Breville VTP053 4-in-1 Multi-functional Slow Cooker

I have used this product for a couple of weeks now. I didn't want to race into a review. I like to spend time with a product, try it out a few times, mix up some bolognese, make the rice, test the steamer.
The Breville 4 in 1 is a 4 in 1 product. It does steam, fry, cook and cook rice, but it is most definitely not a slow cooker. It has a metal dish which seems to make the heat greater than a slow cooker. I made my family favourite spag bol, using the Breville. In my old slow cooker this takes 6 to 7 hours, ideal for a work day. I've even left it on slow overnight and had no problem. Using the same quantities, but scaled down (this is a smaller cooker than my old family sized pot) the cooker had the bolognese done and ready to eat in 3. Not quite a work day. The sauce was lovely, though, and reheated well. And I made soup for lunch in it, frying the veg first and then adding the water from the kettle, before turning onto slow cook. It had the soup done in 2 hours, soft and good to blend.
Rice cooking went.... well, the first time I used the manual's proportions, 1 to 1 water to rice. It was small, hard and not at all rice as we know it. The second time I used an extra cup of water, better but still not soft enough. The third time I cooked the rice I used 3 pots of rice and 5 pots of water. Success! Rice as we like it.... but it took longer than boiling a kettle and 12 minutes simmering would. You'd have to have an accompanying sauce that was good at sitting waiting. It takes about 30 minutes from switched on to cooked. However, that is 30 minutes when you can go off and leave the cooker to do its work, no sitting nearby or fiddling with lids to release steam. As far as I can tell it cooks rice in the pilau method, so I may well give it a go with the vegetables and spices in one day to see how well that works.
The steamer function I find useful only if you are cooking anything else and need a small portion of veg otherwise it doesn't hold enough for a family of 5 or cook quick enough to be certain of timings. I put some peas in over my rice last time, though, and they cooked perfectly well in the same steam as the rice.
The fry function I can't fault, and this is useful for prepping casseroles in the same pan as you cook. I made a pork casserole and only had this to wash up instead of an extra pan. The same with my bolognese, I browned everything in the cooker.
It is a smaller size than I'm used to, but it does fit enough food for a family of 5. there are no spare to freeze extras though, and that's a draw back. It isn't big enough to roast a chicken, either, which is a shame as slow cooker chicken is lovely and soft.
Appearance wise, it is a good, small beast and fits neatly away into a cupboard. The fry has 2 heat settings and the dials are clear enough. The slow cook only has one setting and that is not slow.
If you are after a multi function and don't need a slow cooker, this pot works well enough. If the main attraction is a slow cooker, then my advice is look elsewhere. I've kept my old slow cooker and I have to say I use both. This is good for steaming and on non-work days when I have 3 hours to cook, but for the original plan of cooking the day away, it has to be my old faithful.

Totally agree with the negative reviews regarding the slow cooking function. Bought it thinking this one said 'slow cooker' as compared to the Torino multi-cooker which only said 'stewing'. Both cookers do a very bad job as slow cookers. I'm back to the frying pan for browning and a classic slow cooker.
As someone mentions in another review, there is only one setting for slow cooking. The progressive temperature knob work only in the FRY mode.

Now I know this product is a multifunctional device, specialising in rice, steaming and so on but ultimately it is a slow cooker, this is it's vocation in life and it is with this understanding I am reviewing it. There is are other strong reviewers covering the other virtues so ignore mine if that's what you want to see.

As for its ability as a slow cooker...

Not great to be honest, I had visions of a Heston Blumenthal style product, gently cooking food at a constant temperature (or say 110 - 130 degrees) for an agreed amount of time, gently bring the food to a state of readiness not seen in regular oven cooking. What I got was a device that essentially cooked at an high temperature for two hours then kept the food warm for the remainder of the time. It suggested I could cook a beef casserole for 8-15 hours.

Well I couldn't.

Not even close.

After three hours or so it was already overcooked. I cannot overemphasise how hot it must have been cooking the food for this to happen. All in all, thoroughly disappointed!