M-touch on the dryer doesnt get you much beyond the lcd display and saveable presets. if you have little kids the lcd display can be locked preventing the machine from being turned off by little hands rotating the cycle selection knob to off.
other than that if is no different than the next model down. We skipped the lcd dsiplay model on the dryer. We did want the glass door to see in the dryer so we paid the upcharge for that. Rarely if ever use the soft steam function.
If you don’t desire the glass door and the steam function then going with the next model down saves more money. The drying technology is the same.
For the washer it is more nuanced. The 1st step down from the lcd display WXR-860 is virtually identical capability wise. The LCD display model allows for multiple presets to be saved with multiple ”extras”. Extras are things like pre-wash, water plus, allergy (hold water temp longer and extra rinse), extra rinse, etc etc. The next model down from the lcd display only allows a single extra item to be selected at the washer. if you want multiple tou must use the app.
The ability to lock the display is also nice if you have kids that like to play with the washer. We have the model with the rotaty dial and little kids. It is very frustrating to start a load and come back a couple hours later to see little hands had rotated the dial to off.
Other thn what I stated above the mechanicals are the same as the LCD display washer. As you move down the line the washers lose cycles, twi—dos dispensing, low spin speeds, lose the extra circulation pump used in powerwash, etc etc.
IntenseWash/PowerWash is the usa naming scheme for the version 1 and version 2 of this technology. Basically it uses a recirculation pump to spray clothes with the wash liquor (water/detergent mix) as it tumbles. Depending on the cycle it also alters the agressiveness of the wash action and the wash action itself. For example the drumm will spin on low speed as if to drain, but willnuse the recirculation pump to spray the clothes at the same time. This causes the wash liquor to be forced through the clothes.
The PowerWash cycles use less water hence the different wash action. If you set water plus extra to raise the wash water the powerwash is disabled. So it sort of depends on what you are washing. a few items/small load may do very well or better with power wash vs using a lot of additonal water in the main wash cycle. A large load may do better with increased water level.
There were changes in the Quick Intense wash cycle between the previous generation and the current. Many, myself included, feel the new 49 minute Quick Intensewash is inferior to the previous one. The current version increases wash time and drastically reduces spins and spin time. The previous 59 minute version did a quick spin inbetween each rinse and longer final spin. The new version eliminated the spins between rinses and the final spin was cut from about 4-5 minutes to barely one minute. It essentially gets up to the set rpm and then immediatly slows down. Clothes come out noticeably damper than the previous version. We always wind up running another drain/spin. This makes the cycle a little longer than the previous version.
Other than that the washers are very much similar. Minor changes to the cycles. The dial version (680/860) of the current washer puts the proofiing cycle on the knob and buries wrinkle free in the more options sub-menu. No one used proofing on a routine basis. Many people used wrinkle freered, which was mainly the normal cycle without the EPA energy controls. Whomever made this decision should be fired. The WXR-860 lets you arrange your most used cycles in the order you want.
Guess tou have to decide if the upcharge is worth it. My wife woshes we bought it due to the kids issues and the ability to save custom cycles. At the time I couldnt justify the upcharge. If it had fullt custom cycles like the professional models i would have paid. Since it is just picking existing cycles and saving the "extras" it was less interesting.
Q