Fridge freezers: How to buy the best fridge freezer American-style fridge freezers
American-style fridge freezers can help you make a big style statement in your kitchen. But do they have the top performance and features to live up to their trendy aesthetics? We take a closer look to reveal what's inside a typical side-by-side or American-style fridge freezer.
American fridge freezers
Pros
- Popular, stylish design.
- Large capacity offers double the amount of storage space as a conventional model.
- Often feature lots of extras as standard, including ice makers and water dispensers.
Cons
- Can take up a lot of space, so only suitable for larger kitchens.
- More expensive than freestanding models.
- Running costs can be higher.
- Freezer compartments can sometimes be too narrow to store wide items.
Inside an American-style fridge freezer
1. Ice and water dispensers are features that are useful to have - but can use up a lot of space.
2. The freezer section in a side-by-side model tends to be slimmer than the fridge compartment.
3. Handy side pockets offer extra storage space.
4. Salad crisper compartments will keep fruit and veg fresher for longer - but can take up a lot of space.
5. Adjustable shelves can make your fridge space more flexible.
6. Wine bottle holders are a great way of keep a bottle of bubbly chilled.
7. The larger capacity afforded by an American-style fridge freezer model means you shouldn't struggle to sit large bottles upright in your fridge.
8. Handy door units can be used to store delicate items like eggs.
American-style fridge freezer price and running costs
You can expect to pay more for this type of fridge freezer than for other freestanding appliances - typical prices for the 23 American-style fridge freezer models we tested range between £500 and £1,330. However, in order to get an idea of the true overall cost of a fridge freezer, you also need to factor in the day-to-day running costs and reliability of the model - particularly because your fridge freezer is on 24 hours a day.
American-style fridge freezers are more energy-guzzling than traditional models, with running costs ranging between £35 and £90. We've calculated an annual average running cost for each one of the 125 fridge freezer models we test to help you find an efficient appliance. You can see running costs for each model in its 'Specification' tab. And our fridge freezer reliability survey asks Which? members how they rate brands like Beko, Bosch, LG, Neff, Hotpoint and Whirlpool for reliability and aftercare.
