When I received this toaster, I couldn't believe how stylish and modern it was. Looks fantastic in the kitchen and couldn't wait to try it. The dial allows you to choose a setting and we have found 2.5 to be perfect for us. There is a digital countdown dial that shows how long until something is ready which is helpful when you have a child asking every second. The only downside to this is that it gets much hotter above the toaster than our previous one which was the same brand but much older.