Yes, I'm pretty ambivalent on the American too. The raised grates with all the dead space in between them seems a litle off-putting. I woner about trying to take things from one burner actoss the range.

I made the same choice.

Viking has a terrible reputation. Wolf's reputation is good but I don't see what all the fuss is about; their burners are all closed so nothing distinctive. Bluestar still has issues, including safety issues, despite an energetic campaign to lie about that fact on this forum. Capitals still have simmer issues. American is unproven and not that attractive to me. On top of it all, while I love the idea of closed burners I really have little use for a blast furnace for a stove. I don't cook that way.

No appliance is perfect and no brand guarantees that you won't have problems. So I decided to get something that looks nice and also gets some good reviews from its owners (not only online, I've spoken in person to someone I know who's used one). Is it the right choice? For me, probably, but you can't know that in advance about any modern appliance.

The ovens are small but I like having two ovens, and the tall one is interesting.

I'd get it if it were the right color. The only thing that might trouble me is the ovens, and you've got a wall oven so who cares?

I think it's unlikely that anyone using an old JA would be sacrificing any performance that she'd actually use.:) Very few of us need that kind of BTU!

Yes, the BTU question and how much one really needs is one that is bugging me. Is this just the appliance manufacturer's version of the arms race? We all offer more and more and more to entice customers.

Thanks for all of the comments. I am still mulling this over and went back to day to look at the Aga again (and the American Range). Now I am starting to think if I don't get the Aga the American might be a contender. While in the store, I compared it to the much more expensive Viking and Wolf and didn't really see how they were worth the extra money.

The Aga is the prettiest. That is not unimportant!

Well, we went to a different showroom today where they had the white model Aga on display in good lighting (the place with the good-priced floor model had poor lighting and the range was a more burgundy color with a black top, so details were hard to see). I think we are now backing off the idea of the Aga no matter how nice looking it is. The quality of the construction just wasn't there, especially when compared to the Wolf and Viking ranges that were sitting right around the corner from it. I want nice looking, but I also want solid construction. This just seemed too flimsy of a construction in many areas. I really wanted to buy this but just don't know if I can justify the price when we saw how some parts of it were put together. I actually spent a lot of time on the web before we went out today and found many favorable reviews for the Rangemaster Elan in Britain which I think is nearly identical to the Legacy in the U.S. And, both of the salespeople we dealt with regarding this range did tell us that the level of quality is more equal to that of the Kitchen Aid and Jenn-Air and other similar mid-range lines rather than the truer high end pro lines.