The Miele G641 Plus has been a reliable, useful dishwasher which has lasted the test of time and come out with flying colours.

Appearance

The device looks much the same as any other dishwasher from the outside. With a plain white finish and the to-be-expected buttons at the top, it has a nice look. Embedded at the top of the door, in the centre, is a handle which must be pressed in to release. The on/off button is pleasingly large and has remained functioning well over the years.

A set of LEDs with corresponding buttons act as your means of tracking the stage of your dish-washing cycle. Wash/rinse is at the top, followed by Drying and then End. As the cycle runs its course, the lights appear in this order. When End is lit, you know to turn off your dishwasher. Three further LEDs sit underneath: Inlet/drain, Salt and Rinse aid. When any of these become too low, the light appears, alerting you to the need to add/adjust any of these components.

The inside of the dishwasher is very good, and better than many other dishwashers I have used in the past. The inside door houses two seperate casings: one to place a tablet/powder/liquitab in, the other for rinse-aid. Likewise, the 'trays' to hold your dirty dishes are made of a very sturdy plastic, and are arranged in a useful way. On the top one, there are sections for saucers, cups and glasses. On the bottom, there are sections for medium-sized plates, large plates and other things you may want to place in. The cutlery housing is very good and sufficiently large.

Performance

One of the reasons I got this dishwasher was it's high energy efficiency rating. Rated 'A' on the famous energy efficiency scale, its electricity usage is not as high as other dishwashers at 1.05kwH/Cycle. It is also not very noisy, a key benefit.

It's cleaning performance is also rated highly, given a 'B'. The large movable toggle to the right allows you to choose a number of settings. From Pre-wash, to economy, to universal settings, this dishwasher offers the user all the cycle possibilities. In my experience, the cycles (I use 55 degree universal plus) have cleaned everything brilliantly, bearing in mind that using better-quality tablets helps. I have not had any problems with unfinished cycles or still unclean dishes after cycles. My experience has been positive with it over a number of years (is it four now?) and it has been a nice appliance to have around.

Recently, I (ahem) managed to trip over the appliance while open (I still have no idea how), breaking the guide arms in the appliance. Luckily, when we contacted Miele, they were rather helpful. We gave them the info and some photos via email and they sent us out some replacements for the dishwasher. They were expensive for what they were and took a while to come, but still much less hassle than getting a replacement dishwasher, so I can recommend the brand's reliability too.

Summary

This comes highly recommended, and has been a reliable device to have in the home. It cleans well, doesn't guzzle up energy and has everything you'd expect from a good dishwasher. Miele are also, in my experience, a good brand, and this product is rated 5 stars as a result.