Very boring fridge freezer question but I can't make up my bloody mind.

[Shamazing]

Our kitchen has fitted units floor to ceiling in part of it and in the middle of that unit is an American fridge freezer - it's shit (temp never quite right) and I hate it and I think it's far too wide for the space - you can't fit a gnats ball hair between the sides of it and the units so I worry about ventilation etc.

So we're getting a new, narrower one but I'm worried that the one that I really like is just a tad too narrow and will look like we've just shoved anything in there. So my (very boring) question is do you think that 5cm each side of the ff is too much when it's 'part' of a bigger unit? There's another one which would be 3cm gap each side but the layout of it isn't quite as useful for us.

God I'm boring (sorry) ...

I think it’ll look too small and you should go with the 3cm gap.5cm all sorts of dirt will get down the sides and it’ll be hard to get it out,you won’t really see that with a 3cm gap.

That's what I'm worried about - 5cm is bigger than I thought!

I had my kitchen units built around my American fridge freezer. There's about 1/2 cm gap either side. It's been in place for 4 years with no problems. My DD bought hers to fit the space and it's got about 3cms either side. It's full of stuff and it possible to get clean as nothing fits down the sides.
Get one that fits the space.

Can you "pad out" the gap by putting additional end panels on the adjoining units? Sort of put the fridge in an open fronted cupboard?

Get one that fits the space.

The one I have just now fits the space but the sides of the units get so hot sometimes and the engineer who came to fix it (there's always something wrong with it) said that it's because it just fits in and no more.

Extra panels or moving it more to one side and maybe a slim storage unit thingy slotted down the side?

5cm each sides a really big gap for fodder to land down.