Five years on from its predecessor
4/5
Our previous dishwasher was also an Indesit (DFP27T94A_WH), and a very comparable model. It lasted five years and twelve days, which isn't too bad as it sees pretty high usage. We were very satisfied with it - hence the choice for more or less the same again. So what changed, and how do we rate the changes?
- An operating panel redesign means there is now no longer a rotating knob: everything's done with button presses. And it's quite a few more button presses, because it does not remember which washing program was chosen previously. Pity. The buttons themselves feel considerably less sturdy, and there is quite a bit of delay between, for instance, pressing power on and getting a reaction from the machine. That takes some getting used to. Not convinced it'll last as long, but we hope to be surprised.
- The racks have a changed design which also needs getting used to. The pins are more upright, and the spacing is decreased. On the plus side: more items can be fitted in (hurray), but on the down side, we do not get the same level of cleanness. We used to be able to consistently choose the half-load option and get a sparkling result, but that doesn't work as well now. And although the energy rating is a bit better, this means we'll be useg a whole lot more electricity and water.
- A new feature is that after washing, the door is opened automatically to let out the steam and help the drying process. That is a sight to behold. Achingly slowly, a plastic piece protrudes from the machine at the top, in the middle, forcing the door open slightly. It looks taken straight from 'Thunderbirds'.
- The cutlery basket, a strange box design with loads of openings, is unchanged. It's still not to our taste, as it takes much too much time to load and unload, and many kitchen utensils are simply too large for it, meaning you have to fiddle around to open some of the little boxes its divided into. We kept our old one, which was a third-party basket we liked better.
- The sound level is even lower than the previous one, with which we were already very happy, and which was a major factor in deciding to stick with Indesit.
All in all: not, we think, an improvement over the previous incarnation for reasons of energy use, practicality and expected durability. The price seems to have risen a bit more than inflation. We'd give it an 8/10, as opposed to its predecessor's 9.5/10.