Best Buy ovens for any budget No matter what you want to spend on a built-in oven, Which? tests reveal the best performers O vens don t have to be packed with features and cost the earth to do a great job of cooking your dinner. But if you like your kitchen appliances to be labour-savers with lots of gadgets, our tests reveal the Best Buys. Oven innovations fall into three categories automatic programs for cooking at the touch of a button, self-cleaning programs that incinerate food-waste, and futuristic design touches like the slide-away door on the Neff B46W74NOGB, ( 1,449), which just missed out on Best Buy status with its score of 73%. Double ovens will always offer more cooking options but, because of their size, they won t suit everyone. Single ovens are about 60cm high. Doubles are up to 90cm, or 72cm if they can be built under a worktop. For full dimensions of each model, see /ovens. 58 November 2009 Ovens_R3.indd 58 Electric built-in ovens score well in Which? tests and are by far the most popular type. Electric ovens are more effective than gas ovens at distributing heat and maintaining a good temperature. Two great value Best Buy electric ovens from tests last year are still widely available the Electrolux Intuition EOB53000K and the New World NW90D0SS each costs only 350. But there are gas ovens that are worth considering the Belling XOU90G-SS has two ovens, is fully-programmable and did well in our tests. Remember also that gas is cheaper than electricity, so if you do your cooking with a gas oven every day you could save an average of 17 per year compared to cooking with electricity. See The future of ovens on p61 for the latest innovations. Which.co.uk Ovens Looking for more options? You ll find the full results of our performance tests of 70 built-in oven models at /ovens. You can also tell us what you think about models you ve used, and find out more about the future of ovens in our video of the new Neff B46W74NOGB. For reviews of freestanding cookers, see /cookers, or if you re trying to decide on a range cooker model, see / rangecookers. Which? ovens expert Matt Stevens introduces the Neff B46W74NOGB 2/11/09 14:14:07
ON TEST BUILT-IN OVENS 350 or less With two Best Buys, this price range includes basic electric ovens without fans and programmable machines that turn themselves off after cooking EXCEPTIONAL VALUE Electrolux Intuition EOB53000K 350 Which? test score 84% PROS This Best Buy single electric oven from Electrolux comes with a first-rate oven and grill. The dropdown grill is easy to clean. It comes in black, white or stainless steel. CONS Not self-cleaning. Full review at / eob53000k 351 to 500 ELECTRIC DOUBLE OVEN EXCEPTIONAL VALUE New World NW90DOSS 350 Which? test score 77% PROS Two ovens offer plenty of cooking options and with an excellent main oven and a good grill, this is a great choice for a busy cook on a budget. Also available in white. CONS It s tough to keep clean. Full review at / nw90doss Zanussi ZOB551X 335 Which? test score 74% PROS It s not quite a Best Buy, but this is a fully programmable oven with a digital display, retractable control knobs and an excellent grill. CONS There s no option to heat from the top or bottom only. Full review at / zob551x We found it cheapest at Currys If you have more to spend, you ll be able to buy an oven with more combination-cooking options and settings with stay-clean catalytic linings h Gas or electric, usually single h Conventional or fan heating h Oven timers Neff B14M42NOGB 500 Which? test score 79% PROS This is a great all rounder it cooks evenly, heats quickly and the grill is outstanding. It s also programmable and has a timer. CONS A bit basic for the price, with limited cooking options. Full review at / b14m42nogb We found it cheapest at John Lewis ELECTRIC DOUBLE OVEN AEG- Electrolux B3101-5-M 440 PROS This oven heats up quickly and cooks superbly. With catalytic linings, it s easy to keep clean. Also available in black and white. CONS No option of heat from the top or bottom of the oven only. Full review at / b3101-5-m Baumatic B724SS-A 460 Which? test score 66% PROS It s just below Best Buy status, but this double oven is quick to heat up, has an excellent grill, cooks food evenly and is easy to keep clean. CONS Temperature control isn t as accurate as it could be. Full review at / b724ss-a We found it cheapest at Asda Also available Comet, online and independents h Catalytic main-oven linings for easy cleaning h Non-tip oven shelves h Flexible grill settings November 2009 59 Ovens_R3.indd 59 2/11/09 14:14:45
