Gas Ranges

Best gas ranges: basic to fancy

If you want a basic gas range, and you don't need a lot of extras, Hotpoint gas ranges perform well in reviews, and they also have a low rate of repairs in some owner surveys.

The Hotpoint RGB745WEHWW gas range (*Est. $500) is a top choice in professional reviews as a budget range. At 30 inches wide, it has a large oven that competes with more expensive kitchen stoves. It receives excellent marks for its baking, broiling and simmering abilities. You get two oven racks with six positions, one high-power burner, one simmer burner and two standard burners. The Hotpoint range doesn't have anything fancy like a warming drawer (though it does have a storage drawer), and its oven window is significantly smaller than those on many more-expensive ranges. This model comes in white, black and bisque, but not in stainless steel. It does have heavy steel grates and sealed burners for easier cleanup, and the oven is self-cleaning.

In tests at Good Housekeeping, this Hotpoint gas range isn't judged the best (GH editors test mainly ranges costing more than $1,000 however), but testers do say it bakes expertly; in particular, two trays of cookies on different racks baked at exactly the same rate. Editors also like the easy-to-read oven controls.

A similar model is the Frigidaire FGF368GS (*Est. $575). This range has almost identical features to the Hotpoint range above, but it comes in a wider range of colors. In addition to white, black and bisque, it's also available in silver mist as the Frigidaire FGF368GM (*Est. $600), which is a faux stainless steel (painted silver metal), and actual stainless steel (with black trim) as the Frigidaire FGF368GC (*Est. $700).

Another Frigidaire model that does well in one professional tests is the Frigidaire Gallery GLGF386DS (*Est. $800), which has five burners instead of the four of the Frigidaire FGF368GS, It also has a convection option in the oven, five rack positions and continuous cast iron grates -- helpful for sliding pots from position to position. Although this model does not have a warming drawer (it has a storage drawer instead), it does have a high-powered burner. Owners especially like the convection oven -- a feature not usually seen in ranges under $1,000. It receives 4.3 stars (out of five) in about a dozen reviews at AJMadison.com. Most reviews are very complimentary overall, but one owner complains that the placement of the grates causes the cooktop to use more gas than other ranges. The GLGF386D comes in white, black, bisque and stainless steel as the Frigidaire GLGFZ386FC (*Est. $1,000).

If you'd like more features (and can afford them), the GE Profile PGB910SEMSS (*Est. $1,700) outperformed every other gas range it was tested against (except for the Hotpoint, which it tied with) in one professional roundup. A handful of owner reviews of the GE Profile are uniformly positive. At nearly triple the price of the Hotpoint, this GE range offers many more features and a sleek, stylish look. The GE Profile has five burners (one of which is oval), each of which has a different power level. It also has a large viewing window, included non-stick griddle, continuous dishwasher-safe grates and a self-cleaning oven. There's a warming drawer (instead of just a storage drawer) but no convection feature in the oven. The GE Profile range is available in stainless steel only. GE was rated third for reliability in a large owner survey, while GE Profile was rated about average in the most recent J.D. Power Kitchen Appliances customer satisfaction survey.

A couple of similar models are also good bets, with comparable performance. Like the GE Profile above, the GE JGBP86DEMWW (*Est. $1,000) has a fifth oval-shaped burner in the center, along with an included nonstick griddle that fits over the middle burner. It also has a manual oven lock. It has a storage drawer but no warming drawer, and it lacks the stylish look of the GE Profile range. It comes in white, black (the GE JGBP86DEMBB (*Est. $1,000)) and stainless steel (the GE JGBP86SEMSS (*Est. $1,250)).

Convection ovens are popular for a good reason -- they speed roasting and baking times, and they promote even browning. Convection ovens have an internal fan that circulates hot air throughout the oven. The fan takes up some space, so total oven capacity is decreased a bit. The Maytag MGR5875QDW (*Est. $1,150), like the Frigidaire Gallery GLGF386DS mentioned earlier, offers a convection oven at a mid-range price. Experts say gas convection ovens are inferior to electric convection ovens, however, because they don't offer a third burner behind the fan, and the handful of owner reviews we found for this model verify that the convection performance is lacking. The Maytag range also has a five-burner cooktop (including a center simmer burner) and a two-piece grate. The oven has three racks, including a half-rack. Other features including three self-cleaning cycles, a keep-warm setting, a Sabbath timer and a 12-hour auto-shutoff (with override). There's also a lower storage drawer (not a warming drawer). This Maytag gas range comes in white, black and bisque. Stainless steel costs about $200 more.

Even more fully featured is the GE Profile PGB918DEMWW range (*Est. $1,800), which has two ovens. One is a full-size convection oven. The second oven looks a lot like a warming drawer, but it's actually capable of temperatures from 150 degrees to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, so you can use it for baking (though it only has a capacity of 1 cubic foot). The cooktop has five elements (most gas ranges have four). Continuous grates allow you to easily move pots from burner to burner, or to use a large pan over two burners. A nonstick griddle for the center element is included. Experts also like the gas-fueled Profile's extra conveniences, including three oven racks (with six possible positions), automatic oven shut-off, a large oven window, self-cleaning feature, smooth number keypad and removable burner heads. The convection oven has a larger capacity than most (about 5 cubic feet), with two convection fan speeds.

The GE Profile gas range also has varying-BTU burners, a feature that's quickly becoming popular on both gas and electric ranges. It has one high-power burner (great for searing meats and stir-frying), two standard burners and two lower-power burners. We didn't find any reviews for this model, but the nearly-identical (now discontinued) GE Profile PGB918WEKWW performed fairly well in one professional test of ranges. The GE Profile is available in white, bisque, black or stainless steel, the GE Profile PGB918SEMSS (*Est. $2,100).