Fridge-freezer group test

Your fridge-freezer is likely to be the biggest electronic appliance that you’ll ever buy, so it’s worth pondering the possibilities before taking the plunge.
It’s also the one that you’ll use the most, given that we tend never to turn our fridges off for long and it’s this factor that makes energy consumption one of the highest factors on consumers check lists. Whether it’s greenhouse gasses or energy bills that you’re thinking about, it’s worth checking that you’re buying a machine with at least an A rating for energy efficiency.
You’ll probably already have an idea of the size and style of you’re ideal fridge, be it a trendy American side-by-side, or a narrow two tier shape, but there are some interesting features, like ice production, fast cooling zones and security alarms that could be useful extras. With this in mind, we’ve rounded up five of the best mid-priced models available on PriceRunner.

Samsung RSA1WTMH
Best Design
Samsung owns the lion’s share of the side-by-side fridge market, and with this kind of quality and aggressive pricing it’s not surprising. You’re getting a lot of fridge for your money here and it’s a stylish design too. With the silver finish and built-in water dispenser, this looks like a much more expensive product than it actually is. Perhaps more impressive is the certificate A energy rating. American-style fridges used to be notoriously inefficient and a B-rating was the best you could hope for, but Samsung has brought this model in line with the greenest fridge-freezers available. Props to you Samsung!
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Go to the Samsung RSA1WTMH product page >>

Hotpoint FF4DX Stainless Steel
Best Innovation
With tank-like dimensions, this stainless steel fridge is one for large families or the morbidly obese. Its radical two-door-two-drawer design will be just the thing for many kitchens, where the freezer doesn’t need to be accessed all the time, but still needs a large capacity. The upper section of course is at the perfect height to grab stuff from the doors or reach into the back for that last pot of yogurt. With the array of easily visible compartments, keeping this fridge clean and tidy should be a breeze. All this and an attractive stainless steel finish. Now that’s cool.
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Go to the Hotoint FF4DX product page >>

Bosch KGV24V01
Best Build Quality
This standard fridge-over-freezer from Bosch ticks all the essential boxes: There’s plenty of capacity in both sections, a quiet motor and single thermostat and an A-rated efficiency certificate. It looks stylish too, in a very neutral way of course. What it doesn’t have, though, are any features to mark it out from the crowd. Instead, build quality is the main attraction for this sturdy unit. This bad boy is built like a tank – a very cold tank!
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Go to the Bosch KGV24V01 product page >>

Hotpoint FF200EP
Best Budget Model
So often it’s the kitchen itself that dictates the fridge that we buy and a standard 60cm-wide gap means that a fridge-over-freezer design is the only one to go for. Hotpoint has an impressive range of these and this one in particular represents good value for money thanks to its sturdy build quality and sensible internal compartments that maximize its capacity. It’s not exactly the most exciting fridge to look at, but if you’re on a tight budget (and let’s face it, in these hard times who isn’t?) then this is a highly capable and efficient fridge-freezer.
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Go to the Bosch KGV24V01 product page >>

PriceRunner recommended
LG GCF399BUQ
Best Value
This is a great step-up fridge that doesn’t actually cost much more than the basic budget models. LG has blessed this one with a very handsome silver finish that’ll match all your other stainless steel appliances. With the large LCD temperature guage and drinks dispenser built into the door, it looks like a far more expensive piece of kit than it actually is. Open it up and you’ll see it doesn’t have quite as much room as some of the other similarly sized fridges, but it still looks impressive with all the neat compartments. Seriously, this hi-tech fridge is so cool, it’s practically sub-zero.
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Go to the LG GCF399BUQ product page >>

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