501 to 750 AEG-Electrolux B5741-5-M 525 Which? test score 78% PROS It has an excellent oven and grill, with accurate temperature control. It s also very easy to keep clean. Also available in aluminium and black. CONS The oven lacks the option of heat from an upper element. Full review at / b5741-5-m Also available John Lewis, online and independents 750 plus If you pay more than 500 you should expect to get a very good single or double oven with a multitude of cooking possibilities ELECTRIC DOUBLE OVEN Siemens HB13NB621B 719 Which? test score 78% PROS This Best Buy double oven has an excellent main oven and grill. It s fully programmable and has catalytic linings so keeping it clean is easy. CONS Cooking with a combination of oven heat sources isn t possible. Full review at / hb13nb621b We found it cheapest Online and independents GAS DOUBLE OVEN Belling XOU90G-SS 555 Which? test score 65% PROS It s not quite a Best Buy, but this gas oven is fully programmable, the main oven performed well in our tests and it has very accurate controls. CONS It s hard to remove stubborn stains from the enamel lining. Full review at / xou90g-ss We found it cheapest at Currys As well as multi-function cooking and stay-clean surfaces in both ovens, expect to find settings for slow cooking on most models and innovative design touches h Multi-function cooking in main oven h More double ovens to choose from h Easy-clean interiors ELECTRIC DOUBLE OVEN ELECTRIC DOUBLE OVEN ELECTRIC DOUBLE OVEN Stoves S7-E900MF 1,180 PROS This Best Buy has two ovens, both of which have grills. The main oven is excellent and so is the grill. It s fully programmable. CONS The high-tech touch-sensitive controls are complicated to use. Full review at / s7-e900mf We found it cheapest at Asda Also available John Lewis, online and independents Bosch HBN53 D550B 1,150 Brand reliability rating Above average PROS This Best Buy double oven has a good multi-function main oven and an excellent grill. It s quick to heat up, has catalytic linings and is fully programmable. CONS Won t suit everyone s budget. Full review at / hbn53d550b01 We found it cheapest at Argos Also available Comet, Currys, online and independents AEG-Electrolux U88106 897 Which? test score 75% PROS This double oven cooks evenly, grills superbly, preheats quickly, and is easy to clean. Slow-cooking options in both ovens are a nice touch. CONS Finding the right oven temperature can be a struggle. Full review at / u88106 We found it cheapest at Magnet and Wickes h Multi-function cooking in both ovens h Slow-cooking and keepwarm functions h Catalytic linings in both ovens for easier cleaning PHOTOGRAPHY STEPHEN GIBSON 60 November 2009 Ovens_R3.indd 60 2/11/09 14:15:19
ON TEST BUILT-IN OVENS The future of ovens NEFF B46W74NOGB, 73%, 1,449, SLIDE-AWAY DOOR The striking feature is the slide-away door. When open, it hides in the bottom of the oven so you won t have to reach too far in, making loading and unloading heavy dishes easier. WHEEL CONTROL One wheel controls everything it moves left, right, up, down and can be pressed in to select the perfect way to cook for the ipod generation. JOHN LEWIS JLBIOS610, 70%, 699, AUTOMATIC PROGRAMS Cook at the touch of a button without selecting the type of heat needed or the cooking time. We cooked a roast chicken, a quiche Lorraine, a sponge cake and a frozen pizza. The chicken wasn t very well browned and the quiche wasn t cooked in the middle. But the cake and pizza were both good. STEAM COOKING Water you pour into the top of the oven drips into a moat at the bottom and is used to steam food. The salmon, broccoli and potatoes we cooked FEATURES WORTH A FORTUNE Terry Sharp, 46, HR manager, Glasgow were reasonably good, but the oven lacks a steaming dish. MEMORY You can also create, save and name your own cooking programs. Which? member Terry Sharp recently swapped her ageing built-in oven for a high-spec model from Siemens. Terry told us it has made a big difference