Confused about microwaves of all things!

[Tootief]

We are reluctantly getting a microwave but I'm soooo confused!

What the hell is a convection microwave? Is it different to a combi oven? Where does a microwave grill fit in?

We keep seeing things about them replacing many oven functions. Is this vaguely possible or is it marketing gumpf?

We have a teeny kitchen so need it to be worth the countertop real estate!

From a website:

The pros and cons of convection

Pros

Convection microwave ovens combine two appliances into one. They can be used as a microwave, as an oven, and in combination mode (combining microwave, bake and even grill functions).
Can be very convenient, effective and fast, especially for high-temperature cooking such as roasts, pastries and pizza.
Quick to preheat, with oven temperatures up to 240°C.
Great for speedy reheating and crisping of pastry; melting and browning cheese toasts; and browning au gratins.
Suitable for a small family, they can accommodate a roast or a large pizza. There are models available with two shelf positions for multiple shelf cooking.
Convection microwaves are cheaper to run than an oven so there can be a considerable saving on energy costs.
They're smaller than conventional ovens, and suitable for small kitchens, caravans and holiday homes.

Cons

They have smaller cavities than an oven so cooking is limited to one type of food at a time.
The oven cavity needs to be cleaned after each use as any grease or baked on residue will be baked on with the next use and be difficult to remove. It also slows down the microwave cooking time as it cooks the residue as well as the intended food.
They can be difficult to clean as most have stainless steel interiors.
Cooking fatty foods in the convection oven splash onto the walls, baking on the residue overtime leaving grease marks that are difficult to remove.
There's no bottom element, therefore there's limited browning and crisping for any foods that require base cooking such as pastry, pies and pizza. Some models have a crisp plate that helps to brown and crisp the bottom of the food, but this still won't give as good a result as an oven with a bottom element.

We have one that does everything- we got it as the kitchen we have is a wreck and being ripped out soon and the main oven doesn’t work. The oven and grill function is actually really impressive, does a lovely roast chicken or a pizza! But can only do one thing at a time so no good for bigger meals.

We are getting a built in one when the kitchen is re-done, so it will sit above the main oven in the tower and can be a second oven or grill and a microwave. We have a small cottage kitchen so losing it off the worktop and being multi functional is a bonus.

I really haven’t done much in the way of cleaning the one we have though!

I'm so glad this came up! I have one but have never used it for anything other than normal microwave functions- it was built in to the kitchen when we bought the house so no instructions.

Have you got room to have microwave brackets & put it on the wall? Combi microwaves tend to be slightly bigger than simple microwaves, there are ones with no turntable where the door drops down like a conventional oven. Do you have a cupboard that has a power supply where you could put one to save worktop space.