You don't really know about an appliance until you've had it a year or so and find out how much you actually use it and what you use it for. I thought I really liked the machine the first few weeks I had it, but now I love it. In just over a year, it has become the small appliance I use more than any other. It can mix and mince. It can make recipes that have a water-thin texture or make thick sunflower seed butter. When I bought it, I thought it would just be "the blender." It turns out that the machine is much more than that. Thank you, Vitamix!