I loved this toaster. It's the only toaster I found to properly toast bread all the way through, and evenly. However, after only 2 years (and I don't use the toaster that often) the elements just stopped working. Like another reviewer on this site, I was very happy with the product but surprised that the 'cafe series', which I thought would have lasted a good 10 years at least with my occasional use, would have such a short lifespan.

I have the 4-slice toaster and the kettle of this design bought in 2006 (16 years ago). Only one person and I don't use it a huge amount so that might equate to 5-8 years of family use. Toaster Good - It's heavy, stays where you put in on the bench. None of the controls feel flimsy. Good big crumb tray. Quite big slots. Could be better - the stainless finish has a clear coat over it and it seems to corrode underneath that, but you can't polish it out because of the coating. The rubbery soft touch knobs have got sticky as the coating on them has perished (and it's not in the sun). Bad - The whole time I've had it the elements really don't get very hot. You can barely see them red. Combined with the wide slots, it takes quite a while to toast. It also doesn't toast the bottom much, so you have to flip the bread and do it twice to get anywhere near an even toasting. Kettle - (quite an old design which is even older than the discontinued one still on the site) Works fine, but extremely heavy and when pouring if you have your thumb on top it can get steam on it. The non stick finish on the bottom stains.

This is the second toaster of this model I have bought. The first one lasted about 5 years was quite good but towards the end was taking ages to cook the toast. I bought a new one and it lasted 9 months until it started to ignore the toast darkness settings and burned everything then no longer popping up. It is still under warranty it remains to be seen whether it will be replaced