Panasonic NN-SN686S 1.2 Cu. Ft. 1,200 Watt Microwave, Stainless Steel

It looks sleek and modern, it fits perfectly in the space (with the required room for air flow), it heats food evenly, and is big enough to accommodate almost any size dish. I only wish I could have gotten it in "almond" color to match my other appliances.

Attractive with the semi-mirror finish on the door and stylish keypad. Over all it has features and the feel of somewhat better quality when compared to some less expensive choices. The door latches softly without much noise. The door button easy to push. The finished cooking beeps are softer and shorter than normal making it a less annoying in my opinion and the beeps can be eliminated all together if you wish. The light comes on while cooking and when the door is open. A feature becoming increasingly hard to find for some strange reason. It has a larger interior than most 1.2 cu. ft. microwaves with a 13.5 inch turntable. At 1200 watts it cooks quicker than most. The inverter technology allows it to cook at progressively lower but constant power settings instead of utilizing 100% power that cycles on and off as with most microwaves. I think this has a lot to do with how well the automatic, sensor cooking modes work. I was quite skeptical of the effectiveness of the one touch sensor cooking. To my surprise it works surprisingly well, sensing when the food is ready and shutting off automatically. My acid test was cooking rice with the sensor setting. It came out perfectly as did frozen vegetables, popcorn, rice and a host of other foods. The one touch quick 30 key to input half a minute is a bit odd. You have to hit the quick 30 key then the start button. Most microwaves start immediately upon hitting such a key. The automatic sensor reheat feature works equally well. Overall an impressive little microwave. Only time will tell if it has more longevity than my past three microwaves. None of which made it to two years. It seems as if microwaves have become viewed as a disposable item not having much in the way of durability.