Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The bowl on this machine is, in fact, 5.5 quarts. The usable space for mixing is just a bit more than half that. The bowl is deep and narrow and the beaters are very small. The bowl is about 9" tall (outside measure). The whisk attachment has tines that are only 4" from top to bottom. To put this in perspective, my Cuisinart hand-mixer has tines 3-1/2" long. The actual mixing capacity of this machine is closer to 3 quarts. If that is sufficient for you, it is highly rated for performance at Cook's Illustrated. Sadly, I will be returning the unit because I actually need the stated capacity. Update: I decided to give it a try before returning it and found it could make a double batch of cookie dough (13.5 cups of dry ingredients, 2 eggs and 1.5 cups of butter) - though just barely. Towards the end I had to stop the mixer and push the ingredients down because as the machine folded the ingredients the batter that rose above the 4" paddle just kind of sat there. I was, however, able to successfully incorporate all the ingredients. I have decided to keep it because that is the largest quantity I am likely to make on a regular basis (and living in Canada makes returning it much more of a hassle than it is for US customers). Still quite a bit less than the stated capacity.