Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I won't lie, this thing makes me smile when I walk into the kitchen. I bought the metal-bowl version (KSM150) to make cookies after my hand mixer started to smoke during a particularly intense doughing session. I've used it primarily for that and pizza crusts. Things that can be mixed with a handheld whisk, I opt for that instead. Do you need a stand mixer? No, probably not, but it sure takes the grunt work out of stirring and kneading. It also mixes more consistently than I could by hand and classes up the counter. If you're set on a stand mixer, should you buy this one? Maybe. It's not designed for huge amounts of heavy dough or constant use. It's built well, but it's not an industrial machine. It audibly strains with a double helping of cookie dough (around 25 oz of flour) and kneading wet, thick pizza dough. With that sort of load, there's no speed difference between setting 6 and 10, though of course you'd never knead that fast anyway. KitchenAid has some mixers that are ostensibly a bit stronger. They're all lift-style: instead of tilting the head back, the head sits higher and you raise and lower the bowl. I prefer the tilt-head style. The paddles never get out of the way with the bowl-lift, getting the bowl to lock in place is a jerky movement, and it takes up a lot of vertical counter space. What you do get for the extra cost of the Pro series is a better dough hook, a metal gearbox, more power, and a slightly larger bowl. Even these higher-power mixers will fall short of alternatives from Bosch and Electrolux for serious breadmaking, however. If you go the other direction with the cheaper Classic Plus, you lose 1/2 QT of bowl capacity, a handle on the bowl, the splash guard, and color choices besides white. Otherwise, it's functionally identical to this model and about the same power. This mixer also came with a recipe book in addition to the splash guard. I haven't used either. The guard is a fiddly thing, you spill less just tilting the mixer up and dumping your ingredients in. I do think the extra 1/2 quart and the handle are worth something though (especially for double recipes) and could justify opting for the Artisan. This particular model has a glass bowl relative to the more popular metal style. The glass is a lot heavier and less durable, but it does have measuring units and a pouring spout. The translucency solves a problem that really isn't a problem. Likewise, for measuring, I have my metal bowl on top of a kitchen scale because doughs turn out more consistent if I go by ounces instead of volume. Different recipes may benefit more. There's a lot of talk about Hobart units. Prior to about 1985, these mixers were made by Hobart, a supplier of industrial kitchen equipment. Later models are made by Whirlpool. There's some debate whether the new models are as good as the old ones, particularly in regard to the gearbox. My take is that if you can find an old Hobart (e.g., K4SS, K5-A, K5SS with a metal 'Hobart' placard) and it runs well, it's likely to keep running well no matter what you throw at it. But it won't be as clean and may not fit certain new bowls, paddles, or attachments. New or old, these KitchenAid mixers are dead-simple to repair. The motor brushes are replaceable without dismantling the unit ($10 or so and hidden beneath the black circular covers), the speed governor is mechanically adjustable, and the gearbox is straightforward and easily accessible. This means that they're intriguing on the used market. People receive them as gifts and put them in the local classifieds with minimal use or minor flaws you can fix. Typical transaction prices are $125-$175, and I've seen this mixer as low as $75. For new units, Kohls has them on sale quite often. Here's the full list of KA mixers (updated December 2016): KSM3311X - Artisan Mini * Tilt-head, 250W, 3.5QT metal, soft-start K45SS - Classic * Tilt-head, 250W, 4.5QT metal KSM75 - Classic Plus * Tilt-head, 275W, 4.5QT metal KSM95 - Ultra Power * Tilt-head, 300W, 4.5QT metal KSM96 - Ultra Power Plus * Tilt-head, 300W, 4.5QT metal handle, pouring shield KSM150 - Artisan / Architect * Tilt-head, 325W, 5QT metal handle, pouring shield KSM153 - Artistan Flex * Tilt-head, 325W, 5QT metal handle, pouring shield, flex beater KSM155 - Artisan Design * Tilt-head, 325W, 5QT glass handle KSM160PS - Ultra Power * Tilt-head, 325W, 5QT glass handle, 3QT metal, pouring shield KSM160APS - Architect * Tilt-head, 325W, 5QT metal handle, 3QT metal, pouring shield KSM500 - Pro 500 * Bowl-lift, 325W, 5QT metal handle, pouring shield, metal gears, soft-start/auto shutoff RKG25H0X - Heavy Duty * Bowl-lift, 450W, 5QT metal handle, pouring shield, spiral hook, metal gears, soft-start/auto shutoff KV25G0X - Pro 5 * Bowl-life, 450W, 5QT metal handle, pouring shield, spiral hook, metal gears, soft-start/auto shutoff KP26M1X - Pro 600 * Bowl-lift, 575W, 6QT metal handle, pouring shield, spiral hook, metal gears, soft-start/auto shutoff KF2622 - Pro 600 Design * Bowl-lift, 575W, 6QT glass handle, spiral hook, metal gears, soft-start/auto shutoff KSM6521X - Pro 6500 * Bowl-lift, 750W, 6QT glass handle, spiral hook, metal gears, soft-start/auto-shutoff KSM7586P - Pro Line * Bowl-lift, 975W, 7QT metal handle, pouring shield, spiral hook, metal gears, soft-start/auto-shutoff KSM8990 - NSF Certified * Bowl-lift, 975W, 8QT metal handle, spiral hook, metal gears, soft-start/auto-shutoff KSMC895 - NSF Certified * Bowl-lift, 975W, 8QT metal handle, bowl guard, spiral hook, metal gears, soft-start/auto-shutoff If you'd rather have a more powerful bowl lift mixer, KitchenAid's refurbished store often has the Heavy Duty Series for as little as $175 (if you Google a coupon code). It's a doppelganger for the Pro 5 and includes the superior spiral dough hook. Whatever you buy, try to have it on (even with an empty bowl) for a few minutes at least once a week or two. The oil-leak problem occurs when the oil breaks down from disuse. If the mixer runs with any frequency, you'll never encounter it.