Microwaves Reviews

Consumer Reports and Good Housekeeping magazines are the most credible reviewers of microwave ovens. Both use a rigorous methodology, testing ovens for reheating and defrosting performance.

Good Housekeeping tested 17 microwave ovens for a March 2006 article, but editors don't discuss how models were tested or which microwaves didn't make the cut; the article is now two years old. We prefer the review at Consumer Reports, where experts test over 60 models, checking for evenness of heating, defrosting and ease of use. Editors also report results of a large reader survey that ranks brand reliability. Other reviews that we found interesting are from Australia's Choice Magazine and New Zealand's Consumer Magazine. Both Choice and Consumer include considerations for people with physical limitations -- other publications don't address such issues and we find this sensitivity refreshing. Which? Online is a UK-based publication that also performs thorough tests, but like the other foreign testing publications, specific tested microwaves aren't available in the U.S. We did, however, find some useful information about Panasonic's inverter technology, which is also incorporated in some of its microwave ovens for the North American market.

While the basic technology hasn't changed for decades, there have been some developments in the last couple of years, including the integration of convection and inverter technologies within microwave ovens.

A microwave with a convection feature adds significantly to the price, so if you mainly want to reheat and defrost foods, a standard countertop microwave is more cost effective. Top-rated countertop microwave ovens usually cost about $100 less than comparably sized microwaves with convection.

Inverter technology, available primarily in Panasonic microwaves, works to prevent overcooked edges or ice-cold middles in dishes. When powered at 50%, conventional microwaves will cook in cycles, cooking at 100% for a short time, then not cooking at all for an equal period, then back to 100% on high. Microwaves with inverter technology cook the full time at 50% power, resulting in better control and reducing cooking times. Inverter microwaves are especially good at defrosting and reheating at lower power, say reviewers.

Despite the inclusion of these new technologies in microwave ovens, however, we found similar complaints about durability across the board for microwaves; several owners complain in reviews that "they don't make them like they used to." Even for more expensive convection microwaves, we didn't find a correlation between price and reliability. For example, the pricey Kenmore Elite 67909 (*est. $330), a 1.5-cubic-foot microwave/convection unit, earns good scores in tests for even heating and defrosting ability, but owner ratings from Sears.com are mixed. About half of the two dozen owners are perfectly happy with this model while the other half complains of breakdowns, sometimes within months of purchase.

Panasonic microwaves, especially those models with inverter technology, get great reviews in professional testing, especially for evenness of heating. Reviews in Which (U.K.) and Choice (Australia) magazines include testing of Panasonic inverter microwaves; both testing organizations say the technology works especially well when reheating dense foods such as lasagna or a casserole. However, we still found a smattering of complaints about durability. The Panasonic NN-H965BF (*est. $175) has an inverter defrost function. While most of the two dozen owners posting reviews to Amazon.com say it worked perfectly, we found a similar pattern of complaints for this microwave as we did for many others -- some units broke within months of purchase.

To be fair, we found durability complaints about most microwave models, but the sting seems worse when owners have paid extra for convection, inverter technology or for a stylish design. We did find some bright spots in user ratings, however. Quite a few Sharp microwaves get consistently good owner reviews, even though they are not usually particular standouts in professional tests. We found solid reviews for the mid-sized Sharp R-305KS (*est. $110) and Sharp R-820JS (*est. $260) , a 0.9-cubic-foot microwave with convection.  ... Continued

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

We didn't find much consensus in professional reviews for microwave ovens. However, the picture became clearer when we compared owner-written ratings against the top models in reviews. For example, the Sharp R-426HS gets a top rating from Good Housekeeping magazine, but it isn't tested by Consumer Reports. At Amazon.com, we read quite a few excellent reviews for this microwave, corroborating the results at Good Housekeeping. The mid-sized Kenmore 63252 is top-rated in one professional review, but user ratings are very mixed, with many complaints about durability.