Product review (5 stars): A star!
I recently spent many, many hours over several weeks looking for a new dishwasher to replace our 50+-year-old Kitchenaid. After research online and visits to stores, I would settle on one model only to change my mind after reading more user reviews online. I chose and unchose 3 or 4 dishwashers this way. Of course, even good products have a small percent of negative user reviews online, and this wasn't why I decided against the various dishwashers. At the beginning of my search, I was focused on the question of which features I wanted (`integrated' controls or front facing, hard food disposer, etc.), but eventually I realized that, given today's generally shoddy production standards, the key issue for me was: how well built is the machine, how long will it last, how many repairs will it need? From everything I read, it became clear that many dishwashers on the market that have wonderful features, that are wonderfully quiet and energy efficient, and that perform well on tests by Consumer Reports, are in fact made with cheap parts that do not last (often sourced from around the world for the lowest possible cost). The dishwasher can seem great at first, but after a few years the parts wear out, the dishwasher is not as quiet as it used to be, and it starts to require costly repairs. KitchenAid dishwashers, for example, used to be well made--several decades ago--but no longer. The same seems to be true of Bosch.

I did not want to spend $1000 on a dishwasher only to have it start breaking down in a few years. At this point in my search I took another look at Miele. I had originally dismissed Miele as too expensive, but I discovered that this company had recently released a new low-end model ($999 for stainless steel), the Futura Classic G4205SS, to compete with other dishwashers at this level. The salesman at our store said that Miele tested the G4205 extensively for 3 or 4 years before releasing it to the public to ensure that it would not have any problems. He also said that Miele makes all of its own parts; it does not use parts made by third-party manufacturers. Similarly, for installation, they insist on Miele installers.

The stainless steel on the G4205 has a glass coating to reduce fingerprints. The controls are on the front rather than `integrated.' This is what I prefer so that I can turn the machine on and see the status of the cycle without having to open the door. All other brands with front controls that I considered (<$1000) had a plastic panel for the controls (sometimes the panel is a silvery color to match the stainless steel below, but it is still plastic). In contrast, the G4205 control panel is stainless steel. Also, this dishwasher doesn't have the ubiquitous Hummer-style handle, which I never liked and which will probably start to look old-fashioned soon, once manufacturers begin the next cycle of making current styles look out of date.

I've used this dishwasher for a couple of months now. It is really quiet, the dishes come out super clean, the controls are very simple and easy to use, it has a beautiful, minimalist look, and it's very energy and water efficient. Best of all, I expect that it will last. The only tiny quibble I have is that it is smaller inside than my old KitchenAid; I've learned to load dishes in a very compact way but still can't fit as much into this machine. Some potential buyers might care (I don't) that after a wash the floor of the dishwasher has a bit of water on it (probably an energy saving feature). However, if you open the door a crack the water evaporates before too long.

In sum, a near-perfect dishwasher (for me) in a field filled with low-quality competitors.