If I were buying a brand new front loader, it would be the Duet 4.4 cu feet. They are reasonably priced and now even more reasonably priced since Whirlpool is starting a new series of front load washers so they are trying to get rid of the stock. I saw one at hhgregg with steam for 669.00 Reason being (they use less water) but you have the choice for it to use more (if needed)...It has a max fill feature. I currently have a Duet that is almost six years old and have had one issue with it (but that was repaired years ago and have had no issues since. I can't speak for HE TL washers. Based on seeing videos of them in action, I don't think I would want one. I do think the HE top load machines use a "little" more water than the FL washers. If you get a front load washer....

A) Leave door cracked when done washing
B) don't use too little or too much detergent
C) don't over load the machine

Piece of cake once you get used to it. Good luck with your decision

Here is an add'l link

Here is a link that might be useful: Energy efficient washers

Since you also asked about reliability issues, I had Lowe's pu my new Whirlpool Cabrio7800 top load washer today after one week. I don't have room for frontload so was thrilled when I discovered they now have topload HE. It was awful - nearly every load got out of balance and would stop and I had to pick up wet clothes and move them around, and my sheets were so mangled that even after wetting them again and drying, the wrinkles would not come out. I was going to have Whirlpool service come out first to see if there was something wrong, however, my salesman told me he knew of people who had always had a problem with their sheets getting mangled; then, I went on line last nite & read reviews and there were 10 negatives for every positive, having had problems for years which I had this week. So, since I had to return within 7 days to get my money back I just went ahead & let them pick it up.

There are video's of these HE top load machines in operation on youtube if you ever want to go look at how they operate before purchasing them. I watched a video of what looked like a small load of laundry that "eventually rolls over" but it seemed like it took a while, and after it finally rolled over, the cycle drained. I was thinking it didn't have time to get the load fully clean. Perhaps it was a short cycle, I don't know. I have never seen one with a really FULL load. I would like to see how these machines handle a full load. It certainly has the capacity for it, but the loads I see on youtube always look so small, and even then it doesn't look as if it's doing a great job.

I am the grateful owner of a Maytag Bravos toploading HE washer. Though most people think they're identical to Whirlpool Cabrio, I've never ever had problems other people have had with Cabrio.

My washer uses so much less water than my former washers w/agitators, we saw a sizeable drop in our water bill after we bought it. A graph I saw on water usage showed the usage of HE washers, whether top- or front-loading to be very similar.

Keep in mind, capacity varies widely. My washer is very big, 5 cu ft, washes an amazing amount of laundry, yet uses very little water and energy. I absolutely love it. Have no complaints at all.

Mara

There are quite a few videos on youtube with the Bravos and or Cabrio. You're right. It has HUGE capacity, but I've never seen one fully loaded and in operation. It always looks as if it's less than half full, making me wonder if the space is all usable.

Keep in mind that a typical dry load reduces to about half the original size when saturated/wet. That's why dryers need to be double the cu. ft. size of the companion washer, so the load has room to tumble, billow, and expand as it reaches dryness.

Mark, all 5 cu ft is definitely usable. When I wash a king-size comforter, the washer is almost full (maybe a 1/2- to one-inch clearance above it). I also wash huge loads of laundry in it which fill it as full as the comforter does -- one of the reasons I love it so much. I can wash many sheets and pillowcases in one load. This is a huge energy-, water-, time-, and work-saver for me.

dadoes is right. When a full load of laundry is saturated and washing, the washer looks about half full. A king-size comforter is different, because the washer uses more water for the Bulky cycle (something I appreciate).

Your best bet is to pick the models that interest you an look up the specs on them. You'll need to do some math. Find out how many gallons it takes, factor in whether you do extra rinses (some FL users use up to 5 rinses or more) and that will certainly impact the water use and not be included in the energy site estimates. Once you've figured out the number of gallons you'll use per load multiply that by your cost per gallon of water.

Cabrio/Oasis/Bravos are all the same basic design. There's people with Oasis and Cabrio who have not had any problems and there's people with Bravos who have had trouble. Every machine has it's problems. Even the "mighty" Miele has a number of people who have reported problems here. Keep in mind many times pilot error is a big factor in troubles. HE toploads are more sensitive to loading it seems than other types. Once you get used to it you shouldn't have the troubles. However if you go from a conventional washer to a HE machine, FL or TL there's a learning curve. Some people don't want to learn the "new" system.

There's also other HE toploaders besides the Cabrio/Oasis/Bravos models. GE Harmony gets good reviews from most users. Of course, there's again, always going to be someone unhappy.

I realize that the laundry tamps down when wet, but those videos I saw on youtube looked like they only had a few articles of clothing in it. I would suspect it would tamp down 1/2 way maybe (when the load is to the top dry).......And on those full loads it rolls clothing over well? The vids I saw looked like it took quite a while for the load to finally roll over, and once it did roll over, the cycle was almost over and time to drain. I'm thinking (how could the part of the clothes that spent "most" of the time on top (not agitating) and finally when it does get to the "bottom" then the cycle was done and it drained.....Perhaps it was a short cycle...I would have to see one in person and see how it operates. It's hard to know what cycle they used etc. If the bulky cycle uses more water, I'd probably use that cycle all the time

Mark, different washing cycles / soil levels turn laundry over differently. The Handwashing cycle, for example, is a very gentle cycle which does not turn the laundry over as often or as fast as other cycles. The Power Wash cycle turns laundry over much more often, at greater speed. There are variations in between.

Personally, I don't see a purpose in using the Bulky cycle for anything except comforters, sleeping bags, etc. The regular cycles for washing laundry give such good results, I just don't see a need for that. But you could certainly do that if you wanted to.

The front loaders use less water per the consumer rating companies, but I liked my previous Whirlpool top loader vs my WP Duet. I dread it when this Duet needs repairs because I think it will be just too expensive. When I breaks I'll go back to the mid range WP top loader. It's about 400 on sale usually, which is cheaper than the new Duet.

FWIW....Duet 9400 for 5 1/2 years with excellent results and zero problems. Back then, replaced WP TL. I would no sooner go back to that TL than I would buy a used Yugo.