In general: I have had open and closed burner gas tops and closed are 100% easier to clean, I would never never get open unless I had daily cleaning help. The BTU rating on the highest burner is important, as well as a very small BTU simmer burner. I also need continuous grate to slide a pot over, and prefer mechanical knobs to electronic keypads. There are some cooktops where the grates are too high off the burners and there are complaints of a feeling of under-powered burners despite the BTU rating. I think this whole open burner for the home thing is nothing short of ridiculous, it is more of a high volume restaurant issue, but his is gardenweb... I do not like the performance of gas ovens. I like electric and I love the functionality of convection. I would never buy an oven without convection. So I would vote for closed burner gas cooking and electric ovens.

I also wanted a 48" range for my kitchen, having never had one, I really looked for a Wolf or Viking at a discount...but found nothing I felt comfortable shelling out the money for. Even on Craigslist/ebay....found some, but still, IMO the deals were very risky due to no warranty or fall back if something went wrong. We did purchase a 48" kitchen aid range...granted I have never had a wolf or Viking.....but I absolutely LOVE my Kitchen aid range. We purchased it at Sears outlet/discount for about 60% less than retail (small scuff mark at bottom) and we did get an extended warranty. I love the way this range cooks!!! I love the convection oven and the fact that I have a smaller oven to cook in most days. I am not sure if you have ever had the higher end appliances, I have not and so this is a total upgrade for me and I have a peace of mind knowing I have a warranty. Also, we purchased the Sharp microwave, 24" I was able to get this for 70% below retail from Sears outlet also (not sure what was wrong with it, it was still in original packaging) ...we love it.!!!..total space saver and my DH who is 6'4" can even use it with ease. The controls tilt up so NO bending over to use it. I highly recommend getting the Sharp microwave, everyone who comes into our kitchen raves about it! Also, don't rule of 48" kitchen aid range, you can find some good deals.

I have the Miele 48" range and am happy with it overall. Both the ovens work well, the larger one has steam assist and the smaller oven is a speed oven/mw. We use the smaller one primarily as a mw and there was a problem at first, but it works fine now. The controls are very easy to use, though they can seem intimidating when you first use them. The warming drawer under the small oven works well, it made a loud thumping noise at first but was fixed and is quiet now. The burners have a very low simmer and a fairly powerful high. There were some clicking issues, but nothing excessive. This range is not 100% perfect, but most ranges aren't. We are generally pleased. As mentioned above. You need good ventilation- we have a 54" Modernaire hood. In addition to the range, I have a Wolf combi steam oven that is amazing and is the oven we use most often. We would have gone with the Wolf range but were worried about the blue enamel chipping issues.

"even resaturants don’t have them anymore because they don’t NEED them." As someone who spends a fair amount of time talking to chef's and visiting kitchens in restaurants I can say that this is patently false. To the OP... What kind of cooking do you currently do and what would you like to be able to do? How are you for disposable income? We are going from a 36” ( burners + 12” griddle) to a 48” (4 burners + 24” griddle) primarily for the griddle space. We use the griddle not just for normal griddle stuff but for keeping sauces warm or various other tasks. For what we do a 24” thermostatic controlled griddle is much more useful and versatile than burners. We’ll also have an electric wall oven (Miele Masterchef), CSO (Miele XXL), GE Advantium MW/Fastbake, and two warming drawers. The changes from our current kitchen are the addition of the CSO and an extra warming drawer. Realistically this will all make little difference in what we prepare or how many people we can entertain but it will make cooking a bit less hectic and more enjoyable so for us it will be worth it. As I've said before, I've seen chef's produce outstanding meals with nothing but two portable burners and I've seen them produce delicious meals on ranges with no more than 11k btu's. I’ve also enjoyed some delicious chef prepared meals cooked over (or under) a simple fire. With anemic burners they won't sauté or do any high heat pan frying. Without enough burners they may limit the number of sauces. But what they will be able to do will be quite good. And FWIW, if a 48" looks better and you have the money for it then there is nothing wrong with going for it.