Product review (5 stars): Love this sexy beast of a range
I was a bit nervous to buy our SMEG range, considering no one I'd talked to had heard of the brand. I'm SO glad we took a chance on SMEG. Our oven is the centerpiece of the kitchen, everyone comments on how awesome it looks.

I was discouraged by other ranges that had 'pizza' and 'chicken nugget' buttons as oven settings. Really?? I just need burners that turn on, can simmer and can go med-high temps. I just want an oven to turn on, and heat to the temp I want. I broil things now and then, and can honestly say that I don't need a high and low broiler - I just move the rack to the right spot and go from there.  I use the convection fan when I'm baking. I bake my own gluten free bread, and the results are perfect - even in my gas range! There aren't any hot or cold spots in the oven - I was worried there would be since I've heard bad things about uneven heating in gas ovens. Bonus: I have been keeping my range very clean - because it looks go good, why not clean it after every time you use it? The lights in the oven are very bright, I love the easy-to-use knobs (though they were hard to figure out for the first month or so of use as the symbols aren't quite familiar). We had quite a bit of air in our brand new gas line after the install, so burners kept going out randomly and I was frustrated and wondering if it was the ranges fault or if it really was our new line. Well, it was just the line - everything works perfectly now and burners never go out.

The range has been in our kitchen for 5 months and I love it just as much as the day it was delivered. We purchased the range online with an extended warranty (10 years) and we're hoping since the range is very simple in design, that it lasts a long time and proves to be reliable for years and years to come.

Things I love:
- simplistic design
- the middle burner
- the knobs (modern and easy to use!)
- broiler runs from side to side, not back to front like I've seen on other gas ranges (back to front broiling creates uneven heat - as the sides of the oven don't get heat)
- the oven light
- the retro style timer (60 minute timer, turn to the time you want and wait for it to tick down and buzz)
- racks are easy to move around
- the manuals are really helpful! I learned a lot about my range by reading the manuals. :)

Things that could be improved upon:
- The cast iron grates on the range don't hold small pots very well (like my teeny 2 cup pot - which is rarely used, but when I do use it, I have to play a little balancing game to get it to sit on the range without tipping over).
- The fan is a bit annoying and it runs whenever the oven is on and it's kind of loud (a low hum). Once you turn the oven off, the fan stays on until the oven is cool....to minimize how long it's on, I leave the oven door open a crack to cool off. I wish there was a switch to turn the fan off. Of course, this is just a small complaint. I still love my range, even when the fan is on.
- Fan failure light... we had the light come on once...I had forgotten to turn the broiler off (it was on for about an hour) and I also had convection on - whoops! The fan failure light turned off as soon as the oven cooled down a bit. It seems odd that there is a light for fan failure. Do fans go out often on gas ranges? If so, maybe the light is helpful.
- the timer buzz isn't very loud or long. If you set the timer for a longer time, it will buzz a little longer in the end...but it's easy to miss hearing the timer if you are in another room.

Even with these small issues, I still rate this range a full 5 star rating - because I'm simply in love with the design and it's been a great addition in our kitchen!

If you are considering this range and have further questions, leave a comment and I will try to come back and answer them as best I can.