KRUPS2 Slice Toaster with 6 browning levels and 4 easy-to-use functions, Stainless Steel, Silver

I did a lot of research on toasters here at Amazon before deciding on this one. Reviews are all over the board for this and every other toaster. The biggest selling point for me was the generous size of the slots. I wanted to be able to put my organic seed bread in without having to bend it or shove it in. I also wanted to be able to fit a bagel in without shaving off some of it first. Everything I've put in this toaster has fit easily. The bagel setting does a wonderful job of toasting the cut side while warming the outside. The defrost setting is perfect for toaster strudels. It defrosts them, then toasts them so when they come out they are done throughout, and not still hard and cold in the middle. English muffins can finally be toasted in one pass instead of two or more. A complaint people seem to have about this toaster is that it gets too hot...it's an appliance so yes, it does get rather warm, but I've never had an urge to fondle my toaster while it is toasting, so there is no reason for the warmth to bother me. It also has a high-lift lever so you never need to touch the toaster to remove your item. The only drawback to this toaster for me is the settings dial, which goes from 1-6. I like lightly browned toast and to achieve that I have to go to 4.5, so the lower settings are useless to me. If you like dark toast, this will not do the job, but if you're fine with light to medium toast, this is a great choice. If this toaster lasts more than a year, I will up the rating to 5 stars. The longevity would make up for the lack of variety of the settings dial.**UPDATE** I've had this for over a year, and I love it even more. The settings dial I mentioned previously is actually totally dependent on which breads you use. If you was use a white or potato bread, you can get a nice toast on a lower setting. It has consistently made wonderful toast, bagels, english muffins, pop tarts and toaster strudels for my family of five. It gets used at least once a day, if not more, and the toast is fairly even on both sides (I've never had a toaster that was perfectly even in terms of toasting). I use the same setting day after day for my favorite bread, and the results are always consistent. It still looks shiny and new, it's easy to clean with the removable crumb tray and/or shaking it upside down outside. The cord is very long for a toaster, which I love, and it has a built-in cord wrap on the underside to keep excess out of sight. This is, hands down, the best purchasing decision I've ever made on AmazonUPDATE: It’s been more than nine years, and this toaster is still AWESOME! It toasts everything perfectly for everyone’s different preferences. This just might be my best Amazon purchase ever!Update 11 years later! This toaster still rocks! It makes perfectly consistent toast EVERY SINGLE TIME! I’ve had no problems with it at all. This was an incredible buy that has stood the test of time for sure! I still highly recommend!

Perfect toaster

If all you toast is regular sliced bread this is a great toaster. But, it doesn't handle hand sliced bread very well. It also misses a feature on our old Krups that I really liked: Old Krups had a matte colored aluminum plate on top that allowed you to heat something on the top of the toaster. And, since it was removable and matte color it was easy to keep clean. You won't want to try heating up anything on top of this toaster; you'll ruin the finish. Overall, good toaster but I liked the older Krups better.

Looks pretty, but we are having a hard time getting the toasts to be well toasted. Have to run them through a couple of cycles

THIRD toaster ordered from Amazon. First was a Dash. Toasts unevenly. Second was a Cusimax. Toasts unevenly. This one also toasts unevenly. WTH?BTW: Our old Dash worked perfectly for over 5 years until it too started to toast unevenly. But at least its not burning bread like these. And yes, I turned it way down to almost the lowest heat and still either burnt on one side or didn't toast on the other side. But this toaster was definitely the worst one yet for unevenness.

Simply the best toaster I have ever had

I bought this as a replacement for a 16 year old Oster that still worked but was getting a little ratty looking. The wife and I looked at toasters at all the typical local stores you would find in a major metropolitan area and liked the looks and features of this Krups the best, but the store had only the display model and we did not find it at any other retailers. Reviews were mixed on Amazon (as they almost always are), but most were positive, and Krups has a two year warranty which is unusual nowadays. The Krups is surprisingly lightweight, especially compared to the toaster it replaced. The toaster has a nice appearance and looks to be a quality piece. The darkness control knob has detents and some resistance to it, so it should be less likely to accidentally get moved with everyday use once you get it zeroed in on your desired setting. The four push buttons illuminate uniformly and all the controls work as they should. The lever you use to lower the bread does seem slightly under engineered considering it is the most used control and will undoubtedly be slammed down with gusto by some users. Considering that toasters have been around for more than a century, have a relatively simple task to perform, and currently do not have Internet access and Windows software, you would think that choosing a toaster would be simple to accomplish and as a consumer you would be nothing less than pleased with how it works. This toaster does everything well, EXCEPT toast bread with any sort of uniformity from one side of the bread to the other. Both slots and their accompanying heating coils are equally inept. The elements in the middle of the toaster are much more enthusiastic about their lot in life as the elements on the outside edges of the unit. You can look down onto the toaster while it is on and see the lack of uniformity in the heating elements by their red glow (or lack thereof). The toaster is made in China like most other small, electric kitchen appliances, but I am unsure of where it is designed. If you are considering this toaster based upon its brand name and are anticipating receiving a product with the same sort of engineering as a Mercedes, BMW or Audi, you will be disappointed. If only as much care went into the product IN the box as the box itself, this toaster would rule...the box is very nice...I am displaying it on my mantle, it is that nice. I find this product to be just average, hence three stars, and I feel I am being slightly generous with that rating. I almost forgot, the spring that raises the toast at the end of the cycle throws the toast to the heavens with such fervor that it should contribute to many YouTube videos of scared kittens. Note that I am not exaggerating (much), the toast it produces is indeed edible, and I am not returning the toaster as I seriously doubt that there is anything currently available that will perform with any better results. Perfectionists will want to choose a lower setting, use two cycles, and flip their bread or Eggos between cycles to achieve better uniformity.