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Fridge reviews

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Last updated: 02 November 2018

Our fastidious fridge testers review and compare the coolest freezer on the top, freezer on the bottom, French door and side-by-side fridges to help you find the best buy for your budget and the best fit for your family.

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In our testing labs, we give every fridge a thorough workout to help find the models that:

  • are safest for your food
  • are best at keeping optimum temperature
  • have the best range of temperatures
  • have a good range of shelves and compartments
  • are the most energy-efficient, and
  • have the best member-rated reliability scores.

We also give you good and bad points for each model, and the running cost of each fridge over ten years. And our Recommended list will help you see quickly which models come out on top.

Matthew Steen
By Ashley Iredale
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Brand

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List of brands we tested in this review.

    Price

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    Recommended retail price as at October 2018 – but shop around for the best deal.

    enter value/s in increments of 1 between 429 and 5499

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    Member only

    This test score is for members only. Join now to unlock our expert results.

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    Type

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    How the fridge is configured – is the freezer on the top or the bottom? Is it a side-by-side model or a French door? Or does it have a single door?

      Height (cm)

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      The claimed dimensions for the smallest box that will fit around the fridge, including hinges, door handles and any protrusions out the back.

      enter value/s in increments of i between 139 and 186

      Width (cm)

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      The claimed dimensions for the smallest box that will fit around the fridge, including hinges, door handles and any protrusions out the back.

      enter value/s in increments of i between 52 and 100

      Depth (cm)

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      The claimed dimensions for the smallest box that will fit around the fridge, including hinges, door handles and any protrusions out the back.

      enter value/s in increments of i between 56 and 97

      Total volume (L)

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      Use this figure to calculate if a fridge is the right size for your household. As a rule of thumb we recommend: 250–380L for 1–2 people, 350–530L for 3–4 people, 440L + for 5 or more people.

      Remember that icemakers take up around 30% of your freezer, and that gross volume includes all the nooks and crannies you can't fit food into.

      If in doubt, get the bigger fridge.

      enter value/s in increments of i between 203 and 886

      Colour / Finish

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      Almost all fridges are available in at least a stainless steel or (less expensive) white finish. Colour variations usually have the same model number with one character difference to denote the colour (e.g. W for white, X or S for stainless steel).

        Features

        Number of crispers

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        If you need to store lots of fruit and vegetables then look for more than one crisper.

          Ice dispenser

            Water dispenser

              Chiller

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              Important if you often store meat, fish and poultry (fresh or cooked), to keep it at close to zero degrees.

                Dairy compartment

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                Convenient for keeping butter and hard cheeses slightly soft.

                  Door alarm

                    Test results

                    Keeping food fresh longer

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                    This rating tells you how well your fridge will keep your food fresh and safe to eat, based on our lab tests.

                    enter value/s in increments of i between 18 and 84

                    Energy and water star ratings

                    Energy consumption - claimed (kWh/yr)

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                    The amount of energy the manufacturer claims the fridge uses in one year.

                    enter value/s in increments of i between 190 and 847

                    Star rating - claimed

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                    Helps you compare energy efficiency between fridges. More stars means better efficiency.

                    enter value/s in increments of i between 1 and 5

                    Related products

                    Status

                    A Similar model is identical in most aspects except for a few. This means that a majority of its test results are identical so you can reasonably expect to get the same results from the model we tested, but for those aspects which aren't identical, we'll note these as "Not Tested" in the Compare tables.

                    A Tested model refers to a model that is still current and available in the Australian market. You should be able to order this model through your local retailer, or find it online.

                    These models can't be found in retailers or online or are no longer manufactured. You may still find these models on second hand websites, or in second hand dealers. Test methods may change over time, so criteria which can't be directly compared will contain an N/A. 

                    An Identical model is exactly that. Performance characteristics will be identical and the only difference will be something trivial such as colour, which won't have an impact on performance.

                    These are models we haven't yet tested but that are available.

                      Included in this review

                      Members-only access
                      • Recommended
                      • CHOICE expert rating
                      • Keeping food fresh longer
                      • Temperature stability
                      • Temperature evenness
                      • Coldest and warmest sections of fridge
                      • Temperature range
                      • Response to outside temperature
                      • Default setting
                      • Noise level
                      • Brand reliability (%)
                      • Brand satisfaction (%)
                      • Customer service (%)
                      • Good points
                      • Bad points
                      • Price
                      • 10-yr running cost
                      • Brand
                      • Model
                      • Type
                      • Fridge size
                      • Total volume (L)
                      • Fridge volume - claimed (L)
                      • Freezer volume - claimed (L)
                      • Height (cm)
                      • Width (cm)
                      • Depth (cm)
                      • Colour Finish
                      • Status
                      • Energy consumption - claimed (kWh/yr)
                      • Star rating - claimed
                      • Number of crispers
                      • Origin
                      • Water dispenser
                      • Ice dispenser
                      • Needs plumbing for ice/water dispenser
                      • Chiller
                      • Dairy compartment
                      • Self closing doors
                      • Door alarm
                      • Door hinge position
                      • Rollers

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