The Posh Bosch That Doesn't Lose Its Cool (Bosch Exxcel KGH36X51GB)

Member Name: Nar2

Product:	Bosch Exxcel KGH36X51GB
Date:	22/07/09 (240 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good space, easy to keep clean, great design, reasonably compact, quiet.

Disadvantages: Not many; high price.

Talk about a month where it all kicks off! First our family owned HD-less Sony TV starts to make strange sounds and smells; the 20 year old Sky box needs replacing with Sky Plus; our boiler needs more than a service (a kick would probably sound its death knell), our 15 year old Bosch oven turns its on and off intermittently, my Hometek Steam mop refuses to steam and our 15 year old much loved and well-cleaned Electrolux fridge freezer door has cracked at one side making it difficult to close the freezer door and presents a health hazard. The fridge part is not alone though thanks to two of its metal grid shelves rusting and a dodgy interior light. Then there's the pesky Panasonic microwave oven with its dodgy door. It seems of late that in the Land of Nar, every conceivable larger appliance that is used daily is either holding on for dear life courtesy of post office packaging tape or holding onto a prayer by its own admission! Thanks to a recession and inflating prices (and I don't have much on a teacher's starter salary) there is only so much I can afford! * This is a long review! *


John Lewis (Glasgow branch) in my opinion however appears to be the hero of the hour. Not only are they able to price match against their rivals, John Lewis offer a free delivery service and only charge £9 extra for disposing of our huge old Swedish elephant. Scottish Power on the other hand, our local and most trusted electrical specialist in the local town wanted to charge us an astronomical £35 for disposal and as it turned out JL also have a speedier standard delivery service even though their secondary express service are unable to deliver to us. All in all despite the favouritism to Scottish Power, John Lewis came to the rescue at the end of the day financially! Whoever said they were always expensive? Even if it meant waiting for a week to go by, we could still sustain ourselves from fridge only food on our existing fridge/freezer; Scottish Power say it would take them a further 2 weeks to get a fridge/freezer delivered and that's a local company compared to John Lewis in Glasgow!


The brief however was to find some crucial requirements we had had before such as Frost-free, four baskets if possible in the freezer section and a 50/50 design split so that bending down to remove frozen food wouldn't be so hard for my mum and her split disc/back problems. The model would also have to be compact and be identical or similar to our old Electrolux.


One early dislike I don't personally approve of is externally fitted handles on fridge freezers and our old Electrolux didn't have any. I've seldom found a brand where one or two of the handles stay bonded long term without fear of the handles eventually snapping off. Sadly for the Bosch Exxcel KGH36X51GB there are two massive silver external handles and this was something that my mum and I couldn't agree on because like the last purchase she made on a Zanussi dishwasher (a model I've never been really keen on to replace our 14 year old Bosch) all because it was Black, she made a beeline for this glossy black matt painted Bosch in the store and disregarded everything else! Out went my £500 rounded up alternatives the moment she cooed over the word, "Bosch." It's posh no doubt but they're not the cheapest especially at John Lewis!


There was however one downside. The price of the Black Bosch came in at £619, which I felt was far too expensive for the rounded up £500 figure plus any guarantees I had pencilled down. Glossy painted fridge freezers these days seem to be easier to clean and I eventually came around to my mum's way of thinking; it does tend to hide stains than white! Look at the end of my review for a short cleaning tip!


When opening up the fridge door of the Bosch Exxcel it is evident that the designers have done all they can to maximise space - and it is very impressive, light and airy. There are four adjustable glass shelves which have easy to remove edges on them, non-slip surfaces, anti-spill design and all of them have a perimeter framework of white PVC for ease of removing, either for cleaning or just adjusting to the height your require without cutting or digging into your hands. The glass is also of a safety design, able to hold a pint of liquid should it fall and has been made to be scratch resistant. Of the space available in the fridge alone you're looking at 221 litres, which I felt may well be too big for just my mum and I but then I forgot she likes to make her own Yogurt and I love storing big and bulky salad vegetables...


However, what impressed me about the Bosch was the clear and easy access of getting to the various parts inside; the ease of removing the twin crisper trays at the bottom of the fridge; the ease of simply reaching into the top shelf and picking out the egg trays on the top of its inner door; the ease of locating the electronic controls on the top fascia of the fridge and a large LED panel to see the freezer temperature. More importantly a dial set in the middle for multi directional air increase (or to put it into Bosch's marketing language their "Multi Airflow" function) can give extra cooling for crisper foods and ensure less condensation. Hype or hope? Well I like my lettuce crispy and not soggy and the Bosch delivers well on that aspect alone; drinks and dairy products are supremely chilled whilst cold meat doesn't turn up at the sides like they used to in our old Electrolux. The siting of the control dial gave me initial concerns of just how versatile the so-called adjustable shelves could be adjusted. However the way in which the control dial has been located means that the shelving can still be inserted around the dial that has been rounded and slimmed down for the very facility of putting the height of shelves the way you want without much compromise.


Another impressive feature is the fact that the acrylic used in the fridge has all been coated with an Antibacterial coating and all the linings in the fridge according to Bosch have been treated to Silver Nano fibres to promote anti-bacterial and extra cleanliness. Yes, its marketing at its best; its not as if you can see the Silver Nano bits in the plastic, sadly and who's to say it could be any old metal? Funnily enough I don't think Bosch are pulling a fast one here on the basis that their reputation for building healthy and premium quality products is well known. The acrylics used in the inner door holders all have a slight blue tinge to them but they are very easy to clean with just a damp cloth. For accomodation here, most drink packages fit well with the exception of true rounded bottles such as larger Diet Coke bottles or Gold Top milk but we've just relocated them to the glass shelving instead.


