Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I did a lot of research on toasters here at Amazon before deciding on this one. Reviews are all over the board for this and every other toaster. The biggest selling point for me was the generous size of the slots. I wanted to be able to put my organic seed bread in without having to bend it or shove it in. I also wanted to be able to fit a bagel in without shaving off some of it first. Everything I've put in this toaster has fit easily. The bagel setting does a wonderful job of toasting the cut side while warming the outside. The defrost setting is perfect for toaster strudels. It defrosts them, then toasts them so when they come out they are done throughout, and not still hard and cold in the middle. English muffins can finally be toasted in one pass instead of two or more. A complaint people seem to have about this toaster is that it gets too hot...it's an appliance so yes, it does get rather warm, but I've never had an urge to fondle my toaster while it is toasting, so there is no reason for the warmth to bother me. It also has a high-lift lever so you never need to touch the toaster to remove your item. The only drawback to this toaster for me is the settings dial, which goes from 1-6. I like lightly browned toast and to achieve that I have to go to 4.5, so the lower settings are useless to me. If you like dark toast, this will not do the job, but if you're fine with light to medium toast, this is a great choice. If this toaster lasts more than a year, I will up the rating to 5 stars. The longevity would make up for the lack of variety of the settings dial. **UPDATE** I've had this for over a year, and I love it even more. The settings dial I mentioned previously is actually totally dependent on which breads you use. If you use a white or potato bread, you can get a nice toast on a lower setting. It has consistently made wonderful toast, bagels, english muffins, pop tarts and toaster strudels for my family of five. It gets used at least once a day, if not more, and the toast is fairly even on both sides (I've never had a toaster that was perfectly even in terms of toasting). I use the same setting day after day for my favorite bread, and the results are always consistent. It still looks shiny and new, it's easy to clean with the removable crumb tray and/or shaking it upside down outside. The cord is very long for a toaster, which I love, and it has a built-in cord wrap on the underside to keep excess out of sight. This is, hands down, the best purchasing decision I've ever made on Amazon.