Panasonic NN-E289MMBPQ 19 Litre compact solo microwave oven silver

This is a compact microwave which I use for a family of four for cooking veg, jacket potato, making sauces, reheating meals etc. The cord is black and is about a metre long. The microwave looks very smart with a dark, curved viewing window and a neat touch screen panel. It looks very neat and has a digital time display.

The interior contains a round glass plate on a wheeled ring base. The actual internal aperture measures 16cm high above the plate, 28cm deep and 27cm wide.

This microwave has a 700watt output and has a heating category C. Features include auto reheat, auto cook and auto defrost settings.

The touch screen has a Micropower button, pressing it once sets the microwave at 700 watts but the second press takes it down to the defrost level of 270 watts, third press is 600, fourth is 440 and fifth is 200watts. After selecting the power you need to select the cooking time which has got be done using a combination of three buttons: 10mins, 1min and 10secs.

This is quite loud when cooking and each time you press a button you get a loud beep and when the cooking finishes you get five of these annoying little beeps.

The oven can be set for two stage cooking as well but you cannot set a resting time in between cooking times. The turntable runs well and even with quite a heavy bowl it runs smoothly and does not judder.
The door closes with a solid feel and the opening button also feels firm without being stiff, it does not feel as if it will break easily.

The oven also has a couple of handy features; you can use it as a timer by pressing the timer button and then the required time, up to 90minutes away, and then start. The oven is not working but you have a countdown with an audible end. Also there is a child safety lock by pressing the start button three times the touch pad becomes inactive until you press the cancel key three times. I imagine this is very handy to stop curious children pressing buttons and ending up with the microwave working whilst empty and causing a fire hazard.

I would certainly recommend this Microwave due to its neat appearance, easy controls and effective cooking.

This is a simple "no frills" microwave - if you are looking for something more than basic reheating, defrosting and cooking veg/ready meals then this will not be the microwave for you.

It is very attractive to look at, much nicer than the online photos show. It has clean lines with no overly modern "space age" aesthetic design features, so I'm confident that the design will not look dated in a few years time - it's quite a classic style in a modern colour. The silver finish and grey painted interior are very easy to wipe clean. I love the smooth touch button panel, rather than the metallic buttons and dial I had on my previous microwave, as again it will be easy to just wipe clean and no crevices for dirt to get stuck in.

When I first used the microwave, I was quite surprised by how small it looked inside and was certain it wouldn't fit my large 27cm diameter plates - but actually they fit perfectly! It is a bit of a tardis which is great, and it works as well as you'd expect from a microwave.

The only downsides I can think of are that the interior being grey makes it a bit dark inside (although shouldn't discolour like white can), and the microwave slips around on the worktop when you press the buttons - but that will be easily fixed with some non slip matting underneath. Aside from those minor points I really can't fault it. My parents had a Panasonic microwave which lasted about 20 years, so I have high hopes from the brand for reliability.

Lastly, delivery from Amazon couldn't have been quicker, and the price was the best I could find anywhere online.

Super microwave and after my last one so easy to use. Even my husband can operate it and thats saying something!!!