Realistically though the acrylic Bosch have used here feels thick enough to last without a feeling of shattering - something our old Electrolux did suffer from whilst the shelving located on the inner door is easy to take on and off for ease of cleaning or simply moving around for the best needs. All this see through light and glass makes up for the right hand interior light which seems to have the best location at the top that gives superior light spread so that everything can be seen at a glance.


Cleaning however is something that Bosch has clearly thought about and the price reflects in the design and plastic/general quality you're paying for, here. Not only are the crisper boxes smooth and curved, there are no squarish parts where dirt or little fingers can get trapped, thus its easy to have everything rinsed up looking shiny and dirt free -without cause to remove much unless you attack surfaces with detergents and chemicals. However if there is one final advantage of considering any Bosch fridge freezer it is because the rubber seal surrounds on both fridge and freezer can be completely removed either for cleaning or long term if they start to break and can be replaced. Now that is a handy idea, particularly when seals are known to give up their sticking texture long term in any fridge/freezer appliance let alone growing mould over time.


Of all the useful additional extras you get, you get two additional bottle holders that can hold up to three bottles each, making a total of 6 bottles and can be stacked in a pyramid design. The holders simply clip onto the existing glass shelves but this is something that we have taken off, as we want as much space possible for food whereas the inner door can hold the drinks we need there. Plus the year my dad took ill my mum invested in wine coolers, two appliances that sadly he never got to see. One other additional extra is a rather nifty drinks can holder that will hold a standard can size of soft drinks like sodas. Similar to the ones you can find in commercial places such as cafes or newsagents, up to six canned drinks can be installed and slide down the metal holder as and when required. Due to the nature and design of its holder it can also be removed and placed on any of the shelves in the fridge. For all that these accessories and the bottle holders may well take up space I like the fact that Bosch have incorporated them into the design stage where they can be placed on any shelf and on any side or taken off completely and not used. Both made of stainless steel the holders are extremely well made and heavy for a reason.


Sadly however the Exxcel isn't a 50/50 design but more of a 60/40 design but my mother has adjusted her diet accordingly placing the nearest of frozen food in the top drawers as opposed to the bigger two below. Although the door opens well there are three freezer boxes all made of white plastic with acrylic see through doors and a beautiful well made feeling each time they are pulled or pushed back in. All boxes add to a 67-litre capacity, which is enough for two to three people and the freezer has a 4 star rating. Bosch however has also created a handy flap located on the inner freezer door for any medicines that can be slipped in there, something that the saleslady pointed out quite easily. I however have taken to using water ice bags and install them in the little pocket as it will take up less space than using any ice tray, of which one comes as standard as with most fridge freezers.


However as with usual Bosch appliances, there's always something that little bit extra on offer! Aside from the inner door space provided you also get a secondary tray in the first medium freezer tray below the first one and everything removable on the Bosch is dishwasher safe which adds peace of mind. At first I wasn't entirely sure what to make of this until I realised it was a tray made for owners to put loose frozen food in there or as Bosch call it, a "frozen berry tray." It simply clips onto the top of the plastic see through drawers and can be additionally placed in any of the three drawers.


In terms of noise and efficiency however the Bosch Exxcel is A rated plus for efficiency and performance. In terms of noise there is a slight buzz but generally the Bosch is very quiet and from time to time a slight clicking can be heard due to its frost free action when the super freeze function might be selected or simply when our kitchen gets too hot - our old Electrolux used to thump and knock quite badly but this is a consideration that I've found on many frost free fridge freezers and it doesn't perturb us since its better to have that than facing the removal of frost in a traditional style freezer.


A bonus to its overall design is how easy it is to move the actual appliance. Although no castors are set on the base of this model I was delighted to find both at John Lewis and at home how easy it is to move the Bosch for cleaning around it and there are two height adjustable feet on the base. To boot the size of this fridge freezer has a height of approximately 186cm by diameter of 65cm and a width of just 61cm, and by 1cm more only on its width it has managed to fit really well into the space previously occupied by our old Electrolux and like most appliances the Bosch also has reversible doors.


Finally the last hurrah goes to John Lewis. Since they didn't have any other fridge freezers in stock, we managed to get our model down from £619 to an incredible £499 including a special offer of free disposal of the fridge freezer since the only model we could have was the one on the shop floor. After inspecting it thoroughly and upon finding that none of its external and internal fittings and condition had been tampered with we gave it the thumbs up. Granted you're not always going to get the same deal but if you inspect something long enough with a deal like that in these times of recession there's very little standing in the way of a great bargain! Given the same 2-year guarantee as a new model if JL had them in stock also added onto the price, we've felt very comfortable and assured by the excellent customer service given. All in all, the Bosch Exxcel has a very befitting name and whilst it exudes a certain luxury due to its high standard of general finish and build let alone its high price, the winning card is the versatility and space offered whilst remaining quiet and efficient in use. Thanks for reading. ©Nar2 2009

www.johnlewis.com
http://www.bosch-home.co.uk

Cleaning tip:
For those who hate oily marks on external doors, wipe the surfaces down with a hot cloth and washing up liquid. It's trick that was recommended to me by a professional cleaner. Then after the doors have dried, spray furniture polish on the doors and sides you have washed and leave to dry in; the next time you have to wash grime and cooking oil marks off your fridge/freezer, all you do is apply a hot damp cloth as the marks will fly off! I've since noticed that this is also a tip given on air by Kim and Aggie in one of their episodes of "How Clean Is Your House?"

Summary: A classy looking combo fridge/freezer that says what it represents without fuss.

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