Mid-sized microwave reviews

04.What to look for

Essential microwave features

• Controls Look for easy-to-use controls and good instructions on the display.
• Visibility A bright interior light and large, clear viewing window enable you to check your food as it’s cooking.
• Cleaning Look for holes and gaps inside the microwave that can trap food and grease.
• Size Make sure you can fit your microwave-safe cooking dishes – take those you’re likely to use to the shop with you. Also, you need about 10cm of space around the outside of the oven for ventilation, plus 20cm above it.

Features worth having

The results table lists which models have the following features.

• Automatic functions for defrosting, cooking and reheating are convenient. Automatic defrost usually asks you to enter the weight and type of food, and the oven calculates the time – all models in this test have this feature.
• Sensor cooking Look for a good selection of auto or sensor programs for foods that you often cook or reheat. One disadvantage of sensor cooking is that you can’t tell how long it will take, as no time is displayed until the last few minutes of the cooking time. Also, if the sensing process is interrupted by opening the door or stopping the microwave, an error code appears and you need to start the sensor process from the beginning – you can’t simply continue as this may cause food to be overcooked.
• Quick/boost start is a handy way of starting the oven, usually by pressing a single button. With most models, the cooking time increases in one- or half-minute steps if you press the button again. It’s particularly handy for reheating.
• Time-adjust during cooking allows you to increase or decrease the time programmed during cooking.
• Multistage programming Models with this feature can be programmed to perform a sequence of functions, such as defrost, cook then leave to stand. All except the LG have this function.
• A child safety lock allows you to push a sequence of buttons to deactivate the microwave. All models have this feature.
• Kitchen timer A stand-alone kitchen timer can be used to time other things, such as boiling an egg.

For people with a disability

• If you have hand weakness or dexterity problems, both Panasonics, both Sharps, and the Samsung MW103H are suitable as their door latches are large and easy to open with the palm of the hand.
• The latter three models and the LG are also suitable for someone with vision or cognitive impairment, as visibility through their doors during cooking is good and the digital displays are large and clear. Their control panels have good colour contrast, are grouped intuitively and are easy to understand. The Sharp Carousel R350LW and LG also have step-by-step word prompting instructions.