Toasters to avoid buying
For many of us, a nicely warmed, crunchy piece of toast is one of the first things we wake up to, so it’s not really something you want to mess with.Â
A toaster is a simple appliance, you may think – can you even get a bad one? Toast is toast, right?
Unfortunately, some of the models in our latest test won’t be the toast of the town anytime soon. We’ve uncovered some serious bread winners, and some crummy contenders.
Sunbeam Simply Shine 4 Slice Toaster TAP4004BK
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 52%
- Toasting evenness score: 30%
- Price: $100
It may look fancy and shiny, but you won’t be toasting the success of this Sunbeam number when it comes to your morning slice.Â
If you like your toast evenly browned, it will disappoint: it scored only 30% for this test.Â
Plus, our testers say it’s ‘only OK’ at toasting a single slice of bread. With a CHOICE Expert Rating of just 52%, it falls far behind all but one of the other toasters we’ve tested.Â
That’s a lot of bench space to waste on something that doesn’t really do what it’s supposed to (not to mention there are better things you could spend $100 on). Next!Â
Read the full Sunbeam Simply Shine 4 Slice Toaster review.
Alessi Plisse Electric Toaster MDL08 B/AU
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 52%
- Toasting evenness score: 30%
- Price: $235
This stylish number may look swish sitting on your kitchen bench, but its performance is shockingly bad for such a high price tag.Â
In fact, our testers were so bemused by how poorly this model performed in our tests, they thought they had a faulty product and bought a replacement to test instead. Unfortunately, the replacement didn’t perform much better!Â
CHOICE test expert Adrian Lini says: “This toaster may look stylish but it struggles to toast bread at even the highest setting, and bread that is any denser than white bread will require two runs.”Â
The only good points worth noting are that it has very good controls and the crumb tray is excellent to clean (although the unique exterior is tricky to clean).Â
But since it’s so poor at doing its one job, perhaps you’ll never use it and it can remain pristine and looking good in your kitchen.
Read the full Alessi Plisse Electric Toaster review.
Milantoast 2 Slice Toaster
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 54%
- Toasting evenness score: 20%
- Price: $490
Yep, you read that price tag correctly.Â
This toaster will set you back $490, and one of the reasons it’s so expensive is because the manufacturer promises that it ‘will last forever’ as all of its parts can be serviced or replaced.
(In fact, a CHOICE staff member dubbed this appliance the Tesla of toasters: it’s environmentally friendly but a big upfront investment!)
It has a five-year warranty for parts and a 10-year warranty for labour. Considering that most of the toasters we’ve tested only have a one- or two-year warranty, Milantoast’s offering shows that the company stands behind its product and service.
Unfortunately, this toaster did not perform consistently well in our testing.
Although our testers had quite a few positive things to say about this appliance, and in fact found that it’s excellent at toasting a single slice of bread, they found it to be poor at producing the same toast colour cycle after cycle and poor at toasting multigrain bread.
If appliance longevity is important to you, you may be able to get better results with a bit of perseverance. Read more about our testing and this toaster.
View the full Milantoast 2 Slice Toaster review.
Sunbeam Arise 4 Slice Long Slot Toaster
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 55%
- Toasting evenness score: 40%
- Price: $129
Sunbeam unfortunately has two entrants into our bottom five, with this cheaper model another underwhelming performer.Â
When you consider that five of the 10 toasters recommended by our experts cost less than this one, it’s clear that there are other more affordable options you’d be better off spending your money on.Â
Our testers gave a thumbs up to the fact this is easy to use with very good controls and a crumb tray that’s very easy to clean, but it received poor scores for toasting single slices of bread, browning evenly and toasting multigrain bread.
Read the full Sunbeam Arise 4 Slice Long Slot Toaster review.
Bugatti Volo Toaster 13-SVOLOC1/AU
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 56%
- Toasting evenness score: 40%
- Price: $439
Another futuristic-looking toaster that doesn’t live up to modern-day toasting standards, this Bugatti is a prime example of why you should thoroughly research an appliance before you buy it.
For this much money, you’d almost expect to have your toast delivered to you perfectly buttered, and on a silver platter. But instead you can expect inconsistently browned toast and a depleted bank account.
Even a $7.50 Kmart Anko toaster performed better than this luxury appliance, which tells you just about everything you need to know about it.
The Bugatti name is generally associated with racing cars that have multi-million dollar price tags.Â
The maker of this Bugatti, however, is an entirely different company that makes appliances and kitchenware (also at eye-watering prices).
Regardless of which Bugatti made this toaster, it’s certainly not going to be winning any races. In fact, all you’ll win if you buy it is a free game of “how brown will my toast be today?” roulette.
Read the full Bugatti Volo Toaster review.
