Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus DLC-4CHB

Performance

Effective for most everyday tasks. Mariette Mifflin of About.com says it does a good job with a variety of tasks: making salsa and dressing, chopping veggies and grinding nuts and spices. She cautions that "a very short pulsing action" works best, as it's easy to over-process foods in this machine -- a concern echoed by users at Macys.com. Provided that you process chunks of uniform size, however, Mifflin says it achieves results comparable to a full-sized food processor (unlike its smaller sibling, the Mini-Prep Plus DLC-2A).

Ease of use

Has very simple controls. It has one button for chopping (using the sharp side of the blade to process soft foods) and one for grinding (processing hard foods with a duller edge). All parts are dishwasher-safe, making cleanup easy (though a couple Macys.com users say washing by hand can be a pain). Storage is also no problem; in fact, many owners find it most convenient to leave this compact machine out on the counter for daily use.

Durability

More problems than its smaller sibling. We read several reports of motor failures and cracked blade housings, which can be hazardous if the blade comes loose while the machine is running. The DLC-4CHB is covered under warranty, but it's only 18 months long, and models needing repairs must be shipped back to Cuisinart at the user's expense.

Noise

Reviewers are split. At Macys.com and Amazon.com, we found both praise for its quietness and complaints about its loudness (including one from a user who describes it as a "horrible screeching noise"). Most owners, however, had nothing to say about it one way or another, suggesting noise level isn't a point of contention.

Bottom line

The Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus DLC-4CHB can handle bigger tasks than the smaller Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus DLC-2A (*Est. $40), though it still doesn't offer as many functions as a full-sized food processor. Many owners say they actually prefer this model to a larger machine. It's easy to use and clean, but we saw some complaints about durability. If all you need is a chopper for small jobs, the top-rated DLC-4CHB is more reliable.