I researched blenders for over a month. It is challenging to determine which blender to buy since some reviews love a blender while others say the exact opposite. I was suspicious of many blenders, including this one, since most of the reviews on blenders are from 'sweepstakes winners'. I purchased this blender a month ago and have been using it almost daily for smoothies. The smoothie preset is perfect and then I use the clean preset for washing. I have also used it to make pesto. It is a pretty design too and fits under my cabinets. Very happy.