induction

Your problem is no one manufacturer does everything well. To order all of your kitchen appliances from a single manufacturer is a shot in the dark. If we recommend one item, the other items may be average or terrible. See if you can select each item individually. As long as they are all stainless or all white, you needn't worry about matching handles. They will blend. Function over form every time.

Ditto! My cooktop is DCS (now Fisher Paykel), my ovens are Thermador, dishwasher Miele (just replaced previous Miele) and the fridge is a KA. Believe me it all looks great. The fridge and the previous dw were integrated with wood panels. Now the new Miele is a stainless exterior. It still looks great. Go for reliability. My kitchen is 13 yrs old, so these brands may or may not be top tier today. Although my new Miele Dimension is terrific!

Even if you buy top end products this stuff is not going to last 20 years like it used to. Odds are within 5-10 years you'll need to start replacing some of it so you'll end up with an assortment. I think stainless will still be around in 5-10 years so that's probably a safe way to go. White is also likely to be around but there may be fewer choices above an entry level price point. You might not be able to find matching white with stainless handles though.

I will state that I have a new KA Architect II Series French Door 36" refrigerator that I like a great deal. It does have one small problem, a gasket leak in the freezer door. They will happily fix it under warranty if you happen to have this little leak and frost forms in the freezer. This is a design flaw found in all Whirlpool branded French Door refrigerators. It is not exclusive to KA. It's a really simple fix. I found their service to be very efficient and effective.

Consumer Reports has ceased to be a source of information for me. I don't find them to be credible anymore. Many posters at this forum have reached the same conclusion.

LG and Samsung have miserable service records. At least with Whirlpool products you can get service. If we had the perfect answer, we wouldn't need the appliance forum. At some point, you will just have to take your chances.

You can go through the first couple of pages of GW, and find someone having trouble with just about every manufacturer out there. Like homechef59, I'm about if my appliances can be serviced, without being weeks on end waiting for service.

I have the fridge, slide in range, and DW by KA. The microwave/convection is a GE Profile. The KA's are about 3 years old. Had just finished up a remodel of the kitchen, appliance guys delivered all the KAs. They had just pulled out of the drive. We were putting stuff from our old fridge into the new. A big spark came from the left door of the French door fridge. Fridge stopped running, all the lights went out on the fridge. It seems KA runs the wire for the door alarm on the left side. The circuit board blew out because of a bare wire in the door. Long story shortened up a bit, a new fridge arrived the following week. The store was going to bring out a different brand the same day because they didn't have another black CD French door in stock, while we would have to wait for a replacement. Great service from the local operated store (not chain store). Bottom line is I thought about purchasing some of the other up and coming brands, but it appears service is either stand in line waiting or the service is non-existent. All brands have their lemons.

>>>"Consumer Reports has ceased to be a source of information for me. I
don't find them to be credible anymore. Many posters at this forum have
reached the same conclusion."<<<

Just to be clear, you and I are talking about two different things.

You are talking about CR's lab tests and product evaluations. I was talking about the annual surveys which gather reliability/problem data from tens of thousands of actual users who actually bought, own and use actual appliances. These are very different things.

Whatever folks think of CR's product evaluations and recommendations ---- my own dim views about CR's refrigerator evaluations were expressed at some length in this thread: http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2312819/need-a-new-refrigerator-any-recommendations-on-which-one --- the annual CR member survey results seem to be about the only publicly available source of large scale information on actual user experience with reliability and durability. At least, the only such source I've found.

>>> "You can go through the first couple of pages of GW, and find someone
having trouble with just about every manufacturer out there. . . All brands have their lemons."<<<

Indeed.

As you also point out, the quality of the available service can make a big difference in how big the problems are seen to be. There is nothing like poor post-sale service and support to turn a disappointed buyer into a vehemently irate crusader against a product or a whole brand.

I suppose it bears saying that having some lemons does not mean all of a manufacturer's units are bad. If there are problems with 20% of the units, then 80% are fine. That, of course, is of no comfort when you one of the folks who wind up one of the 20% with problems. Seems to me that the question is how well you tolerate risk or, rather, whether the odds are acceptable.

The annual surveys are no more reliable a source of data IMO than are the CR product tests. Years ago when I was a magazine subscriber, the annual survey instructed to answer about appliances no more than 5 years old. There was no differentiation on details of repairs or needed service. The questions posed as I recall were simply 1) whether service had been called for a problem, and 2) if there have been any problems for which service was not called.

An installation problem or usage error/misunderstanding was given the same weight as any other failure.

I always answered for my appliances that were older than the cut-off age.

Points I've made before, too, except that I never lied to CR about the age of my appliances. :>)

But, that does not lead me to say that the membership surveys are "unreliable. " Only that the surveys do not tell us as much as we would like to know.

My recollection is that the questionaire asks a bit more than whether you decided to get service for a problem. Having
said that, I'm still trying to find a questionaire. If nothing else, I
think CU/CR may be sending out another quarterly survey shortly. I'll
try to report back when I find out what they are asking now.

KitchenAid appliances:

I have had a KA French door shallow depth fridge for about 4 years. Other than a perpetually clogging drain line in the freezer section, I like the quality of the appliance.

I have had a KA convection range for about 3 years. It has been nothing short of exceptional in my opinion for the price paid.

But when it came time to replace the DW 2 years ago, I would not consider KA. Too many issues, and some history of fires (class action lawsuit was pending). I looked at Bosch and Miele, and have been exceptionally satisfied with the Miele, took the base model 4225 Classic.

So, kind of a mixed bag in my opinion with KA, one exceptional, one OK, and one I would not consider.

Laundryvet