Tefal Pro Express Total Auto Control GV8963

Spend the extra $ & save tons of time ! perfect ! – gv8963 MODEL - Does all fabrics with ease - setting are not complicated. The amount of steam this thing pump outs is incredible - you only have to iron 1 side of a shirt - other side does itself with hot steam. have had this for 2.5+ years - cannot fault it. Do not hesitate to Buy this, its well worth the money !!! Show details

V. Good but – I already have a Philips GC8642 which I have had a for a couple of years. I got a good deal on this Tefal so decided to try it knowing I could return it to Tefal if not satisfied. Well I'm satisfied and wont be doing that. It has some advantages over the Philips, removable water tank, retractable cord, three heat settings as opposed to one setting… Read more

and the power tip.

The Philips tank is bigger, but the Tefal set up is handier however the angle to remove and replace the tank is a bit un-ergonomic and clumsy. You do get used to it though. The Tefal's power cord could be longer, but being retractable is a big advantage, the velcro wrap provided with the Philips is dicky but I guess better than nothing. They both have steam/iron cord wraps but the ultimately the Tefal is easier to store.

The Tefal is also faster to heat up it seems, and is ready to go once the light says so( about 90 secs), once it hits ready the Philips has little steam and needs another minute or so. With the Tefal set to 'normal', the Philips produces more steam than the Tefal though the results seem similar. The Philips may be a bit better on very creased items because of the higher amount of steam. But once the Tefal is set to 'jeans', or max, the Tefal is better and faster at removing creases. Visually you cant see the steam at this setting but can certainly hear it and feel it if directed from a distance at your hand. The sole plate is noticeably hotter on this setting, and with the large volume of pressurised steam this made ironing sheets much faster. Vertical steaming was also more effective if that's your thing.

Both irons suffer from periods of low or minimal steam. These lows are really annoying as the appliances effectiveness is severely reduced. The low of the Tefal is not as low as the Philips, but the Tefal takes longer to re-boot (with the Tefal the lows mostly occur on the Jeans setting, the low on Normal is really not that bad). The Tefal needs at least 3 or more minutes to sort this out (or longer), the Philips re-energised itself more quickly. When on the Jeans setting however, the Tefal can take over 10 minutes to get back up to maximum, sometimes i felt it never recovered at all and had finished my ironing session with the iron in its 'low'(Tefal reps monitoring this site please comment). This is the worst aspect of the Tefal and is really disappointing. The results and speed on Jeans setting are excellent, but it does not seem to be able to maintain the temp/steam output permanently. I would go far as to say the period of 'low' exceeds the the time the unit works at the intended setting during a session , certainly it seems so over the last couple of uses.

Some people may like the one temp approach of the Philips, it certainly reduces the likelihood of scorched fabrics. However some things just need a high heat, and certain items will have to dampened with a spritzer to truly get the creases out. You will also have to go over the fabric repeatedly if you have heavily dampened bad creases. The lower temp of the Philips sole plate can take ages to dry saturated fabric. The high heat of the Tefal also aids the overall speed of ironing. Users will only experience maximum steam after a period of rest, once activated steam drops by at least 30% after a few seconds. This happens with both units.

The power tip of the Tefal, whereby concentrated steam ejects solely from the tip, is useful and effective. The Philips has a 'lock on' function for steam, the Tefal no such thing. The Tefal has an iron rest for the handheld bit, the Philips doesn't. The Tefal has a steam boost function for the main area of the sole plate that is activated by pressing the steam button 3 times in quick succession. The result is like pressing the steam button three times on and off, there is no magic boost.

Both soleplates are good, i can't really decide between the two. Strangely the Philips may have the edge in glideability, though Tefal always was the best in this regard IMHO. Maybe its the addition of palladium to create the self cleaning effect, but it feels a touch sticky. My standard Tefal glides better. The Philps's hand unit has a smaller form factor and is very light, the Tefal is heavier and larger.

Overall I favour the Tefal, the worst aspect is the low on the Jeans setting. If this was remedied the decision would be easy. The Philips is a good all-in-one unit that is completely automatic, eliminating user error. However this impacts overall effectiveness on certain fabrics and speed in use.

Not sure if water pistol or iron – Bought this >$300 iron from the Good Guys in Osborne Park. Been using for a few weeks, and pretty much all of my clothes become wet after using this iron. I have to spend the first few minutes squirting water into the ironing board before I can iron my clothes.  Show details

5 stars – ironing is such a please and wash sign this steam iron system. My husbands business shirts used to be the most difficult (company supplied, cheap cotton) and resistant to ironing but not with this little beauty. 5 stars love it. The functionality is simple, hand book is easy to follow. Stores nicely, is solid and robust.  Show reply

TEFAL NEEDS TO GET ACT TOGETHER, REGARDING TECHNICAL SUPPORT !! – Hi there, after owning the GV8960 Dec.15, had it for 2 months, stopped working, in Feb.2016, returned to the store, they were very happy to refund my money, without me asking, as they had too many customers which where bringing back due to too many issues, I wanted to purchase another unit, they suggested I please buy elsewhere as they did not… Read more

want to sell Tefal anymore??

I then went to Harvey Norman and upgraded to GV8963, as 8960 model was apparently no longer available??

keep in mind I had the unit for only 2 months, now after 1 month of use with the GV8963, I am finding the thick grey cord which links the iron and station together, gets extremely HOT, hot enough not to touch, my previous model did not do this, (even though it stopped working), so I called Tefal today, explained the entire situation to the lady, and asked for technical support, advise, assistance, she said "oh it can get hot at times, its ok", I again asked for a technician with knowledge, she said "oh we dont have one" all I can do for you is go to showroom, plug the same model unit in, give it a go, and see if it heats up the cord.?? I was shocked at the response, and replied,are you for real?I gave her my contact details to call me after she does her little experiment.Tefal I hope you read this, as this is shame on you guys, we consumers pay top dollar for a product, and expect top service in return, this was a simple technical issue questions, which may lead to more serious damage, like (FIRE) however you do not have anyone to explain to us consumers, this is not good enough TEFAL, awaiting your response, and the lady with her results of her experiment !! THIS WAS POSTED JUNE 16 2016, AND PHONE CALL TO TEFAL ALSO ON THE SAME DAY.....

After trying many, this one is great – I bought a Tefal steam generator about five years ago and it was life changing (in ironing terms). I decided to replace it this year. I bought two different Tefal models. Both leaked water on my clothes. Both went back to the store. I then purchased a Philips branded steam generator. It also leaked water and despite being new left small brown… Read more ·  1

water stains on my clothes. It also left the clothes really damp. I returned this to Harvey Norman after 3 months.

They convinced me to try the new Tefal GV 8963. Wow!!

No more leaking, glides beautifully. Love it. I highly recommend you give it a try. At the moment they are offering a $100 cash back.