www.which.co.uk62 Which? june 2013

Cook to perfection We reveal the best freestanding and range cookers and what to look for when buying a new one

T o cook to perfection, you need to be able to rely on your cooker to do a top job and not let you down where it

matters most. It needs to be powerful enough to heat up quickly, the oven should heat accurately and to the temperature you set, and when you use the grill the heat should spread right across the grill pan.

But there are massive differences between the best and worst freestanding and range cookers when it comes to these three basic cooking tasks. If your cooker doesn’t succeed at them, you run the risk of burning your food in the oven, getting half-grilled sausages, or waiting far too long for your dinner to cook.

At the Which? Test Lab we record how quickly cookers heat up – the quickest range

GO ONLINE We have reviews of more than 200 built-in, freestanding and range cookers online, including 62 Best Buys. Visit www.which.co.uk/freestandingcookers, www.which.co.uk/rangecookers and www.which.co.uk/ovens

cooker we’ve tested recently is the Smeg Victoria TR4110P (£2,000, 67%), which takes just under three minutes to reach 150°C. The slowest – the Kenwood CK304FS (£480, 51%) – takes eight minutes longer.

We also test how accurately ovens heat. You can rely on the AEG 49332I-MN (opposite) to heat to the exact temperature that you set. In our tests it was barely a fifth of a degree out at 150°C. But if you’re cooking with the Hotpoint HUG52P (£368, 59%) it could end up more than 40ºC hotter than the temperature set.

And our grill test reveals which grills distribute the heat widely and evenly and which ones don’t. Cookers with great grills, such as the Stoves Sterling 1100EI

TEST LAB cookers

(£1,649, 70%), heat almost all of the grill pan. But bad grills, such as the one on the Kenwood CK409ST (£1,200, 61%), barely heat half of it.

CHOOSING YOUR DREAM COOKEROur guide on p64 will help you choose the perfect cooker – it covers type and size, fuel and energy costs and the benefits of self- cleaning cookers.

And if you’re not in the market for a new cooker right now, check out our tips opposite to help you get the best out of your current one.

Here we’ve featured a selection of the best freestanding and range cookers and some great-value cookers that are worth a look. And there are more good cookers, including Best Buys, in the table on p65, along with some that didn’t do so well in our tests.

www.which.co.uk june 2013 Which? 63

COOKER REPAIRS YOU CAN TRUSTIf your cooker is playing up, log on to www.which.co.uk/local to find a trusted

engineer near you, as recommended and rated by Which? members

AEG 49332I-MN 82%Store £1,099 Online £1,089 PROS This electric cooker has two programmable ovens with grills and a quick-to-heat induction hob. The oven heats quickly and is super accurate. The grill in the top oven spreads heat evenly to around 85% of the grill pan. Both ovens have self-cleaning catalytic linings.CONS The stainless steel finish is hard to keep clean.Cheapest store Currys

Beko BDVI668X 72%Store £600 Online £600PROS This is an excellent cooker, with an induction hob and two ovens. The main oven heats accurately, the induction hob heats up quickly and the grill does a grand job of spreading heat. Both ovens have self-cleaning linings.CONS We don’t know enough about Beko cooker reliability for this to be a Best Buy. Cheapest store Currys

Belling FSG60DO 65%Store £373 Online £373PROS This gas cooker from Belling has two ovens, with the grill in the top one. The main oven is very quick to heat, taking just over six minutes to reach 200°C, and the controls are pretty accurate, although more so at the lower temperatures.CONS The grill is poor – heat only spreads evenly to just over half of the grill pan.Cheapest store Currys

John Lewis JLFSEC610 68% Store £699 Online £699PROS This electric cooker comes with two ovens, each with a grill. The main oven is quick to heat up, baking is good and the grill is great, with heat reaching 90% of the grill pan. The main oven is fully programmable and well lit.CONS The oven runs slightly hotter than the temperatures set.Exclusive to John Lewis

Still life in your cooker?If you don’t need to buy a new cooker just yet, here’s how to get better results from the one you’ve got

BURNT DINNERIf you don’t trust your oven’s thermostat to heat accurately, try using an oven thermometer to find out how accurate it is and adjust cooking temperatures accordingly. You can buy one online for under £10.

MY OVEN IS TOO SMALLIf your oven’s a bit cramped inside, try Lakeland’s Oven- add-a-shelf (£20). It slides under the lowest shelf so you can use dead oven space. Visit www.which.co.uk/ovenshelf for our review. Similar shelves are available from Amazon for £7.

UNHAPPY BAKINGTo give your cakes and loaves the best chance of rising, try to avoid opening the oven door during cooking. It’s tempting to do this but the oven temperature will drop – and so might your baking.

OVEN LINERSIf your oven isn’t self-cleaning and you’re not in the market for a new cooker, try buying some re-usable oven liners. They slide into the bottom of the oven, catch any spills and are dishwasher safe. Packs of three are available online for £9.99.

