Product review (5 stars): Quiet, Customizable Washing Options, Gentle On Clothes, and Gets Them Clean - And Looks Like Dave The Computer From 2001
Well, I can't speak to its long-term longevity as I have only had it for a few months. But I can speak to how well it works as well as its relative noisiness (or not).

1) This machine has a LOT of customizable settings. Additionally, with the 4 different small basins inside the drawer for different laundry liquids, it can get confusing at first. I came from a very old top-loader with limited settings. You put your powdered detergent and non-chlorine bleach whitener in with the load. Later, you hope you time it right to add fabric softener.

With this, it's all done automatedly, and has to be done with liquids. There's a small basin each for Pre-Wash, Detergent (where I put liquid non-chlorine bleach), Fabric Softener, and a bin for Chlorine Bleach use (which I don't). Each bin has a minimum and maximum fill line (as the machine uses siphoning). The 617 also has an extra pump and reservoir to mix the liquids prior to them reaching your clothes. This was designed to render a superior cleaning, and reviews attest that this might be the best cleaning machine on the market.

What I do know is that, with all of the customization for temperature, spin rate, amount of soil, and much more, that it's very gentle on my clothes. And as a front loading washer, it uses much less water than a top-loader, so it's much more eco-friendly.

Regarding noise, well, it's actually really quiet, certainly compared to my old top-loader washing machine. When it was first installed, I noticed it rocking a lot when it was spinning dry, but I called the store I bought it from and they sent the guys who delivered it to recheck the balance. Sure enough, it was off. They readjusted the feet to balance the machine, and once they did that, the machine is really quiet and doesn't rock (as long as whatever is in the machine is not poorly distributed). Some machines are direct drives. This one is a belt-drive. There's good and bad with each. Belt-drives help absorb some vibration. That's probably why Electrolux offers the 2nd floor guarantee. But belts can wear out. The nice thing is that belts are cheap to replace. Direct Drives? Well, the motor is attached to the basket, so if the motor is somehow off, you'll hear it and feel it. AND, direct drives are VERY expensive to fix. But a direct drive can last longer than a belt drive (Again, think of how a pulley system requires less power on a motor, vs the power needed to directly spin the basket). Kind of a toss-up, in some ways.

Funny that it's very "futuristic looking", even reminding me of Dave the computer from the film, 2001.

Now let me add this - I have read some reliability issues about this machine. Our dealer even said that they have had issues getting parts on a timely manner from Electrolux. Okay. We took a gamble on a floor model. The cost was about 60% of retail. We paid for a 5 year extended warranty. We figured that with the extended warranty, it would be a worthwhile gamble and still less expensive than the equivalent level LG or Maytag front loader. Because NO washers made in the 2010s are going to last the way machines from the 1970s did, any washer is likely to be a gamble. I'd still get an extended warranty. If this machine were to only last beyond the 5 years of the warranty, we'd still be ahead due to the great buy we got on it.

But as a machine designed to clean clothes, it does that job exceptionally well, in my experience.