Bosch or Miele seem to get good reviews at this forum. I own the cheapest Miele, it is excellent, but I liked the higher end Bosch as well. My wife just did not like the tray layouts.

Hit and miss on KitchenAid reviews here. Some really great reviews, some real bad ones. I read enough here to avoid matching my KitchenAid refrigerator and range with a KitchenAid dishwasher.

GE apparently has a new 2014 version out, but it there is always a risk of reliability issues on a new model.

Have not read much on Fridgidaire or other Electrolux brands here. The high end ones looked very nice.

Laundryvet

First choice, money no object....Miele any model, even their lowest

Second Choice bosch....mid and high end...stay away from their low end units

Third choice Asko....good units but similar in price to Miele

I have a Bosch 800 series, and I would agree with tyguy - I would have gotten a Miele had the prices been comparable. As it turns out, I'm very very happy with my Bosch - cleans better than any other dishwasher I've ever had, holds a ton, was mid-priced, and its so quiet you don't know its running even if you're standing right next to it (unless you're looking at the red light shining on the floor to let you know its on).

Tyguy has ratings right.

Miele, Bosch at top.

Laundryvet

I'm looking closely at the Bosch dishwashers and curious which are the ones you warned as the "low end units" to stay away from. There seems to be 800 plus, 800, 500, 300 and Ascenta. Should I assume the Ascenta is the low end? Or are the 500, 300 AND Ascenta the low end?

I'm very happy with my 4-year-old Kitchenaid, it has a third (top) cutlery rack which I use all the time. I would never have a dishwasher without the third rack.

Be sure to check capacity of DWs you're considering. Some brands don't hold so much. Also, check the loading configuration and location of the cutlery basket, I hate the door-mounted ones. Finally, if you wash casserole dishes, look for turbo jets in the DW wall.

I have a 500 model bosch and love it.

Bosch, Miele, Asko, KA, and GE are all brands I'd consider

This post was edited by hvtech42 on Thu, Sep 11, 14 at 15:14

I LOVE MY MIELE! With a kitchen of new appliances, my dishwasher is the only thing I absolutely wouldn't change. I don't remember the model number, but it does open itself after drying to let the stream escape. My kitchen and dining room are separated by a half wall. The dishwasher never, ever interferes with conversation or listening to the tv out radio. In fact, sometimes I've needed to go over to it and bend over to listen, to be sure that it's on. I REALLY like the silverware tray. Dishes come out clean, and I only use the express cycle. What else can I say? :>)

I have always been a kitchen aid dishwasher fan. Ours is ten now and still kicking. A spring broke a few months ago and we fixed it but I began a search for a new dishwasher before I knew it was an easy fix.

A few things that I learned that you may want to look into:

Water left on dishes:
Many people that I know have Bosch and they gave mixed reviews mostly because it leaves water on the dishes due to the fact that it does not have a drying element. Is this the experience of the Bosch owners? Does the Miele have a drying element? Kitchen AId does have a drying element and tends to have good reviews in the drying area.

Sound:
From what I have on sound, you can't go wrong with either brand. I have been standing next to a Bocsh at a friends house and didn't know it was running. My Kitchen Aid is loud but they rate them with decibels now and they have several models that are under 49 decibels, which I think is pretty good. You may want to compare the ratings on the different brands.

Capacity
As another poster said above, bring a plate with you to make sure they fit well into the machine. Some of the European machines may have smaller capacities than the American models.

Good luck!

I have a high-end Kenmore. One word-don't.

Linda

None of the European dishwashers (including Miele) have a drying element, but I know higher end Mieles have a fan which helps a lot with the drying. Maybe the lower end ones do too, I don't know. I think some Askos have a fan as well. The fan is one of the reasons older KitchenAid dishwashers performed so well. Of course, a Miele will not dry as well as a dishwasher with a fan _and_ drying element. So if you want the best drying, get an American dishwasher.

Somehow Bosch got a "reputation" for not drying dishes thoroughly. My experience has been quite the opposite, and I'm considering not just my machine but those of a couple of friends too. My loads are almost 100% dry, just from residual heat in the machine. It most definitely does NOT "leave water on the dishes".

I do think a lot of the Bosch drying issues people complain about are due to people using it incorrectly. No rinse aid, etc. But let's face the facts, there is no way a Bosch is going to outperform a dishwasher with heated dry. Condensation drying will do great for most people though. I just like really dry dishes out of my dishwasher, and I mentioned the difference between the dishwashers in case there was anyone else like me.

This post was edited by hvtech42 on Thu, Feb 20, 14 at 21:34

I have a Bosch 500 Evolution series (installed about a year ago). I absolutely love it. It's quiet and cleans well. Occasionally, there will be water left on top of coffee cups, but otherwise dries well. It may help that I don't unload it immediately - I usually run it at night, or after breakfast.

I have also been looking for an 18" dishwasher, and since I wanted one that was panel-ready, my choices were narrowed down to Miele and Bosch. I played with both in the store, even bringing in some of my own kitchenware to test out. My immediate impression of the Bosch was that the trays felt very flimsy. I preferred the build of the Miele, and also liked the way it was laid out for loading. Of course I have not tested either in every day use.

Is there a dishwasher that is better for accommodating larger dishes? I have 12-13 inch everyday dishes and then glasses with long stems and large insulated type mugs. I don't really want to have to adjust racks all the time. Maybe the newer DW's don't have the problem of the older smaller interior machines. I've looked at them but not brought in a load of dishes to test them out since this is my only concern. Now I can't put all of my dishes in a row on the bottom because it hits the upper rack, it's a pain. I love the way my dishwasher works, it's a 16 year old Kitchen Aid and I'm afraid the newer ones are not the machine the old ones were, which is sad, it will clean ANYTHING, no matter how you load it but I know it's not going to last forever. I hate that new appliances aren't as good as the old ones.