GET IN TOUCHWhat are the cooker niggles you’ve learned to live with? What was the problem and how did you fix it? Join the debate on Which? Conversation at www.which.co.uk/ovenproblems

BEST BUY

FREESTANDING COOKERS

WORTH A LOOK

WORTH A LOOK

GREAT VALUE

Stoves DF550 66%Store £700 Online £700PROS This country-style dual-fuel cooker combines two electric ovens with a four-ring gas hob. The main oven has a fan, can be set to cook automatically and heats up quickly. The grill is also good and this cooker is slimmer than others featured here, at 55cm wide.CONS There's no window in the top oven door.Cheapest store John Lewis

WORTH A LOOK

Indesit ID60G2(W) 66%Store £360 Online £356PROS This gas cooker from Indesit has two ovens, with a grill in the top one. The main oven heats up very quickly and consistently and proved to be good for baking in our tests. The grill works well, spreading the heat to 88% of the grill pan. CONS The main oven gets a bit hotter than the temperature you set.Cheapest store Currys

GREAT VALUE

WORTH A LOOK

WORTH A LOOK

www.which.co.uk64 Which? june 2013

TEST LAB cookers

Stoves Richmond 1000GT 73%Store £1,274 Online £1,198PROS This gas range cooker from Stoves has two ovens, a separate grill, a seven-burner gas hob and a warming drawer. The main oven is excellent – it’s quick to heat up and accurately heats to the set temperatures. The grill and hob are both good too.CONS The two ovens are quite snug inside and the space you can actually use to cook with is about half of that claimed.Cheapest store Currys

Belling Classic 1000GTSIL 73%Store £959 Online £887PROS This Belling all-gas range cooker brings together two ovens, a grill and a storage drawer with a seven-burner gas hob. The main left oven is quick to heat up and can be relied upon to heat to the temperatures you set, and it bakes well-risen cakes.CONS We’ve seen more effective grills and the cast iron pan supports will be a struggle to clean.Cheapest store Currys

Rangemaster Classic Deluxe 90I 71% Store n/a Online £1,884PROS This Rangemaster electric range cooker, with induction hob has a quick-heating and accurate oven, bakes well-risen cakes and its grill spreads heat evenly to around 90% of the grill pan. It has self-cleaning catalytic linings in the main oven, and a roasting tray attached to the oven door for easy access.CONS There's no window on the right-hand oven door.Cheapest store Online

THE PERFECT COOKERHere are the main features to consider when choosing a cooker

TYPE AND SIZEUnless you’re planning a kitchen redesign, your choice will be led by how much kitchen space you have. Freestanding cookers are 50cm, 55cm and 60cm. Most range cookers are between 90cm and 110cm wide. They’re all similar heights and depths.

Usable volumes provided by manufacturers aren’t an accurate guide to how much you can actually fit in because they include the dead space below the lower shelf. We don't include this area in our measurements (see table, right).

FUEL AND ENERGY COSTSGas hobs provide instant heat, are easy to control and cheaper to cook with than electric hobs. Electric ovens with fans usually heat more accurately and are better at distributing heat around the oven than gas.

Dual-fuel cookers, such as the Stoves DF550 (66%, £700), pictured, come with an electric oven and gas hob. Cookers with an induction hob, such as the Beko BDVI668X (72%, £600), are also a good option if you’re looking for a responsive, quick-to-heat hob. But if you buy induction, you’ll need iron-based pans (see p67).

SELF-CLEANING COOKERSA pyrolytic self-cleaning program super-heats the oven to more than 400°C, reducing dirt to ash that can be swept up. Catalytic linings absorb and break down food spills and splashes and then burn them away during normal cooking.

For our video buying guide, see www.which.co.uk/cookerguide.

RANGE COOKERS

BEST BUY

Stoves Sterling 1100EI 70%Store £1,649 Online £1,634PROS This large electric range cooker with induction hob is one for a big kitchen – it’s 110cm wide. There are two ovens, a warming drawer and a grill. The left oven is great for baking – we baked a well-risen cake. The grill is excellent, too. It spreads heat to nearly 90% of the grill pan.CONS The main oven is quite slow to heat up.Cheapest store Currys

John Lewis JLRC905 65%Store £1,000 Online £1,000PROS At 90cm wide this is compact for a range, but the main oven on this dual-fuel cooker heats up quickly and accurately and the grill is excellent. It comes with a five-burner gas hob with central wok ring and a storage drawer beneath the ovens. The grill spreads heat evenly to around 80% of the grill pan.CONS The upright secondary oven is a bit narrow.Exclusive to John Lewis

Flavel Milano ML10CRS 65%Store £600 Online £600PROS This electric range cooker is great value – it’s made up of two ovens, a grill, storage drawer and electric ceramic hob. The oven heats up quickly and you can rely on it to heat to the temperatures you set – at 150ºC it’s less than 1ºC out. See best and worst, p65.CONS The grill is poor – heat spreads to less than half of the grill pan.Cheapest store Currys

