Ranges: Expert and User Reviews

Our AssessmentConsumerReports.org provides ratings on its website for more than 100 gas, electric and dual-fuel ranges. Ranges are rated on how quickly they heat water, as well as their performance at melting, simmering, broiling and baking. Electric ranges perform better overall than gas and dual-fuel ranges, and some mainstream models prove just as adept at basic cooking tasks as very expensive ones. Separate ratings for gas and electric models are included, and differences are noted for coil-top, smoothtop and dual-fuel models. Advantages and disadvantages of each model are discussed, along with frequency-of-repair ratings for different brands.

Our AssessmentMore than 100 electric and gas freestanding ranges are reviewed on the website of Which?, a U.K.-based consumer magazine. Testers checked oven temperatures, baked cakes to test heat distribution, grilled toast on the broiler and tested the burners on both high and low heat. The report also evaluates how easy each model is to use and to clean. A few of the tested brands (Electrolux, Bosch, Hotpoint) are available in the U.S., but model numbers and styles in the U.K. are different from those in the U.S., so it's difficult to draw any useful conclusions about American ranges from this report.

Our AssessmentThis Australian magazine rates six dual-fuel ranges. Testing is performed by cooking sauces, rice, meats and baked goods. Although this report is very thorough and includes detailed pros and cons for each tested range, equivalent models are not available in the United States.

Our AssessmentThis site compiles consumer reviews from several retailers, including ABT.com and AJMadison.com, theoretically making it a good one-stop alternative to visiting a bunch of smaller sites. However, it's not always clear which model is being reviewed, and some model numbers appear twice in the main list. Also, the way the site sorts products is somewhat confusing: some highly ranked ranges appear lower down the list than others with fewer total reviews and a lower average user rating. On the plus side, the site does offer a handy summary of the most commonly cited pros and cons for each product. We found eight ranges here with high overall ratings and at least 25 total reviews, but three of them are discontinued.

Our AssessmentViewpoints.com is a review site where users post their feedback on a wide range of consumer products, including kitchen ranges. Even though there are more than 200 ranges listed here, few attract enough reviews to form a conclusion. Very few ranges receive more than a dozen comments, and it's not always clear what model is being reviewed.

Our AssessmentIf you're looking for a review of a specific model, Epinions.com is worth a try, as it's easier to find an owner-written review for a particular range than to assess which models are rated better than others. Most models have no reviews at all, and most of those that do receive only one or two write-ups. We did not find any ranges with more than about a dozen comments from owners. Also, it's not always clear which model is being reviewed.

Our AssessmentThis site claims to offer both expert reviews and user reviews for a variety of appliances. However, we found no user reviews for any products, and the expert reviews for ranges are limited to a list of eight gas ranges recommended in a 2010 issue of Better Homes and Gardens. Many of the recommended ranges are from obscure or high-end brands, and most cost upward of $2,000. The site provides one or two sentences for each range, focusing on its special features, but there's no indication that they were actually tested. Also, the site does not include model numbers for all the listed ranges, making it difficult to tell which product is being recommended. However, based on the descriptions provided, it appears that about half the recommended ranges have been discontinued.