Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)First of all, I should mention that we didn't have much choice about which French door refrigerator to purchase, as we needed one that would come apart enough to fit through a narrow hallway that we have. Since both the doors and the drawer fronts on this model are removable, we purchased it. There was another model I was interested in but the drawer fronts couldn't be taken off. However, we don't regret this choice at all. I LOVE (never thought I would say I love an appliance) this refrigerator! And we purchased it at an excellent price, so that makes it all the better!
There are some features that you usually see in refrigerators that are missing in this one. There is no vegetable crisper bin, no meat bin, no egg bin, and no dairy keeper. However, I found that all of those items keep very well, you just have to know where to store them. The coldest part of the refrigerator are the shelves below the ice maker and they are perfect for storing meat (about 33 degrees). Vegetables seem to keep well most anywhere, as the entire refrigeration unit is humidity controlled. I kept celery for about two weeks without it going limp or the leaves wilting. And lettuce also kept exceptionally well, even though I had sliced it with a metal knife. I know this shouldn't be done, but I needed it to be very thinly sliced to make up hero sandwiches for Christmas Eve and I could have never done it with my plastic lettuce knife. It stayed crisp and never turned brown. I keep my butter on the top shelf of the right door (the side opposite of the ice maker), as this is the warmest part of the refrigerator, about 38 degrees. I also keep my eggs (in cartons) on the same side on the top shelf. Since I have my own chickens, I have a lot of eggs and an egg bin would be useless to me anyway.
The "Easy Access" drawer is also very cold, about 35 degrees--my cold cuts keep very well in there. This is my VERY FAVORITE feature of this refrigerator! This is the first time in my 45 years of being married that my smaller items don't get "lost" somewhere in the back of the refrigerator and eventually spoil and must be thrown out. Now I can just open the drawer and see everything I have! I'm sure it saves some energy as, if I need something from there, I don't have to open up the entire refrigerator.
The right side door shelves are very deep and I can store two quart containers (even though the top door shelf is the warmest part of the refrigerator, the bottom shelf is perfectly cold enough to store milk and similar perishables), one in front of the other. However, there is not much height clearance (unless you eliminate one of the door shelves, which I rather not do) but I created an area for tall items by raising the one "mini" shelf (which fits beside the ice maker) and I can fit just about anything in that area. There is minimal storage in the door shelves in front of the ice maker but overall, this refrigerator is very roomy.
I'm wondering if the bins were eliminated to create extra useable space and reduce clutter, as this refrigerator seems to hold a lot of food for the size. We kept our old side-by-side and put it in the garage, but I hardly need to use it--and I do A LOT of cooking!
The freezer is particularly roomy for the size. The cubic feet are less in this freezer than the freezer in my old refrigerator, but it appears to me that it actually holds more. This may be because my old fridge was a side-by-side and the freezer was broken up into various narrow bins. There are two large bins and two sliding drawers on top. The top drawers appear small but I can easily fit a large ice cream container in them standing up. I'm sure one of the bins in the lower section is large enough to fit a 20+ pound turkey.
The gradual "theater style" LED lighting is lovely to look at and enables you to see inside very well.
I know ice makers can be problematic, but this one is functioning fine. It is a bit loud when it drops the ice (I have never had one that isn't) but the ice cubes are a nice size for whatever you need them for. You do need to hold your cup/container close to where the ice is dispensed as, otherwise, you could have ice landing on the floor--I don't find this to be a problem, perhaps because I've had ice makers for many years. It is nice to know that the water for both the ice and water dispenser is filtered, with a filter that is easily changed. The water is also cooled, which is a nice feature.
The only thing I'm not totally pleased with is the little "computer" panel above the dispensers, but not enough to deduct a star. I feel most of it is more like a "gimmick" to help sell the refrigerator. I do like that it displays the day, date and time. However, the timer I can hardly hear at the loudest setting and the "Nutrition Center" gives a very small selection of items to choose from. I would like it to stay lit but it shuts down automatically.
One more thing I should mention, if you are not pleased with the factory settings, you can change the freezer and refrigerator temperature settings in one degree increments--unlike the older ones that only had a slide knob with numbers that gave you no idea of the temperature. I did lower both of those by one degree (I like my food to be very cold) and nothing has frozen in the refrigerator section.
Overall, this refrigerator seems to be very well built and the sliding drawers glide very easily and appear to be very strong. I am also very pleased with the integrated handles on the drawers, as this eliminates a lot of fingerprints. I did notice that not all stainless steel is alike. Some have a somewhat golden glow and others are more gray. This refrigerator leans toward the "grayer" color but I have it in my kitchen with a warmer color stainless steel range and it looks fine but they are not next to each other. As previously mentioned, I didn't have much choice about which French door refrigerator I could choose, but it's something you may want to consider. Besides functioning very well, this is a "showpiece" in the kitchen. It looks gorgeous (much better than when we saw it in the store)!
I know this review is very long but a refrigerator is a major investment and I am trying to make it as helpful as possible. I have only had this refrigerator for about 3 weeks, so I can't comment on longevity.
However, as it stands now, I am EXTREMELY pleased with it!
Update 1-10-11: After having lowered the temperature in the refrigerated section by one degree and leaving it like that for a while, I found ice crystals in the milk I had stored under the icemaker, so it is probably best not to change the factory settings. I have restored mine to the original settings.
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Maytag Ice2O MFX2571XEM 25 cu. ft. French Door Refrigerator with 4 Adjustable Spill-Catcher Shelves, Easy Access Refrigerator Drawer, Flush Exterior Ice/Water Dispenser, Rotating Faucet, Color LCD Touch Screen and LED Interior Lighting: Monochromatic Stainless Steel
Click here for more information about Maytag Ice2O MFX2571XEM 25 cu. ft. French Door Refrigerator with 4 Adjustable Spill-Catcher Shelves, Easy Access Refrigerator Drawer, Flush Exterior Ice/Water Dispenser, Rotating Faucet, Color LCD Touch Screen and LED Interior Lighting: Monochromatic Stainless Steel
