Our Pick Of American Side-by-Side Fridge Freezers

Okay I'm going to tell it like it is rather than beating about the bush with these fridges as, beyond the ice and water dispenser or not, there's basically two types of US fridge freezer when you get down to it, the real US fridge freezers and the pretend ones.

Now, the Americans aren't exactly revered for their engineering eloquence, tending more to build rather big, brash and at times somewhat garish items by our standards in the UK but one thing they do well is build a big fridge freezer. Usually most will come with all the bells and whistles like a water and ice dispenser in the door, filtered water, umpteen different climate zones and enough space to hold a barn dance inside them. And, to be fair, the machines that come from Stateside are usually built like battleships, rarely giving any trouble.

But then there's those that copy the leaders.

We have offerings from the Koreans, Samsung and LG, as well as some now appearing from within the EU from Electrolux and rebranded as AEG, John Lewis and others. Even manufacturers such as Beko are getting in on the act. But let's get something straight, these are not US fridge freezers, they are clones of the original and, like any copy, they really are not as good as the original item or at least, we've yet to see one that is.

Many have proved, if you look through the forums, to be far, far more problematic than the real deal but then, if you cut the price down, you cut the quality out and so, for now, all that's recommended here are real US units, not the cheap pretenders.

There are plenty of examples of people who wished they'd heeded the advice and not bought the wrong thing as, even at the lower end of about £750-800 you have to remember that, for most people, this is still a big investment to get wrong and have hassles with. The last thing you want is to be left without a working fridge freezer unless it's absolutely unavoidable.

Current rumours in the trade are that there are problems with several of the European units, including from some German brands.

But if you don't believe us by all means buy one of the cheap fridges, there's links in this article to a good deal on some of the Samsung ones, just don't say we didn't warn you.

Why No Superstores?

Often choosing where you buy can be just as important as what you buy, let us explain a little.

We occasionally get asked why we don't push or recommend the large electrical superstores like Currys, Comet and the likes, well it really is very simple, we don't think that they do the job properly or offer people good information about appliances.

The short of it is that these people sell boxes and they don't appear to care what's inside the boxes so long as they make a profit on it, can sell you insurance on it and possibly squeeze a finance deal out you as well. To them, you are a number, a ring on the till and nothing more, independent retailers differ massively as they rely on customers returning, superstores don't really seem to care if you come back or not.

Don't believe that? Think that these people offer super duper low prices? Just look through the forums and try to spot how many independent retailers we get complaints about, it's almost always complaints about internet sellers and superstores! But it was cheap.

Then we have the old chestnut of product knowledge, let's just say that most of the chains fall down here, badly.

We do provide some links to the chain stores and we do use John Lewis as we don't get any complaints about their service or support, but they are one of the highest regarded retailers so you'd hope not to hear bad things. We also use the Co-Op as we like their ethics and a few selected others. The biggest reason for being so fussy is that we do not want to recommend a bad retailer or product so, we're fussy about this sort of thing.

Non-Stainless Budget

If you're on a budget and don't want a stainless steel finish then pretty much, for a couple of hundred pounds more if that, you can have a pukka US fridge freezer and trust us, it's worth the extra money!

For now avoid Samsung completely, the reliability is poor and we've had reports of explosions, burning, split liners and the Watchdog problem of over-freezing which hasn't gone away on newer models that we can tell. So, for now we'd strongly suggest not buying a Samsung fridge freezer, period.

For a nice cheap American style fridge freezer then the LG GWB207 you can see here is okay, but LG's service isn't great. The water filters aren't a problem on this one as it doesn't have a water or ice dispenser fitted.

Above that you get into the proper brands like Electrolux and all it's clones as well as Bosch etc.

For a stainless steel look, but not real stainless, but also considerably cheaper than a stainless steel fridge freezer you should have a look at this Bosch model, the KAD62V40GB which is a nice machine with water and ice as well as an electronic control panel. Or, if you can live without the water dispenser you can save a couple of hundred pounds by looking at the KAN62V41GB model as an alternative. One thing is though, Bosch water filters are not by any means cheap, so do consider that when buying.

A really weird thing about Bosch is that their white version, the KAD62S20GB is more expensive than the stainless steel look ones.

Stainless Steel Finished US Fridge Freezers

The deal here is a bit more complex. There are several ways to look at this and it comes down to what you want really.

The cheap machines tend to be that painted stainless steel finish and it's really not very nice in our opinion as many of them look cheap. Real stainless steel is far, far more pleasing to the eye so long as it's kept nice and clean as well as polished but, it's not cheap. Steel prices have been rising for the past few years and this has forced manufacturers to increase the prices so, to get real stainless steel and the stunning looks that go with it usually isn't cheap.

Please note that many good Admiral and Maytag models have been discontinued and the replacements are, in our opinion, inferior Italian made Whirlpool units with a light cosmetic facelift. It really is getting harder to by a proper US fridge freezer in the UK these days. Harder still to get a good one.

Oh and the new Hotpoint ones, well they're made by... Whirlpool in Italy, they are not UK made and sure ain't what Hotpoint would have you think. If you do want one, save money and buy the Whirlpool.

The Samsung ones, like this one, don't go near it with a very long bargepole, they're too unreliable to recommend.

The only real American one, made by GE we believe, is this stainless steel one from Rangemaster and, given the features and build quality it's pretty reasonable in terms of price believe it or not. The GE machines are really nice and well built, it's a great shame that GE pulled out the UK.

If you're on a budget then this LG American style fridge freezer may fit the bill, the GWL207. But, LG's service backup isn't wonderful and the water filters can be expensive.

If you've just won the lottery though, the Sub-Zero machines are phenomenal but stupid prices, limited support and well, stupid prices! This one is just a behemoth of a fridge freezer but it is a real USA fridge freezer that's for sure, it's too big for most houses let alone getting it through the door.

Special Offers & Deals

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