I recently spent many, many hours over several weeks looking for a new dishwasher to replace our 50+-year-old Kitchenaid. After research online and visits to stores, I would settle on one model only to change my mind after reading more user reviews online. I chose and unchose 3 or 4 dishwashers this way. Of course, even good products have a small percent of negative user reviews online, and this wasn't why I decided against the various dishwashers. At the beginning of my search, I was focused on the question of which features I wanted (`integrated' controls or front facing, hard food disposer, etc.), but eventually I realized that, given today's generally shoddy production standards, the key issue for me was: how well built is the machine, how long will it last, how many repairs will it need? From everything I read, it became clear that many dishwashers on the market that have wonderful features, that are wonderfully quiet and energy efficient, and that perform well on tests by Consumer Reports, are in fact made with cheap parts that do not last (often sourced from around the world for the lowest possible cost). The dishwasher can seem great at first, but after a few years the parts wear out, the dishwasher is not as quiet as it used to be, and it starts to require costly repairs. KitchenAid dishwashers, for example, used to be well made--several decades ago--but no longer. The same seems to be true of Bosch. I did not want to spend $1000 on a dishwasher only to have it start breaking down in a few years. At this point in my search I took another look at Miele. I had originally dismissed Miele as too expensive, but I discovered that this company had recently released a new low-end model ($999 for stainless steel), the Futura Classic G4205SS, to compete with other dishwashers at this level. The salesman at our store said that Miele tested the G4205 extensively for 3 or 4 years before releasing it to the public to ensure that it would not have any problems. He also said that Miele makes all of its own parts; it does not use parts made by third-party manufacturers. Similarly, for installation, they insist on Miele installers. The stainless steel on the G4205 has a glass coating to reduce fingerprints. The controls are on the front rather than `integrated.' This is what I prefer so that I can turn the machine on and see the status of the cycle without having to open the door. All other brands with front controls that I considered (<$1000) had a plastic panel for the controls (sometimes the panel is a silvery color to match the stainless steel below, but it is still plastic). In contrast, the G4205 control panel is stainless steel. Also, this dishwasher doesn't have the ubiquitous Hummer-style handle, which I never liked and which will probably start to look old-fashioned soon, once manufacturers begin the next cycle of making current styles look out of date. I've used this dishwasher for a couple of months now. It is really quiet, the dishes come out super clean, the controls are very simple and easy to use, it has a beautiful, minimalist look, and it's very energy and water efficient. Best of all, I expect that it will last. The only tiny quibble I have is that it is smaller inside than my old KitchenAid; I've learned to load dishes in a very compact way but still can't fit as much into this machine. Some potential buyers might care (I don't) that after a wash the floor of the dishwasher has a bit of water on it (probably an energy saving feature). However, if you open the door a crack the water evaporates before too long. In sum, a near-perfect dishwasher (for me) in a field filled with low-quality competitors.

We've had our Miele Futura Classic dishwasher for two years and have not had a single technical issue. Dishes have always been very clean. I'm impressed with the straining/filtering system which I've cleaned a few times just because I wanted to see if any junk got caught up in it; the self-cleaning mechanism seems to be working very well and there was really no need to worry about it. The dishwasher is quiet and I don't mind at all being in the kitchen while it is running; I see no need to get an even quieter dishwasher.

These Dishwashers are above and beyond anything made here in the U.S.A. Ours cleans very well EVERY time, and is so very quiet. Anything Else Is A Compromise, no joke....

This entry-level dishwasher from Miele is a real gem. It is so quiet that the only way to make out it's running is by taking a look at the display panel. Cleaning quality is superior, and there are multiple settings to choose from. The clean touch stainess steel is really what it claims to be, i.e., it does not retain fingerprints, and wiping it with a moist cloth leaves it squeaky clean. The biggest selling point of Miele appears to be their reliability. Even the dealer recommended not spending additional money to buy extended protection plan. His point was that unless there is a manufacturing defect (which would be covered by the 1 year warranty), these machines rarely break down within the coverage period of the extended warranty. Note that this is a German product, and hence not as big inside as its American cousins. I do recommend buying the model with the cutlery tray. Not only the cutlery is cleaned very well (it has a spraying arm right below the cutlery tray), it also frees up additional space in the lower rack by not having to accomodate the cutlery basket. Totally worth the additional $100. If you are ok with having the control panel on the front (which I actually like better than the controls being on the top of the door), you can't really go wrong with this dishwasher.

We bought our Miele to replace a six year old Whirlpool Gold that replaced an earlier one after a house fire. The first was correctly ranked by consumer reports, but the newer one never really cleaned dishes without prewashing them. Recently, it stopped cleaning altogether, so after months of frustration, repairman visits and repeat washes, we purchased a Miele Futura Classic locally. The poor reviews here make no sense to me after seeing ours in action for the last four months. It is super quiet and we only have to remove big chunks before loading. On the 2.5 hour cycle, everything is spotless, so we rarely run it longer. We were dubious about the upper silverware rack, but now think it is a marvel of engineering...for example: nutella caked spoons would never have even been allowed in our old machine but with the Miele I have yet to rewash silverware. Because of the speed, we've run 3 loads a day some weekends. The adjustability of the racks means that it fits a variety of items, including baking sheets that would have impeded the middle wash arm on the Whirlpool, but sheets and everything else come out clean with this machine. I loaded an enchilada pan last week with sauce and chunks of tortilla still stuck to the bottom to see how dirty I could leave things and it came out immaculate. I opted to write this review because I went on to see about pricing a Miele for my mom after thanksgiving and her own whirlpool gold left a house full of people hand washing. We love this machine.