AIBU to spend £162 on a kettle? Are Smeg products worth it?

I have the same ones...I also bought a metallic copper carboniser, black and copper microwave, and a black and copper Ninja Airfryer! My appliances are carefully curated, although I admit they were all a splurge when I could have spent much less, but I get great joy from gazing around my kitchen😂

I've got De'Longhi retro look ones as well (De'Longhi Icona). Mine are going on 10 years old and are like new. I got them because they were the "right" red. Got the toaster first and struggled with the price. But it makes much better toast than my cheap toaster - crunchy outside, fluffy inside, not totally dried out. This is current online pictures. My kettle is metal, can't speak for the current versions, but they look the same.

Buy a bog standard one from Argos for £20 then pop the rest of the money into your ISA or savings account. Oh! I have turned into my dad!

Been in my home for 17 years and probably on my 4th kettle. Most I paid £17.

I also don't match my kettle with my toaster as I probably had 7 toasters in that time.

People who bin a perfectly working toaster or kettle because its cousin died - why?

My kettle is black, toaster is brushed steel and microwave/combi oven is white

I really like my Ninja kettle. It boils quickly, you can set which temperature you want it to heat to, and you can also 'hold' the temperature at whichever temperature you choose.

😮

OP, I have a relative who had a Smeg. Heavy, and didn’t last long at all(retirees so kettle in heavy use). Also it was really hard to see the water gauge due to the design of the handle.
It got replaced by one of those spouty coffee pot style Kitchenaid ones,
which dribbles and leaks from the stupid, long spout the instant you lift it so is equally pointless. You’re either spilling or scalded wth every cuppa.

Fraid so,the switch burns out. Apparently from my research they are designed to be boiled 3 or 4 times a day, and ours is 15 on on average. My sec9nd cheapy this year showed signs of dying this morning so I bit the bullet and went for a good one

Every 12 weeks?!

We've had a Smeg fridge, decades ago, a Smeg oven and a toaster. The fridge was the pretty much the most annoying we've ever had, the oven was okay and looked great, and the toaster was fairly annoying as well.

I probably think now that Smeg is style over performance, in the main, and tbh, I'm not crazy about the whole pastel retro thing in the same way I was years ago.

I bought a Dualit classic today. It's the only kettle that can be repaired. We WFH and have upwards of 12 drinks a day we get through a kettle every 12 weeks or so. This should pay for itself in two years

I bought a beautiful metallic copper SMEG kettle and toaster 2 years ago. They came to near £400 but we just had a new kitchen fitted and they look stunning. 2 years on, they are working well and look like new. I love them and enjoy boiling the kettle!

Oh, come on. You can say what you like about them but they are not ugly.

Just remembered another thing I love about our Dualit kettle! It measures in cups like a normal kettle, but then also does ml on the other side.

Ninja kettles are great, especially if you like different temperatures for coffee or flavoured teas.

Not really! My Kenwood kettle from when I was a student in 1990 is still on the go!! 💪

I Just looked at a smeg kettle online . Very ugly! You are paying a premium to advertise their brand for them.

My mum got one on offer for £99 (and a matching toaster also £99) they are beautiful BUT she had to return the kettle 5 times before the 6th one she got actually worked reliably. She stuck with it about 5 years or so (no problems in that time) and when it was time to replace it, she went with a cheap and cheerful £20 kettle.
I have a Delonghi set (£100-£150 per kettle/toaster usual price) I wait until they’re on offer and got my recent set for £50 per appliance and they’re great. Never had an issue and this is my second set. First set lasted 9 years and I only replaced due to some ware and tear, they functioned perfectly well still.

(I have talked about the Delonghi ones on another recent thread, no I do not work for or sell them 🤣 I just really like my kettle 🫣)

If you are really hung up on the look of it then I guess it’s worth it to you. You won’t get a better kettle in terms of durability and reliability than you would if you paid £30-40. You are literally just paying for the name and the design. If you can afford it and it makes you happy just do it. I live with a design freak. Our house is a mix of design classics, ikea stuff, bits from Homebase etc.

Frankly it looks like something out of a magazine (when it’s clean and tidy)
Never something I would have achieved as not my thing but other-half has a real talent for knowing what will look right in a room and it has nothing to do with branding/cost etc

you can tell houses where it’s all been done to a price point/brand. Can range from tacky/flashy to ‘a bit John Lewis’ - apparently the ultimate sin :-)
He should have been a designer but that sort of thing wasn’t encouraged in working class homes in the 70’s.

I’m happy that I never have to make decisions about things like that and can enjoy the results.

I have one and I don’t think I’d buy it again. The lid is annoying to open, and in the end it’s judt a kettle.

I love our Dualit kettle and toaster. Had both about 5 years and no problems so far. I do descale it regularly as we are in a very hard water area. Had a Smeg kettle in a holiday place once, it played an annoying little jingle when you switched it on.

Yes, I have read lots of Which reports on appliances and this one is awful. I am always prepared to pay over the odds for quality but this is not.

They are. I love mine. Not so keen on my Dualit toaster - it’s very slow.

Here's the full Which? report. It's rare that they're so damning about a product.

ETA sorry, the screenshots have appeared in reverse order, I think

Ive had 2 in 5 years. Pretty but not value for money. Currently using a cheap £25 kettle whilst I decide whether I'll go Dualit or kitchennaid next time. My cheapo has made me realise how damn heavy the Smeg was.