The toaster has one simple but very important job: turn fresh bread into good-quality toast.
Without toast, we'd have nowhere to spread our Vegemite in the morning.
At CHOICE, we take toaster testing to the extremes in our labs.
We look at capacity, we test using different types of bread, we time toasters, and we make sure they're easy to clean.
We know some models are better than others, but ultimately we expect toasters to be able to do one thing – toast bread.
So imagine our alarm when we unpacked the KitchenAid 2-Slice KMT2116 (RRP $189), loaded it, and waited for the familiar pop, only to pluck out slightly dried, warm bread – even on the highest browning setting.
Surely this must be some type of mistake? We went back to the store and exchanged the toaster for a new one, but got the same result.
We went to a different store and bought another one, which again gave the same result.
It pops in looks but not performance
We asked KitchenAid about the toaster's poor performance and were told the company "stands by the quality and performance of all its products".
They also said, "Each product is backed with two years warranty. Should CHOICE be unsatisfied with the unit they have received, they can return or exchange it."
If you ask us, warranty-based claims are a little stale. Under the Australian Consumer Law a product must be fit for purpose regardless of warranty details.
With no significant browning on any of our attempts, we had to give this toaster a performance score of 0%.
This brushed stainless steel toaster may make your kitchen look pretty, but we think KitchenAid should release it in a new colour: 'Shonky lemon'.
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