Hitachi French Door R-WX Series

Very space efficient – Huge volume for the space. Great option for limited spaces. Good insulation means the manufacturer only requires a 5mm gap each side so will fit in as little as 835mm (instead of 30-50mm requiring 885-925mm). The door is similar to a custom build-in style refrigerator. Unlike a typical French door with all the bulk on the outside, the doors can open 90 degrees against a wall with only ~30mm gap instead of 200mm or more! Japanese made reputation. The quality in detailing and materials is obvious when cross-shopping. All drawers are extremely flexible and well thought out. Easily removable for cleaning. Icemaker, vacuum compartment and rapid freezing features quite useable and intuitive. A well thought out design that stood out.

Great Space and Power Efficient Refrigerator – Unusual features include the main freezer and vegetable drawers automatically opening in response to touch controls and a 'vacuum' drawer that can be set to either 1 degree or -1 degree. Unlike its larger brother the two main doors to not open to touch. I find the touch opening drawers a bit of a gimmick and often just open them manually. However the vacuum drawer not only keeps sushi or sashimi fresh for days it can be used to keep a variety of meat and other produce fresher than regular refrigeration without actually freezing. However, as we use the -1 degree setting, things from the vacuum section are really cold to touch.

Japanese made refrigerators seem to have the edge in efficiency of power usage and space, with but extremely effective insulation making fridges like this one offering more internal space than other refrigerators with similar external dimension.