Sorry, wont be much help at all, except that i'm in the exact same boat as you: trying to decide between a low-end miele and a high-end bosch!!
Hope some knowledgeable people will chime in!

I've had 2 Miele dishwashers in the past 10 years and would never buy another brand. I lost the newer one (Optima) when we moved from second home. The older of the two, now 10 y.o. (Excella) has never had a service call.

Can't keep track of the names and feature sets as they change them a lot. But cutlery tray is a must-have. Dividing line seems to be on how many cycles are needed. I need china and crystal -- others don't. I love,love,loved Express on the newer machine and would want that again. Must say if I got a new DW I also would want one with the interior lights (though I can understand why some wouldn't pay extra for that). Important to understand that the dw requires rinse aid and seems to work best with Method Smarty Tabs, Quantum Finish and Somat tabs according to consensus on Appliances -- none of these is the cheapest dw detergent.

Also opening is 23-5/8 for Miele dishwashers so pay attention to that otherwise it may be slightly noisier. Check to see if certified installer still gives you an extra year of warranty (though an Amex card seems to do this as well).

Just recently got spoiled with new Miele washer/dryer which has those interior lights and cannot believe how great they are.

Don't worry about going wrong with the Miele -- most around here agree you won't. I just had to junk the washer/dryer Consumer Reports rated highest as it didn't hold up. So over them. This forum is way more reliable IMO with a much wider sampling of users and opinion -- if most here like it chances are good that you will too (not always but mostly). Good luck!

Ditto!!!! Would buy another Miele DW in a heartbeat. We have an Optima--installed about 6 years ago. The water softener sensor wasn't functioning properly, so it had to be replaced sometime during the first year or two, but that was it.

We use jet dry rinse aid and Miele DW tabs cut in half for all but the most packed/heavily soiled loads. We use the Normal cycle for everything. I have also used the Short cycle when I need to run multiple loads in a row (during/after dinner parties or holiday dinners).

We have had our Miele Crystal SCU for more than a year and a half and are very happy with it. Based largely on reading here at Gardenweb, I decided on a Miele. I didn't want to spend more than I needed to get the features I wanted (though I'm sure the higher end Miele's are wonderful if cost isn't an issue), so I started by looking at the Classic and work up from there. The Crystal had the turbo feature, delay start and water softener that I wanted. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Crystal - our dishes are beautifully clean and the machine is very quiet. If you have any specific questions, I'd be more than happy to try to help.

Thanks for the prompt responses.

My Miele is the Futura Dimension model and is in the middle of their lineup. It has the cutlery tray, water softener, and china/crystal cycle. I've only had it for