The toaster seems to be reliable and consistent. The shade control is too easily moved. It can moved simply by brushing against it. As most dual slice toasters the side of the slice facing the second toaster slot gets browned more than the outward facing side. Makes sense. Two heaters in the middle and one heater on the outer side. It wouldn't take much engineering to fix. Either increase the size of the outside heater to match the two heaters in the center, or reduce the size of the two center heaters. Not rocket science.
Bought based on NYTime wirecutter review. We returned one toaster as it really was uneven. The replacement did better but after two months, it is toasting unevenly. If you take bread slice from frig, you have to put it on defrost and then again on toast. Things like bialys or uneven slices will burn quickly in thinner areas. spring to raise toast so you can grab it could lift higher. Overall, it is ok but not great.
Didn't work from the first time plugged in! Nothing from the heating elements, to say we were disappointed is an understatement! It was to replace an old Cuisinart toaster so I was counting on the quality and integrity. What a waste, we have to pay shipping to return a defective product!
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Response from cuisinart.comBy Cuisinart, September 21, 2023
We are sorry to hear about your experience with your Cuisinart 2 Slice Compact Plastic Toaster. Cuisinart is committed to providing the highest quality products and consumer satisfaction. We would like to work with you to identify and resolve any potential issues. Please contact us at 1-800-726-0190 or via email to customerservice@cuisinart.com at your convenience so that we can get more information to help solve the problem. If you email us, please use the subject line ‘Cuisinart Review’.
This toaster was a replacement for one that suddenly died, so I was kind of in a hurry and I should have shopped around more. It is very light weight (plastic) and does the job just fine, but a couple things are different from my old one: the 'cage' that holds the bread is not very deep, so larger pieces are unevenly toasted. There are no 'beeps' - my old one beeped when it was done and it popped up all the way; this one has no sounds and it simply released the locking lever, but does not raise up the bread.