After just 2 years, the door on the old, piece of crap Hotpoint dishwasher broke. That appliance had been useless from day one with any particle of food blocking it and inhibiting its washing cycle so it was with joy that I dumped it and purchased a new one.

I opted for the Bosch Exxcel and for past 6 weeks have been using it. To date, it has worked out very well. It is very flexible. The top basket can be lowered slightly easily by pressing side levers, to accomodate taller glasses, mugs or raised when you are washing larger trays or plates on the lower basket.  The cutlery basket can be moved to various positions. There is a separate plastic rack above the upper basket to store sharp knives or other implements.

Some of the plate spikes can be raised or lowered depending on whether you want to wash plates, bowls or larger saucepans.

So far, I have just used the normal wash which is a 65 degree wash and this takes about 2 hours. There is a digital time indicator to show how long left the cycle has to go. There are 4 other types of cycle ranging from an intensive 70 degree wash to a 45 degree quick wash.

It also has features such as a time delay and half load facilities.

I have had no problems similar to those with the last dishwasher, thankfully. It cost €400 and has been worth it. Would recommend.