Does Miele offer a combi-steam in their 48" range? That would be the best option, and what I have from Thermador. Otherwise, I would just get a steam oven. I can't imagine you would use the convection component much when you have 2 additional ovens.

I am also getting the 48" Miele range in my new kitchen. The large oven has steam assist and the small oven is a mw speed oven. We eliminated the mw drawer from our plan and will use the small oven as a mw most of the time, with the option to use it as a regular oven as needed. We will also have the Wolf combo-steam oven and assume it will be used the most frequently of the three ovens because of it's size and capabilities.

Unless you are going to do just plain steaming a lot, go with stream combi oven. It can do what a stream oven can plus much more in combination mode.

Your range will require water connection, so it is worth it to also get a plumbed combi steam oven. It is quite a lot more convenience not having to worry about filling in water and drainage.

Combi cooking is what people are praising for its wide capability to do different things to your food. I cook Asian cuisine and use pure streaming mode all the time. A plumbed model makes it more convenience with a lot of streaming activity. I also use a combi mode a lot, both for actual cooking and reheating.

In terms of cost, think of it this way. If you put in a pure steam only and rarely use it, and compared with a frequently used combi steam oven. Cost per usage over a lifetime will be easy cheaper for the combi. For majority of people who has a combi oven, it had become their go to oven due to various reasons: faster heat up time due to smaller cavity; reheating meals; or just for the actual usage of combi cooking.

Pure steam oven may be a better choice if combi mode is not of your interest, and you will do a lot of steaming. It will heat up faster in steaming due to smaller cavity as well.

I agree with the others, I have a combi, but rarely use steam only ( did tonight for some corn ) but before that it was in convection mode at 160 to keep some pork warm. The main benefit of a combi steam oven over your regular oven, is that it is much smaller, so it heats up much quicker. My main oven takes about 1/2 hour, the combi is 5 to 10 minutes.

I use steam only all the time, but I still say combi-

Steam only is great for blanching or steaming vegetables, steambing buns, tamales, etc., poaching, etc., etc.

Combi- is great for steam roasting chickens (your range ovens will be jealous!), vegetables, meats, etc. Too many to name.

Then there's baking. Want crunchy crusted bread? I'm pretty sure Miele has a special program just for that.

You don't need a steam oven for any of these things, but it seem silly once you have the steam oven, to have to be putting dishes of water in your range oven because you didn't get the combi-.

I wouldn't get a steam oven only. We just don't steam food that often. The roast chicken in our Gagg combi-steam oven is to die for (the clean-up.....not so much) and other steam/roasting is great. That said, I'm not sure it was worth the $$$ (depends on how many roast chickens we eat). It's a PITA to clean (baking soda+vinegar is the winner here) and our Lacanche Volnay oven is so quick to heat up and cooks so beautifully that the smaller size of the Gagg isn't often leveraged. I'm glad we didn't pay full price (got it new off ebay 50% off because it was a just discontinued model). We definitely use it but two years later I don't consider the combi steam an essential.

The combi-steam is the most versatile cooking appliance that you can buy. It does everything that a conventional oven does as well as everything that a steam oven does, but the real value comes from combining heat and steam which neither of the other two can do. For example I can cook at high temperature with up to 100% humidity inside the oven. I can roast meat with a humidity level that matches the meat so that none of the moisture comes out of the meat during cooking. Neither the steam oven or the conventional oven can achieve anything like this result.