Very nice kettle, quick, and quiet when boiling, and the spout pours well. All points that were important to us. For some the downsides might be that the kettle is quite heavy, and gets very hot to touch, which is normal for metal kettles. Also the visible water gauge on the outside of the kettle is quite difficult to read , but no kettle is perfect all round, and we are very pleased with this russell hobbs kettle.