Yes alexr I've looked for that too and found it to be not-yet-invented. Let's join the study group to write up the requirements list, present it to the boss and stay involved as R&D gets a few prototypes out for evaluation. . . : - ) Moving the upper heating element is definitely possible. I've seen it in ovens where they let you pivot it down to clean above it. It must be possible to move it in a plane. What I'd buy in a flash is one with the upper heating element fixed but the box shape itself being shrinkable, by sliding the top half down a couple inches, the top part fitting over the bottom part. Like those adjustable-height chimney covers they sell with range hoods. It would be insulated. I'd like to put a toaster oven in a deep drawer in my new kitchen, plugged into plugmold on the underside of the countertop, inside of the drawer. I dislike seeing it all the time (clutter) and I only use it when I use it, not every morning. In years past I've often used the big oven's broiler element to toast, just like alexr says. With my new wall oven, I might find I like doing that rather than buying a TO. It's my first wall oven; it's 24" wide. Right now I have a borrowed toaster oven as my only oven -- amazing how much cooking I can do in it. I'm getting ready to renovate and my new oven isn't connected yet. I would be completely oven-less if not for this borrowed TO. Anyone else with more Toaster Oven criteria? -david

FWIW Perhaps this is a new feature, but the Breville Smart Oven that I will use for the first time in a this evening does have a slide out rack in the middle position. It appears that there are magnets in the door which pull the rack out when the door is opened. The rack comes out about 3 inches, I think. If it's new, it's a nice feature. I am looking forward to using it. Thanks , MDBmom for starting this forum and all the contributers who helped me make the decision--and saved me $50 by alerting me to the BBB coupon. Sandra Sandra

I couldn't live without one, actually have 2, and their use goes up as the thermometer does. For anything that fits, that's preferred over turning on the regular oven. It's a little tricky getting used to for the less conventional items, but after a while, you get a feel for what your machine is going to do to/for different foods. Some cook faster, some slower. As long as I cover the top with a sheet of foil (not molded down, just laying on top) I can cook a whole chicken. I've made baklava, muffins, cookies, roast a lot of garlic, frozen french fries, meatloaf, u bet'cha! If looking for a new one, I would try to find the kind that has (or offers optionally) a little roasting pan with drip tray. You can take the top part off for some things, and keep it on for something like chicken or meatloaf so it can drip out. The other one just has what looks like a little cookie sheet that is not as versatile (or deep.)

I just happened to be in the kitchen at work a couple of months ago when the toaster oven caught fire. The guy was making toast (auto shut off), and it ignited grease on the bottom. And someone regularly cleans this oven. I can say without hesitation, YES, this is a fire hazard. If the cabinets -- a good 8-10 inches above the oven -- had not been made of metal, they would have ignited. The paint bubbled. The guy knocked it off the counter onto the tile floor with enough force that it unplugged itself and we watched it burn itself out upside down, praying that it didn't set the sprinklers off. I have no question that if it had been in a cabinet, the whole cabinet would have ignited, and the whole wall, and the whole kitchen within minutes. Yes, maybe if this happened and you were standing right there and everything happened just right you'd whip out your fire extinguisher, cool as anything, and it would work just right, and you'd only lose a wall of cabinets. But, most likely, this would not happen when you were at home. This would probably happen when you were out. When someone who isn't familiar with how to use the setup safely -- a babysitter, your husband's stupidest friend after a few halftime beers, your kid who KNOWS better but got talked into it by a friend. And fire gets out of control so fast, and there's no stopping it. No insulating it or containing it when it's licking up the whole front of the cabinet. Or the heat is slowly building in the box for hours or days, just waiting for oxygen to burst into a flame. I understand the desire to get the oven off the counter. But the only way to do this safely is to store the oven there, take it out, and put it back when it's cool. Otherwise, it's just a bad idea. It's against fire code for a reason. I have known half a dozen people who have had house fires. It really happens. Not to everyone, but it happens. And I know someone who died thinking they could put the fire out themself. Be safe.