It performs as a toaster should, but the bagel setting seems not so well calibrated. Even at the longest setting, bagels are hardly toasted, with just a light crispness and almost no color. Just using the highest setting without bothering to press "bagel" gets you a decent color. Using the highest normal setting will not burn the toast, which is kind of an advantage. The "Express" feature is another matter. The heater wires go thermonuclear and I haven't been willing to use it much for fear of setting off the nearby smoke detector. That setting does toast fast and can probably make black toast, if that's what you want.