Miele G 1140 SC 12-place setting dishwasher

I'm sad to report that our Miele G 1140 after 15 months of use (16/12/08) gave up: my wife came home from the school run to a burning smell and the house rcd device (for 13-amp sockets) had tripped.There was nothing else running so she unplugged the dishwasher plug and clicked the rcd switch back on.Worse was to follow - The next day when I contacted Miele, where I had to endure a minefield of red-tape. For instance I needed to get my house wiring checked and certified as safe before the engineer arrived..And I needed proof of purchase (Curries printed me off a new copy).I was advised to use Yellow Pages to find my nearest Miele service center (Bizarre).And worst of all - an engineer wouldn't be available until 29/11/08.I was told Christmas is a busy time, but that doesn't really compute (for service engineers).

My trusty old eight-place setting Bosch had finally given up. I think it was just tired. I was sorry to see it go. It was manufactured in the 1990s when Bosch products were better made than they are now. I held a minute's silence by the skip into which it finally rested.

So the search was on for a new one. I did the thing we all do now: went in to Currys and had a look at various models on offer, then went home and online and checked out the prices. (Incidentally, Currys prices were not that different from those online, which surprised me, as I always thought they were higher, but don't quote me on this!).

By this time, I'd decided the next appliance had to be a Miele. I wanted reliability and quality, and I looked at the brochures on their website (www.miele.co.uk) and decided that, given they tell you so much about how their products work, and the pride they seem to have in what they produce, I'd buy one.

What really impressed me when reading their brochures is they're very aware (or so they say - 'greenwashing' perhaps?!) of the environmental impact manufacturing can have, so have made as much of their machines as they can out of metal (which is more easily recycled), and all the plastic components are marked with which type of plastic it is, so when the machine is dismantled, if possible, the plastic can be recycled too.

They also have a packaging policy of "as little as possible but as much as necessary", or words to that effect. When the dishwasher arrived, it came on a wooden pallet, wrapped in cardboard with a small amount of polystyrene around the base, and that was it! I really thought the machine would've been damaged, but it made the journey OK. The last time I had an appliance delivered, it came wrapped in acres of plastic, so I was pleased Miele were true to their word.

(I ordered the machine from www.trade-appliances.co.uk who offered a very good deal, and just £20 delivery. There was a slight delay in the machine getting to them, but the staff were very helpful and communicative. I would certainly use them again.)

On unwrapping the dishwasher, what first impressed me was the feel of quality about it. The buttons didn't feel cheap, the machine was solid and heavy, and the hoses and electrical cable were of longer than normal length. A note of caution here, and perhaps a minus point, but the inlet hose has a solenoid anti-leak valve at the very end of the hose where you attach it to the water supply. This hose is electrically connected to the machine and cannot be cut in any way. I don't know if too long an inlet hose is ever a problem, but something worth contacting Miele about if you're thinking of buying one. I just have the hose slightly coiled at the back of the machine and it seems to be working fine.

So, it was installed and ready to go. Here's a tip: read the manual, read the manual, and READ THE MANUAL! A small criticism with this machine is that setting the hardness of the water and rinse aid delivery is a little fiddly. However, if I had just read the manual and followed each step as laid out, it would've worked. It's a matter of pressing one or two buttons in combination that calibrates it, and the process just needed a bit of patience.

Salt loaded, rinse aid loaded, and doors to manual. I had been saving dishes for a whole week (I hate to think what the delivery men thought of the stench when they came into the kitchen). I filled the dishwasher up to the gunnels. It takes loads. I suppose all machines with a 12-place setting take about the same, but after my eight-place setting machine (RIP), it seemed loads.

The baskets are very innovative: the bottom basket has retractable spikes that mean you can lay them flat to accommodate big saucepans or large items. If you have all the spikes up, it takes loads and loads of plates. Plenty of room for a big dinner party's dishes. You can also buy (why didn't they supply them?) extra cup inserts for the bottom basket too. The top basket is brilliant in that it can be lowered or raised according to what you're washing. If the plates below are too big, you can adjust the top basket to accommodate, or just one side of the basket and have it at an angle. Best of all is the cutlery tray at the very top of the machine. It's a big flat basket with spikes arranged so you can lay out your cutlery "canteen style" in rows. I thought it was very strange, but it makes perfect sense. Each item gets washed properly as they do not rest against each other, and the cutlery enjoys being washed by its own spray arm. There is a feeling of solidness and surity when you pull the baskets out - no rickety cheapness here.

The programmes to choose from are: Pre Wash (for quick rinsing if you're not going to wash them for a while), 75 degrees Pots and Pans (for super-dirty items), Energy Save, Light Soiling 50 degrees, Quick Wash 40 degrees, and the best of all, Sensor Wash 55-65 degrees. The Sensor Wash measures how murky the water is while it's washing and adjusts the time and water accordingly. Clever stuff, and it works beautifully. My only gripe is that this setting can take up to 2 hours to complete a wash, which is a long time, but it only uses a maximum of about 22 litres of water in this mode - that's just over two washing-up bowls' worth. I used to use at least three bowls of water to wash up the same amount by hand, plus rinsing water, so the dishwasher in this respect is more economical.

Noise: all you'll hear is a gentle swishing sound in the far distance. The filling with water is slightly noisier, but that's because of the water pressure into the house. When washing, it's barely audible on the hotter part of the wash, but slightly noisier at the beginning. The pump, when expelling waste water, doesn't make that irritating "nud-nud-nud" sound that every other water-draining device I owned made. All you hear is gurgling in the sink!

I'm not completely sure how the machine dries everything, but it works. I think it condenses the steam by sucking air in from the outside (but doesn't blow it into the compartment). You can hear a fan slightly whirring when drying. Another plus is that you can take the plates out straightaway and they are not scalding hot to the touch after the drying cycle.

The fascia has no dials, just LEDs, an on/off button, start/stop button and a programme selection button. The housing is a strong metal, and the door stays open at whichever angle you choose. Underneath the handle is a tiny raised switch that you can slide across to lock the door, so prying young hands don't do themselves any damage. The overall appearance of the machine isn't trendy by today's kitchen standards, but seeing as these machines purportedly last for up to 20 years, you don't want something too outlandish.

This model is pretty much bottom of the range, but nevertheless you can really feel the quality. Higher-end models have features such as a button you press if using a dishwasher tablet, glasscare, a pasta dishes programme (who on earth thinks this stuff up!) etc.

I do ascribe to the "buy cheap, pay twice" philosophy, and I think this is becoming more and more true of household items. Given this dishwasher cost only about £150 more than your mid-range ones, I am hoping it proves to be a worthwhile investment.

I also took advantage of a special promotion Miele are running (which seems to be running most of the time) of five years' guarantee, parts and labour, should anything go wrong. This was a free offer, and all I had to do was send in a form and the receipt.

From the build quality alone, I would say splash out the extra and get one. It might not be the most modern-looking of all kitchen appliances, but it's clean, sleek, and does the job it was made to do.

Forgot to say too that before buying, I called Miele to ask them a couple of questions and they were incredibly helpful. Don't know what the aftersales service is like, and I hope I never need to have to find out!