I bought this toaster as a replacement from John Lewis for my sandstrom toaster which broke - read the review it was rubbish. I live on my own so only needed a two slice toaster and I only tend to use that whe my girlfriend stays at my house so I choose not to opt for a four slice toaster which takes up much more surface space in the kitchen.

-----The toaster----

The Morphy Richards 44871 Elipta toaster is decribed as having an elliptical shape. By this it just means that the outside edges are a bit curved (see the dooyoo picture above). I like the shape and it appears quite modern and different from a standard toaster shape.

The exterior of the toaster is stainless steel whith a slight brushed effect. Being a bit matt and brushed it is easier to clean than the shiny stainless steel aplliances which tend to pick up grease marks easily and dry streaky when wiped clean.

The toaster measures 19cm high x 28cm wide x 18cm long. This is a bit larger than the cheapest toasters but much smaller than a 4 slice toaster. It fits well into my kitchen and doesn't appear to imposing on the work surface. The size gives me a bit of assurance that it is a bit more robust than the toaster I have replaced.

---Operation----

The toaster functions the same as pretty much every toaster I have had the fortune to experience. You put the toast in, pull the lever on the side down and wait for the toast to pop up cooked.

There is a dial at the side of the toaster that allows you to set how brown you want your toast. This requires a bit of experimentation to get it right, but can then be left in place once the optimum setting is achieved.

The toast chamber can be varies in thickness to toast thin, medium or thick sliced bread. this is done using the electronic buttons on the side of the toaster above the browning dial. I tend to buy thick bread so use thhe thickest setting all the time.
The electronic controls also allow you to select a reheat option for when you just want to warm up toast. I like to use this to warm bread to a very slight toasting which means that butter melts when spread all over it.

The toaster appears to be quicker to toast than previous toasters I have owned. I think this is due to the heating element heating up faster and beginnning to cook sooner.

The lever of the toaster does go higher than some models which means it's easier to get stuck toast out of the chambers.

-----Price---

The Morphy Richards 44871 sells in John Lewis for £49.95 which is quite expensive for a toaster. I choose this due to trusting the customer service of John lewis and a 2 year guarantee being supplied after being so dissapointed with my SAnstrom that only lasted a few months of minimal use.

-----Summary----

I've been using the Morphy Richards 44871 for a couple of months now and have found it very easy to use, well built and good quality. It cooks perfect toast once set up correctly and apart from being a bit pricey I cannot fault it.