Tefal Avanti 4 Slice

Faulty – Great design, but was a bit slow and didnt toast the sides evenly. Considering we don't use the toaster religiously we just put up with it. Unfortunately, today the toaster tripped the safety switch and it's dead. Bought it at good guys July 2017 for $129.00 Think I'll get a cheaper toaster. Our previous $30.00 toaster lasted 8 years and was replaced not because fault but because we wanted something pretty. Lesson learnt.

Sometimes you don't get what you pay for - or fancy schmancy is not always better – I am an a bit of a nutcase when it comes to buying pretty much anything. I will research everything I can find about the item I am purchasing so I can make an informed decision. Cool...my Australian made 2 slice Ronson toaster that was 20+ years old finally died and I found myself in the market for a new toaster. Read some reviews and plenty of glowing reports about the Tefal range. High end..all the features wanted and it looks pretty stylish in full stainless steel. When I mention to the salesman in the shop about getting 20+ years out of my toaster he laughs and says todays generation of toasters will never see that....I am a little apprehensive at this.

The good lady wife balks when I tell her it's a $90 toaster when a Sunbeam one can be had for half the price. I convince her that the extra money will be worth it...it's a quality premium brand that will last longer than a generic Sunbeam of Breville....so we buy the Tefal.

Initially very happy with it. It does what a toaster is supposed to do...it toasts bread evenly on both side and reasonably consistent - let's face facts here, its not rocket surgery....its a toaster...

The model I purchased had a crumpet feature which is one my family utilize and one that my old Ronson toaster did very well. This model drops most of the power to the outside elements and keeps the inside ones powered up, so you get a brown top without the bottom of the crumpet being over-done. Well that's the theory...in practice it can take 3 to 4 cycles to get something that you think "that will have to do, I don't have all day to cook 2 crumpets..." So the crumpet function does not work very well at all...and this is out of the box like this... PROBLEM 1.

After a year or so it needs a second go to get the level of browning right and I find myself peering into the toaster to pop it manually before it burns the toast. Frustrating when it should be a pop-it-down-it-pops-up-and-its-done-kind-of-process... PROBLEM 2

About six months later the entire right side of the toaster stops working and will not stay down when you try and pop it down. So the 4 slice toaster is now a 2 slice toaster...Son of a motherless goat herder!!! PROBLEM 3

The final straw is that now the left side can take 3 cycles before it looks brown...D'oH!!! PROBLEM 4 Enough!!!

This Tefal toaster would not be three years old and it is done, so my experiment with a fancy schmancy PREMIUM brand of Toaster is over - I will be replacing it with a Sunbeam or Breville and live with the utilitarian look of the less stylish product.

I know that this is a sweeping generalization....BUT....It is just a pity that appliances are not made to last the way they used to be. I am furious that the manufacturers treat customers with such contempt and think that replacing an appliance every 2-3 years is acceptable. I am on my 4th Microwave in 12 years but that's a story for another review...

Money well spent !! – I have had our toaster since 2003 & is still going strong.. This is not the current shape, but previous shape to the current toaster. Best toaster ever & money well spent, you get what you pay for !!!! .