This kettle lives up to all the promises - fast and stylish. It comes in an usual colour for kitchen kit, but looks great in a combination of matt and glossy black. And it does indeed boil rapidly, even when full to its 1.6 litre capacity.

The handle is very comfortable and it has the usual cordless base that allows it to rotate through 360 degrees. The cable is quite short, but probably long enough for most kitchens.

It's not cheap, but worth paying that bit extra. We turned to it after several short-lived bottom-of-the-range models, the last of which gave a terrible plastic smell to any water boiled inside. A year later it's still going strong. The concealed element means that it's easy to remove limescale, and it feels well made.

The only downsides we've found so far have concerned the lid. It doesn't open very far when you want to fill the kettle, and has a fiddly clicking mechanism to keep it shut. This popped open once, but I was able to reassemble the parts and have had no problems since.

A kettle's a difficult beast to review: this one looks stylish, works well, and gives the impression of being of high quality. Recommended.