French door refrigerators

French door refrigerators

French door refrigerators are the latest design twist, combining side-by-side refrigerator doors (French doors) atop a single pull-out freezer drawer. Although they have a bit less usable interior space and cost more than other types, French door refrigerators are gaining in popularity, fueled partly by their frequent appearance on home-and-garden TV shows. While initially priced at over $3,000, prices for French door refrigerators are dropping as more manufacturers enter the market.

Maytag and Amana (both under the Whirlpool umbrella) both make number of French door fridges. The Maytag Ice20 MFI2568AEW (*est. $2,300) is a good choice if you want through-the-door water and ice. The external ice and water dispenser is also filtered. The Ice₂0 is a large-capacity refrigerator with 25 cubic feet of space and is Energy Star compliant. This model has digital touchpad controls and a temperature-controlled meat/deli bin. One elevator shelf can be cranked up and down to adjust height. There are pull-out shelves and bins, a built-in door organizer, beverage chiller compartment and a "door open" alarm. The Ice₂0 French door refrigerator comes in four colors, including stainless steel and bisque. French door models without ice/water dispensers start at $1,800. The Ice₂0 is also one of the quietest bottom-freezer refrigerators in sound testing.

The Maytag MFC2061HEW (*est. $2,250) earns good scores for even temperatures in testing. This French-door refrigerator has 19.8 cubic feet of interior capacity and is a counter depth model. Counter-depth refrigerators are designed to sit flush with your cabinets, giving you the look of a built-in without the high price of built-in refrigerators. The Maytag MFC2061HEW has an internal icemaker and water dispenser. It also features a pull-out drawer, adjustable split shelves, a freezer light, door alarm and temperature controlled meat bin. A temperature alarm alerts you to sudden temperature drops. This Maytag French door refrigerator is available in white and black. A stainless steel version (*est. $2,550) costs more. All models are Energy Star rated.

The Amana AFD2535DEW (*est. $1,520) doesn’t have a through-the-door icemaker/water dispenser and isn't a counter-depth model, but it is one of the least expensive French-door refrigerators. Testing reveals that this model performs just as well as others for temperature consistency. Some say it’s a bit noisier than the Maytag I Ice₂0 French door refrigerator discussed above. The Amana model has a 25.2 cubic foot capacity. It comes in white, black, bisque and stainless steel (*est. $1,900) .

The GE Profile PFS22MIS (*est. $1,950) has 22.2 cubic feet of interior space, plus a pull-out freezer drawer. It has an installed icemaker and interior water dispenser, but not a through-the-door dispenser. There's a freezer light, gallon door storage, spill-control shelves, touchpad digital controls and temperature-controlled meat and deli bins. This model also comes in stainless steel for about $250 more. The GE performs well in tests, but like all French door refrigerators, it's more expensive than the larger and similar Amana AFD2535DEW.

The LG LFC22740 (*est. $1,300) comes closest to matching the low price set by Amana, but this model is a bit smaller. The LG French door refrigerator is Energy Star rated with 22.4 cubic feet of space, compared to 25.2 for the Amana refrigerator. It has an internal icemaker, but no water dispenser. It also has an accelerated ice function for making lots of ice quickly. This LG French door refrigerator has the usual convenience features – split shelves, a can dispenser, a door alarm, digital temperature controls and humidity crisper drawers. It also has a pull-out freezer drawer and a freezer light.