Italian pro-style ranges produce amateurish results

Two beefy ranges fall short in Consumer Reports' cooking tests

Published: October 01, 2014 02:45 PM

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Bertazzoni PRO304GASX

Buffalo milk mozzarella, pecorino romano, prosciutto, and San Marzano tomatoes are Italian exports worth going out of your way for. And so are Sophia Loren, Ferrari, and Armani. But when it comes to Italian pro-style ranges, the design is often striking, yet performance was unimpressive, or worse, in Consumer Reports' latest range tests.

To cook beautifully you'll need a Bertazzoni pro-style range. That's what their website claims, but that's not what we found. First, the oven is small in the 30-inch Bertazzoni PRO304GASX gas range, and baking and broiling were just so-so. Cooktop heat wasn't that fast, but simmering was very good. This pro-style costs $3,100—expensive but a lot less than most we tested—and its overall score was 43 out of 100. In other words, it's third from the bottom of the 18 tested and even the NXR DRGB3001 we bought at Costco for $2,000 was better.

Verona VEFSGE365SS

As for the 36-inch Verona VEFSGE365SS, it was even worse. This dual-fuel pairs a gas cooktop with a small electric oven. Simmering was the worst of the nine pro-styles in this category. Baking wasn't good and broiling was poor. It costs $2,500, which is thousands less than others in this group, but have we mentioned that this bottom-rated pro-style has an overall score of 25?

If you're set on buying a pro-style range, take a look at our pro-range Ratings before you swipe your credit card. We test 30-and 36-inch pro-style ranges from the top brands, including Thermador, Viking, and Wolf. Our top 30-inch pro-style range is the KitchenAid KDRS407VSS, $4,000. KitchenAid also earned the top spot in the 36-inch pro-style group with the KitchenAid KDRU763VSS, $6,000.

—Kimberly Janeway (@CRJaneway on Twitter)