Product review (5 stars): A generational change in cooking technology
This range is an amazing piece of technology. The level of control you have with the induction cooktop just blows away that of any other range you have ever used. Because you are not transferring heat from a burner to a pan, but are exciting the molecules of the pan directly through a magnetic field, you have instant and precise control over your cooking, and an unparalleled evenness of heat in your cookware. Gone are the days of moving pieces of food back and forth between the center and edges of the pan while sauteing. Every piece of food anywhere in the pan cooks just like every other. Everything about the induction cooktop is faster than you're used to. About the only time you'll set this on high is when you want to boil water, and you'll be amazed how quickly that happens... just over two minutes for a 3-qt sauce pan half full. It takes a bit of adjustment to get used to the different timing of things. I like how it boils more quickly, but it's changed all my timing of when to start water for potatoes or pasta. Where you may be used to putting a saute pan on medium high and giving it several minutes to be hot enough for water to 'dance', it will be about 30 seconds with this one, and it's easy to smoke your oil until you get used to using lower settings than you're used to. Once you get used to it, though, you'll love the level of control you have over your food. In fact, you have such fine control that you don't need a double-boiler for tasks like melting chocolate. This cooktop has such precise control that you can melt delicate foods in a single pan. Yes, you may have to retire a few old favorite pots and pans, but there are many high-quality multi-ply stainless steel products out there that will work brilliantly, as will traditional and enameled cast iron. I have had this range for three weeks and I already cannot imagine going back to a primitive electric or gas cooktop.

The oven in the range does a very nice job, though we're still getting used to how it varies from our old one. One thing to be aware of is that they turn a 'feature' on by default that lowers your temperature by 25 degrees when using convection without telling you that its doing it and without showing you the actual temperature in the oven. Personally, I think that's daft. Your oven should heat to the temperature that you set, and even if they think some people will like this, it should be off by default. They give you a way to turn this off so that your oven is accurate while convection cooking, but if your electricity is interrupted it loses that change and you'll have to remember to reset it. (A bit of non-volatile memory would have been nice for retaining your settings in a power outage.) Other than that little quibble, though, the oven couldn't be nicer. I love that it shows you the temperature while pre-heating, and the easy slide rack is fantastic for a heavy item that needs to be pulled out to check its temperature. It maintains a relatively even temperature and is extremely well-insulated. We haven't used the warming drawer yet, but I think it will come in handy at times.

That's pretty much what I have to say about operating the range, but there were some notable things about buying and installing this range that are worth commenting on for those who may buy online and/or install it themselves as we did. The range is very heavy, between 200 and 250 pounds, so you will want to take this into consideration when planning the installation (assuming you will do it yourself). You'll definitely need a hand truck to move it into the kitchen and you'll want to protect your floor from the feet when moving it into place. We set it on a piece of heavy material to slide it around to protect the hardwood floor and that worked well. Putting the plug on is easy, so don't let that dissuade you from installing it yourself. It comes with an anti-tip bracket that should be screwed into the wall or floor for one of the rear feet to slide into. This prevents the range from tipping forward accidentally, which would be pretty serious with something this heavy. At first, it looks like getting it all lined up will be a pain, but they have made it so that you just install the edge of the bracket exactly where the edge of the range goes and everything lines up. It turned out to be very simple, and is cheap protection for the type of accident it is trying to prevent. Leveling the range was a but fiddly, as it is with any range, but it wasn't hard if you remove the warming drawer first. Be sure to take the time to use a spirit level.

Most slide-in ranges won't directly replace a free-standing range, because they are less deep and require a piece of counter behind them. This range is the same depth as a free-standing range, which could be good or bad for you. If you already have a free-standing range, it's great because it is a direct replacement and it will fit. If you already have a slide-in range, check the installation guide before installing to be sure this will fit. It may not. I really enjoy having the controls on the front so I don't have to reach over hot pots and pans to adjust a control.

The oven vents heat, and some moisture, from a vent at the back, so be sure you have an appropriate backsplash behind the range. We put a stone backsplash behind our counters and thought about putting it behind the range. Instead, we ended up with a stainless steel backsplash directly behind the range and stone behind everything else. I'm glad we did that because we can see the moist condensation on the backsplash sometimes. Stone would not have been a good material for that.

Buying this range online was a bit of an adventure in itself. I saved several hundred dollars by doing that, but it wasn't without a certain amount of trouble and risk. There was a mix up between the seller (Amazon 3rd party seller) and the carrier, with the seller telling me it had shipped and the carrier telling me it hadn't. This lasted about a week and created some stress. Receiving an item from a freight carrier is quite different than receiving something shipped by UPS. The carrier called me to arrange a time, but there was confusion about exactly what service they were to provide. They started by telling me that they would bring it in the truck and that I would have to unload it. For extra money, they would lower it to the ground and for more extra, they would move the box inside. Be sure you get this worked out with your seller before you finalize your order. It's the seller that sets the terms of the delivery. Then, on the day of the delivery, the driver called to verify that he could get a tractor-trailer into and out of my street. (The answer was a definite 'no'.) Unfortunately, they assumed I knew it would arrive in a tractor-trailer and I assumed a company delivering an appliance to a home would use something the size of a furniture delivery truck. This had the potential to be a real problem, but luckily the driver was really great. I drove my garden trailer out to the truck and he came back with me and helped me get it in the garage. He didn't have to do that last part, though, so it could have been a very difficult time. The upshot is, if you buy this range online, be sure you consider all these issues and get them worked out before the delivery day. There were several times in this process during which I was wishing I'd paid the extra money and bought it locally, but it all worked out really well in the end, so now I'm pleased to have saved the money.

All in all, I couldn't be happier with this new range. I know that professional chefs love gas (and I did, too, before) but I don't care who you are. Once you've used an induction cooktop, you'll never go back to gas or electric again. It has all the instant control advantages of gas with the precision and consistency of digital controls and the ubiquity of electric. Combine that with a large, high-end convection oven, and you have an exceptional cooking appliance. I enthusiastically recommend this range.