Kenmore runs hot and cold in our new Refrigerator Ratings
17.10.11
"Don't go by brand alone" is a Consumer Reports commandment, since we often find vastly different results between models from the same manufacturer. Our latest refrigerator reviews make the point again, with Kenmore this time earning mixed marks. Three of the Sears-exclusive brand's newest models performed well enough to make our recommended list, but a fourth is near the bottom of our Ratings .
First the good news: Three French-door bottom-freezers from Kenmore were judged very good overall by our testers. Two models are extremely well-priced, at $1,200 and $1,550, making them CR Best Buys. The third, part of Kenmore's premium Elite line, costs $2,800, but its claimed 31-cubic-foot capacity is the manufacturer's biggest ever. Consumer Reports goes by usable capacity; we measured 19.5 cubic feet for this model, second only to a 22.5-cubic-foot Samsung side-by-side model.
At the opposite end of the performance spectrum is the newly tested Kenmore Cold Spot side-by-side refrigerator. Despite its name, this claimed 25-cubic-foot refrigerator was merely fair in our temperature performance tests, which measure how well a model maintains consistent temperatures through changing ambient conditions. Granted, the Cold Spot's $850 price tag makes it an economy model, but you still want decent results. To spend that little and get very good temperature performance, you'll need to go with a top-freezer (several recommended models in that configuration cost $700 or less). Otherwise, expect to spend at least $1,100 for a recommended side-by-side.
Source: ConsumerReports.org