I bought the Vitamix to upgrade from another name-brand blender, and I primarily use it to make smoothies. The Vitamix blends fruits and vegetables much better than my previous blender. I would definitely say that the fruits and vegetables are homogenized, even when the ingredients are frozen. In comparison to my old blender, this one takes up less space, is quieter, is easier to use, has a higher quality feel, and just overall has a better design. I am giving it 4 stars instead of 5 for these reasons: - It does not handle nuts and dates as well as I expected. - The large cup is messy to pour from. Some of my smoothie drips down the side every time that I pour. - My previous blender had a lid with a flap that could be opened or closed, so that the smoothie could be poured without removing the lid. I miss this feature, as taking the lid off and setting it down means another mess to clean up.

Sorry, I can't do a review of this particular machine because it's a Christmas gift to our Grandson and family. But I can review my own purchase of an identical machine a couple of years ago! It has been one of the best blenders I've ever owned. It puts the ninja blender to shame. The build quality is far superior and the blending job is much smoother than other blenders like Oster, Kitchenaid, and the ninja types.

I use this product every day, and it is absolutely worth the investment. It's much quicker and sturdier than the cheaper blenders I used to get, and easier to clean. I also love that it comes with a cookbook because it saves me a lot of time making meals in there. However, it overheats SO easily (or shuts off to prevent overheating, I guess?). It's happened on multiple occasions while I was following recipes directly from the accompanying cookbook, so, theoretically, the blender should be able to handle these food products. It's incredibly frustrating to have to waste time waiting for it to cool itself off, since I generally only have a finite amount of time to prepare my meals for the week. However, it's still worth the investment because when it works properly (which it does most of the time), it's amazing.