I usually buy my white goods second hand, but after lots and lots of saving I was reading to go ahead and buy my first brand new washing machine. I did lots and lots of reading and research before spending all my money. I spent several months going into shops and touching machines, I looked on websites and I eventually chose the Hoover OPH 716, something I'm not sure I should be proud of.

Why this machine
Initially, and superficially, I was attracted to the look of this machine. It just looks nice, and modern which was a good start. It had great energy ratings too A+ and a brilliant spin speed of 1600RPM. It was these things and the digital display that attracted me to it.

Features
The OPH 716 features a ideal 7kg load, an excellent 1600 spin speed, a digital display, which is supposed to tell you how many minutes are left of the cycle, and the spin speed. It has 11 wash programmes and cold only fill, so it doesn't use all your hot water. It's quick wash setting is very quick at 29 minutes, and a full wash at less than an hour.

Ease of Use
It is certainly relatively easy to use, just turn the dial to whatever setting you want and press start. There are lots of settings, but I tend to use the 56 minute wash, which washes well, spins at 1600 and everything comes out almost dry. I also use the wool wash mode, which I find leaves the clothes a bit wet, and often need another spin cycle at 800rpm, which is easy to do.

Is it Good?
I like the choice of different cycles, and I love the 59 minute programme, because I can do a full load in less than an hour, and it washes well. I hardly ever use the long washes, which are LONG. Only if I have heavily soiled items to wash. And the handwash setting is great, I was a bit worried about putting my hand wash items in that cycle, but they came out absolutely fine.

Any Problems?
I've had several problems with the machine. The second time I used it, I opened the door to discover a drum full of smoke. I was shocked, and all my clothes smelt smoky and horrible and were covered in some sort of ash. I had to phone the repair line and talk to them, they sent someone out a few days later who replaced the seal. It was fine for another few washes and then the same thing happened again, once again I called the repairman, once again they came and changed the seal. I asked them what was happening, but they couldn't tell me. It happened a couple more times before I figures that something was getting caught in the seal - like a sleeve or something, so I put less clothes in and it was fine.

I've also had several incidences of the drum not draining, but I can put it on another spin and it drains, and sometimes I will open the drawer and it is filled with water for no apparent reason.

Also, the door can be really funny. It's easy enough to open, but you can think it's closed, put your wash on and leave it and come back after work to discover that it just sat there the entire time doing nothing, because the door isn't closed "properly." Even though it looks just fine. Now, every time I close it, I give it a good kick too to make it start and wait until the wash starts before leaving. This can be very annoying.

It is also rather loud on the fastest spin cycle. And the display doesn't always display how many minutes are left of the cycle, in fact, I've found it rather confusing as sometimes it will say 18 minutes, and I'll come back 20 minutes later and it says 10 minutes or something equally strange. Perhaps I've misinterpreted what the display is for?

In conclusion
It's not a bad machine, but considering the price, I wouldn't say I was overly happy with it. If I'd paid £100 less for it, I would say this was wonderful. But this isn't a budget machine, it's a middle range machine that acts like a budget machine. I paid over £300 for it, and expected a lot more from it.

It does clean my clothes well, when it works, and it is fast and efficient. But I feel it could be better for the money.