To my disappointment on unwrapping this mixer my first impression was that it doesn't seem very robust, compared to my previous one. I have only used it once, since it is a recent purchase and it did the job very well, but I am still not confident that it will last long. The machine is very lightweight, which is actually one of the reasons I purchased it, as I have arthritis, but the beaters don't seem very strong. Only time will tell how good it really is and I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised, as Bosch have a good reputation for building good strong machines. .