Panasonic NNH965--Hey, That's not what I asked for!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Amazing capacity, large turntable, intuitive controls

Cons: Fingerprint magnet, reputation for a short life.

The Bottom Line: 
While I'm happy thus far, I'm concerned about long-term durability.  Were it cheaper, I'd be more effusive, but it's awfully pricy for something that may not last long.

Author's Review
This is going to be a slightly bitter review.  See, this is not the product I suggested, not the product I wanted.  I scoured Epinions in search of product reviews, and found what I felt was the best microwave oven available in our price range.  Our old Kenmore was finally toast (after 15 years), and living without a microwave isn’t really an option, is it?  I wrote down the name, model number, and price of a good, solid, reputable microwave for my Mother (the microwave will be hers once we’ve moved), and she came home with . . .

The Panasonic NNH965BF.  No, that wasn’t the make or model I sent her to Sears for.  It was, in fact, not even from Sears.  It was from Walmart, and was the exact model she’d purchased for my sister a month earlier.  Why didn’t I make the purchase myself and avoid the disaster? 

I was sick.

How to explain that I had pointedly avoided Panasonic microwaves because the consumer reviews are SO bad?  I tried, but she persisted.  This one was the biggest and the bestest, and since it was going to be her microwave anyway . . .

Okay, Ma.

The Panasonic NNH965BF is, first and foremost, HUGE.  Our old Kenmore was 1.6 cubic feet.  This monstrosity is 2.2.  Our old microwave was 1100 watts.  The Panasonic is 1250.  Our old turntable was 12.5 inches.  This turntable is 16.5 inches.  No more stacking TV dinners on top of each other to cook, huh?

The Panasonic NNH965BF has a rather gigantic footprint on the countertop.  It’s wider (almost two feet!), taller (14 inches), and deeper (over 19 inches) than our old Kenmore, and there were a few moments where we feared it wouldn’t FIT in the usual corner.  It does, but with a lot less space between the front of the microwave and the edge of the counter.  Definitely something to keep in mind if you’ve narrow countertops or otherwise limited space.

As is usually the case with new gadgets, the touchpad was a bit intimidating at first.  Being himself, my husband was “keen to experiment.”  I, on the other hand, went for the user’s manual, which is pretty detailed and straightforward.  The standard setting are quite intuitive, and the rest is easy enough to master.  My mother figured out how to use it, and that’s saying a LOT.  My mother is flummoxed by the most basic of electronics. 

Using the keypad to set timing and power is quite easy—press the power button once for full power.  Twice for 90%, three times for 80%, etc., all the way down to 10% power.  The power level is clearly displayed on the bright, large digital readout.  After selecting the power level, selecting the time is as easy as punching the buttons.  Click start, and voila!  You’re cooking with microwaves!   The “Inverter Turbo” defrost setting is supposed to be more effective and less likely to underthaw or overcook.  I actually DO see a difference, and our defrosted meats have yet to come up even slightly cooked.  The auto-sensor setting scares me, but my husband has tossed in leftovers and had them come out perfect.  I’ll work toward that.  I’m not a technophobe, but I tend toward the wary sometimes.  There are auto settings for popcorn and heating liquids, but I tend to set the timer/power myself according to the directions on whatever I’m preparing.  Again, it’s that wariness thing.

The interior, in addition to being large enough to house a small family of badgers (please don’t put your badgers in the microwave, even if it is large enough!), is a breeze to clean.  I discovered this when my oatmeal became an OATCANO and erupted all over the interior.  That extra little 150 watts makes a difference with oatmeal.  I cook it on 9 now.  The interior wipes down easily with a damp sponge, and the giganto turntable (big enough to cook a camel!) lifts out easily for rinsing.

The exterior, like most black appliances, is a dust and fingerprint magnet.  Daily wiping doesn’t keep it from looking ratty by the end of the day.  But oh, well—it’s not a beauty contest, right?  Too bad the exterior doesn't clean as easily as the interior, though.

In all?  Well, it’s certainly doing what it’s supposed to do, and it’s doing it quite handily at this point.  Last night’s tamales rocked, and thus far everything we’ve cooked (oatcano aside) has come out the way we wanted it to, with no sogginess, spotty heating, or overdone/dryness.  It’s not particularly loud, no freakish vibrations or green rays shooting out the door window (or the vents, either!).  But we’ve only had it for a couple of months, and everything I’ve read about Panasonic microwaves leads me to believe that this baby isn’t going to be a 15 year microwave.  It’s probably not even going to be a five year.  And there’s the bitterness—we’re moving away, and we’re leaving my Mother with a microwave that’s not likely to last.  We’ve tried to talk her into letting us take it back and getting something reputed as more reliable, but she’s determined that the Panasonic NNH965BF is THE microwave. 

We’ll see.  I hope she’s right.

*** a note about my rating and recommendation ***

There's no way for me to rate/recommend the way I want to with the space and options provided.  I think this microwave is pretty good for now, but reading around the web tells me I can probably expect problems--so I can't rate it highly knowing that, yet I don't want to rate it down because I haven't had any problems with it yet.  And I DO recommend it, but not at this price.  If it were fifty bucks cheaper, I'd call it a deal, but for what we paid, I'd like to have something with a better reputation and better chance at surviving for the long haul.