to her cooking. It gets hot very quickly and heats to a reliable temperature. I use the timer to switch the oven on and off and pre-set the cooking times almost every time now. Terry paid 729 for her oven, but it s been worth it so far, she told us. I haven t tried the pyrolytic cleaning yet, but I ve been very impressed with the oven, and my cooking is getting more varied. Oven controls decoded To make sure your pizza base is nicely crisped and your biscuits are well baked, use the Which? guide to oven symbols FAN HEAT DO? Hot air is circulated from the back of the oven by a fan. GOOD FOR Baking biscuits or cakes on more than one shelf. GRILL AND FAN DO? The grill and fan work together to spread heat around. GOOD FOR Grilling large pieces of meat or fish. HALF GRILL DO? Half-grill settings only use the centre of the grill element. GOOD FOR A few sausages or a couple of rashers of bacon. UPPER AND DO? Heat comes from the top and the bottom to provide even oven temperatures. GOOD FOR Baking and roasting. FAN AND DO? Heat from the bottom of the oven is combined with circulating fanned hot air. GOOD FOR Crisping pizzas. FULL GRILL DO? Heat from the full grill allows you to cook a lot at once. GOOD FOR Anything small cooked in large quantities. DEFROSTING DO? The fan and the interior bulb are used to de-frost without heat. GOOD FOR Defrosting food without cooking it. DO? Heats from the lower element only. GOOD FOR Gently cooking casseroles or stews and crisping the bottom of pizzas. Ovens_R3.indd 61 November 2009 61 2/11/09 14:16:00
Don t Buy oven 36% Electrolux EOG10000X 436 Avoid this gas oven at all costs the grill works well, but the oven performance is among the worst we ve seen. USING THE TABLE The more stars the better Specification Price See p27. Self cleaning C = catalytic, P = pyrolytic. Test performance Oven performance Consistency of temperature and cooking results throughout the oven. Grill performance How evenly it toasted. Preheating time Average time to reach 150 C, 180 C and 200 C in fan and convection modes. Accuracy of controls Difference between set and actual temperatures. Ease of use Controls, visibility, doors, shelf adjustment, putting in and removing food. Score Ignores price, is based on: Oven 50% Grill 20% Ease of use 20% Ease of cleaning 10% MODEL SPECIFICATION WHICH? TEST PERFORMANCE SCORE (%) PRICE ( ) HEIGHT (cm) OVEN CAPACITY (litres) SELF-CLEANING OVEN PERFORMANCE GRILL PERFORMANCE PRE-HEATING TIME ACCURACY OF CONTROLS EASE OF USE EASE OF CLEANING SINGLE ELECTRIC ELECTROLUX Intuition EOB53000K 350 59.4 50 wwwww wwwww wwwww wwwww wwww wwww 84 NEFF B14M42NOGB 500 59.5 67 C wwwww wwwww wwwww wwww wwww www 79 AEG-ELECTROLUX B5741-5-M 525 59.4 56 P wwwww wwwww wwww wwwww www wwww 78 AEG-ELECTROLUX B3101-5-M 440 59.4 56 C wwwww wwwww wwwww wwww wwww wwww 76 ZANUSSI ZOB551X 335 59.2 55 C wwww wwwww wwww wwww www wwww 74 NEFF B46W74NOGB 1,449 59.6 64 C wwww wwwww wwww www wwww wwww 73 BOSCH HBN331EOB 350 59.4 67 wwww wwwww wwww wwww www ww 72 JOHN LEWIS JLBIOS607 349 59.4 58 wwww wwww wwwww www www wwww 71 JOHN LEWIS JLBIOS610 699 59.4 57 wwww wwwww wwwww www wwww wwww 70 ZANUSSI ZYB594X 630 59.4 57 P www wwwww wwww ww www wwww 68 BOSCH HBA53B550B 670 59.6 66 C www wwwww www www www www 64 HOTPOINT SE661X/1 399 59.5 59 C wwww ww www wwww www www 51 HOTPOINT SY56X/1 330 59.5 57 wwww ww www www www ww 50 INDESIT FI31KBBK GB 195 59.5 55 www ww wwww ww www wwww 49 DOUBLE ELECTRIC SIEMENS HB13NB621B 719 71.7 34/56 C wwwww wwwww wwwww wwww www wwww 78 NEW WORLD NW90DOSS 350 88.5 58/28 wwwww wwww wwwww wwwww www www 77 BOSCH HBN53D550B 1,150 71.6 34/50 C wwww wwwww wwww wwwww www wwww 76 STOVES S7-E900MF 1,180 88.7 32/57 wwwww wwwww wwwww wwww www www 76 AEG-ELECTROLUX U88106 897 71.5 39/46 C wwww wwwww wwww www wwww wwww 75 ZANUSSI ZOU580 592 71.6 40/45 C wwww wwwww wwww www www wwww 67 BAUMATIC B724SS-A 460 71.8 33/49 wwww wwwww wwww www www www 66 BEKO BE92FVW 250 88.4 35/67 www wwww wwww ww www www 58 SINGLE GAS HOTPOINT SY23W 520 57.6 43 wwww ww n/a a wwww www wwww 54 ELECTROLUX EOG10000X 436 59.4 54 w wwww n/a a w www www 36 DOUBLE GAS BELLING XOU90G-SS 555 88.9 38/64 wwww www n/a a wwwww www www 65 a Oven has no pre-heating indicator 62 November 2009 Ovens_R3.indd 62 2/11/09 14:16:06