We have always thought that Cuisinart was a quality brand. This toaster, however, has not lived up to the reviews we read before purchasing.  The main problem is that whenever one tries to toast a single piece of bread, or a toaster waffle, etc., one side comes out "raw" and the other side comes out burned... The instruction manual makes note of this issue, but not a drastically as the actual issue.  The toaster gets quite hot also, and so far it has been a mystery as to what setting should be used.  Very disappointing.