It would seem that making great toast would be a piece of cake for today's toasters. Drop the bread in, push the lever down, and up pops the toast. That has been happening since the 1920s. You'd think after 80 years, consumers could expect to get perfectly browned toast every time they use a toaster.
But no! Consumer Reports tested 34 toasters, assessing the evenness of browning against a color chart. While none delivered perfection, many are getting pretty close. Some even offer features like a digital countdown to let you know when your toast will be ready.
Manufacturers are fighting for your appliance dollars and your counter space, so they're pretty busy developing features to get you to open your wallet. But Consumer Reports testers found that some features come at the expense of others.
For example, the DeLonghi DTT312, for $130, has a lift-out grid for warming sandwiches like frozen paninis. Sounds appetizing, but unfortunately that toaster is only mediocre at its main job, evenly toasting.
For much less, the $30 Haier toaster model TST850DS did a better job toasting. It is one of five toasters that Consumer Reports named a Best Buy. And another, the Proctor Silex Cool-Touch model 22203, costs just $15. Both do a good job toasting for very little dough.
