As an American living in Britain for 6 years now, I have to say it's about time that a manufacturer has put together the best of both worlds! What I mean exactly is that in general, a washing machine in Britain takes about 4.5kg capacity of dry laundry (less than half of an American machine), and it takes at least an hour to wash a load (an American machine can do a load in 30 minutes). However, most American machines I've come across use the water from the household hot water tank whereas British machines heat the water they need, which is much better for economy.

The Dyson CR01 has a huge capacity (relatively speaking) and can do a quick wash if you need to, heating the water it needs at the temperature you set. It's a bit strange listening to that "contrarotation" kick in, but this action definitely gets the wash clean. A single drum British style machine is ineffective at getting wash really clean. There have been many times I've taken my hard-working husband's clothes out of the old Bosch WFB2005 and they still had a slight pong of sweat! I'm used to top-load machines where the drum swishes back and forth, really agitating that laundry! The Dyson's contrarotation really makes a difference! I have noticed more creases in the clothes than I used to get, but a certain fabric conditioner added to the wash takes care of that problem. Besides, I can now do twice the laundry at once which saves me a lot of time.

The price of these machines have come down, and £740 is a fairly good price for the base model. Also, at participating stores, the Dyson CR01 comes with a manufacturer's 5 year guarantee (instead of just 2 years) if the machine is purchased before December 2003. We've just purchased ours recently and I wouldn't go back to the tiny, "take-my-sweet-time-doing-a-load" Bosch WFB2005 we used to have! I remember trying to get my American king-size duvet in the Bosch.....I couldn't. I h
ad to wash it in the bath tub....and ring it out by hand....it took a couple of days to get it clean and dry! Now the duvet goes in the Dyson with no problems, spinning that extra water out at 1400 rpm, and I don't have to search around for a dry cleaner willing to take on the beast. Overall I highly recommend this machine.