GREAT VALUE

GREAT VALUE

BEST BUY

BEST BUY

BEST BUY

BEST BUY

GREAT VALUE

BEST BUY

www.which.co.uk june 2013 Which? 65

Best and worst We’ve tested more than 140 freestanding and range cookers, and the best are streets ahead when it comes to three of our most important tests

COOKERS ON TEST

TEST SCORE

ease of use

ease of

cleaningGrill

Hob

Overall

performance

Baking

Accuracy of

controls

Pre-heating

time

usable volume

(liltres)

Annual running

cost (£)Type

Price

SPECIFICATION WHICH? TEST PERFORMANCE

USING THE TABLEBest Buys are highlighted in red.SPECIFICATION Price See p47. Type EI Electric oven & induction hob, EC Electric oven & ceramic hob, DF Dual-fuel, electric oven & gas hob, GG Gas with eye-level grill. Annual running

cost Based on roasting a chicken three times a week. Electricity priced at 15.5p per kWh, gas at 4.6p per unit. Usable volume The space you can use to cook with in the top/bottom or left/right oven volumes in litres.PERFORMANCE Pre-heating time

How quickly the ovens heat to two set temperatures. Accuracy of controls How well the ovens maintain set temperatures. Baking How well heat is supplied to the oven to bake a sponge cake. Oven performance Speed of heating, temperature accuracy, heat

distribution and cooking results. Hob How quickly the hob heats water to 90°C. Grilling How well the grill browns white bread. Ease of cleaning By hand and using the self-clean functions. Ease of use Setting the ovens, hob and grill, what you can actually fit inside, and noise.

SCORE Ignores price. Based on:Oven ............................................30%Hob ..............................................20%Ease of use..................................20%Grill ................................................10%Energy use ...................................10%Cleaning .......................................10%

Best and worst revealedThe best cookers are streets ahead when it comes to the results of three of our most important tests.

OVEN HEATING UP TEST GRILL EFFECTIVENESS TEST OVEN ACCURACY TEST

Best freestanding cookerJohn Lewis JLFSEC610Worst freestanding cookerHotpoint HAE60KBest range cookerSmeg Victoria TR4110PWorst range cookerKenwood CK304FS

A

B

C

D

3m 54s

6m 54s

2m 52s

11m 24s

Best freestanding cookerLeisure GRB6CVCWorst freestanding cookerElectrolux EKG603202KBest range cookerStoves Sterling 1100EIWorst range cookerKenwood CK409ST

A

B

C

D

Best freestanding cookerAEG 49332I-MN Worst freestanding cookerHotpoint HUG52PBest range cookerFlavel Milano ML10CRSWorst range cookerRangemaster 90FSD

A

B

C

D

0.2° too hot

41° too hot

0.4° too hot

26.8° too hot

A B C D

150°

Time to 150°

200°

Target:

100°

94.7%

45.2%

88.4%

48%

AA

AB

B

C

C

D

D

B

C

D

FREESTANDING COOKERS

1 AEG 49332i-MN £1,099 Ei 36 14/51 ★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ 82%

2 BEKO BDVi668X £600 Ei 32 17/48 ★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ 72%

3 JOHN LEWIS JLFSEc610 £699 Ec 34 15/38 ★★★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ 68%

4 INDESIT iD60G2(W) £360 G 15 17/59 ★★★★ ★★ ★★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ 66%

5 STOVES DF550 £700 DF 38 16/43 ★★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ 66%

6 BELLING FSG60DO £373 G 16 15/48 ★★★★★ ★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ 65%

7 HOTPOINT hUG52P £368 G 15 20/50 ★★★★ ★ ★★★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ 59%

8 INDESIT iS50D1X £250 DF 46 42 ★★★ ★★ ★★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★ 55%

9 BEKO BA51NEWP £280 GG 22 43 ★★★★ ★ ★★★ ★★ ★★★★ ★★ ★★★ ★★★ 52%

RANGE COOKERS

1 STOVES Richmond 1000GT £1,274 G 15 34/34 ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ 73%

2 BELLING classic 1000GTSiL £959 G 14 42/42 ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ 73%

3 RANGEMASTER classic Deluxe 90i £1,884 Ei 46 40/46 ★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★ ★★★ 71%

4 STOVES Sterling 1100Ei £1,649 Ei 42 32/36 ★★★ ★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ 70%

5 SMEG Victoria TR4110P £2,000 DF 31 38/38 ★★★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ 67%

6 FLAVEL Milano ML10cRS £600 Ec 36 40/36 ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ 65%

7 JOHN LEWIS JLRc905 £1,000 DF 35 40/18 ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ 65%

8 KENWOOD cK409ST £1,200 Ei 40 44/26 ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ 61%

9 LEISURE cMTG95c £880 DF 37 58/41 ★★★ ★★★ ★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ 58%

10 KENWOOD cK304FS £480 DF 58 79 ★★ ★★★ ★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ 51%

illustr

ation

by: paul b

utt

TELL US ABOUT YOUR COOKERDo you own one of the models featured? If so, we’d

love to hear your views at www.which.co.uk