Kitchen ranges buying guide

The latest models slice time and guesswork and yield some new top picks

Can making succulent turkeys, savory hams, and mounds of mashed potatoes be fast and foolproof, be it during the holiday season or at any other time of the year? Several new kitchen ranges deliver both of those benefits with dual ovens, convection, and shortcut programs like the ones on your microwave.

Electrolux, a company that is better known for vacuums, introduced its first ranges in 2008. One, a smoothtop electric, is a new top performer. Features include digital controls with a Perfect Turkey setting that uses a meat probe to measure the internal temperature and adjust cooking time. The setting and convection helped the range to cook a juicy, 13-pound bird in 98 minutes on its own instead of the 3 hours—with frequent checks—that you might expect.

Here's what else our tests revealed:

Multitaskers abound

Several high-scoring kitchen ranges from GE, Kenmore, and Maytag have a second oven that can slow-cook brisket while the other roasts a goose. Electrolux ranges have a cooking drawer below the main oven, also found on some GE and other models. But it requires lots of bending and doesn't self-clean. We also found the shallow oven drawer on one gas Electrolux to be better suited to flounder and other short orders.

A new top choice for baking emerges

Smoothtop models sell best among electric ranges. But a new $700 coil-top from GE beat every other kitchen range we tested when it came to baking evenly.

Higher power doesn't equal faster boiling

The new gas GE PGS975SEM, dual-fuel Epicure, and gas Electrolux models in our Ratings (available to subscribers) offer 18,000 Btu/hr. of heating. All boiled water quickly. Yet so did other models.

Pricey models don't always deliver more for the money

Viking claims that its dual-fuel VDSC530, $5,500, has the largest oven available. While its oven is bigger than before, others are larger for far less money.

DCS says its gas RGTC305SS, $4,600, delivers "cooking to restaurant standards." But you're likely to be disappointed if your standards include even broiling. A new dual-fuel Dacor also proved to be middling for most cooking, despite its $6,000 price.

The dual-fuel Electrolux EW30DF65G, $2,200, didn't make our Ratings (available to subscribers). Its directions tell you to leave the oven door open 4 inches when broiling, typical with electric ovens. Yet two ranges beeped annoyingly and flashed an error message until we closed the door, precluding further tests.

Some controls are confusing

Electrolux ranges we tested have a smooth black panel with icons and options that glow, called the Wave-Touch. Useful features include up/down arrows for temperature and shortcut keys for defrosting, making bread, and the turkey-roast program we tested. But some settings take multiple steps. And unless you read the manual, you might not guess that you need to keep your finger on the cooktop icons to turn on the elements.