For many of us, a nicely warmed, crunchy piece of toast is one of the first things we wake up to, so it's not really something you want to mess with.
A toaster is a simple appliance, you may think – can you even get a bad one? Toast is toast, right?
Unfortunately, some of the models in our latest test won't be the toast of the town anytime soon. We've uncovered some serious bread winners, and some crummy contenders.
We don't want you to end up with a dud buy, so here are the products that scored lowest in our lab tests. Consider becoming a CHOICE member to see the best performers.
This Anko toaster ranks the lowest of the 63 models in our review.
Anko 4 Slice Toaster LD-T7006A
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 48%
- Toasting evenness score: 20%
- Price: $49
You might assume that a cheap product won't perform as well as a more expensive one, but our testing often shows quite the opposite.
And Kmart Anko products often surprise us with performance far better than you might expect for their low prices.
The Anko 4-slice toaster's efforts were lukewarm at best.
Unfortunately this four-slice toaster isn't one of them.
It scored just 20% for toasting evenness – the lowest of all the toasters in our test – and shared this bottom spot with another toaster costing almost $500.
(Yes, really! Keep reading on to find out.)
It also received crummy scores for cooking a single slice of bread, cooking frozen bread, and cooking multigrain bread.
The only positives our experts found are that it's easy to use and easy to clean – cold comfort when your toast is brown on one side and uncooked on the other.
Read the full Anko 4 Slice Toaster LD-T7006A review.
This four-slice Sunbeam toaster performed poorly in our tests.
Sunbeam Simply Shine 4 Slice Toaster TAP4004BK
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 52%
- Toasting evenness score: 30%
- Price: $100
It may look fancy and shiny, but you won't be toasting the success of this Sunbeam number when it comes to your morning slice.
If you like your toast evenly browned, it will disappoint: it scored only 30% for this test.
Plus, our testers say it's 'only OK' at toasting a single slice of bread. With a CHOICE Expert Rating of just 52%, it falls far behind all but one of the other toasters we've tested.
That's a lot of bench space to waste on something that doesn't really do what it's supposed to (not to mention there are better things you could spend $100 on). Next!
Read the full Sunbeam Simply Shine 4 Slice Toaster review.
Pricey and underperforming, this Alessi model is all style but little substance.
Alessi Plisse Electric Toaster MDL08 B/AU
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 52%
- Toasting evenness score: 30%
- Price: $235
This stylish number may look swish sitting on your kitchen bench, but its performance is shockingly bad for such a high price tag.
In fact, our testers were so bemused by how poorly this model performed in our tests, they thought they had a faulty product and bought a replacement to test instead. Unfortunately, the replacement didn't perform much better!
CHOICE test expert Adrian Lini says: "This toaster may look stylish but it struggles to toast bread at even the highest setting, and bread that is any denser than white bread will require two runs."
The only good points worth noting are that it has very good controls and the crumb tray is excellent to clean (although the unique exterior is tricky to clean).
But since it's so poor at doing its one job, perhaps you'll never use it and it can remain pristine and looking good in your kitchen.
Read the full Alessi Plisse Electric Toaster review.
Cheap, yes, but unreliable at toasting.
Kmart Anko 4 Slice Long Slot Toaster
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 53%
- Toasting evenness score: 40%
- Price: $29
This toaster may give you a good chunk of change from a $50 note, but its price tag was one of the only positive things our testers had to say about it.
If you like to wake up to perfect toast, though, this budget buy is going to leave you feeling cold.
It delivered disappointing results when we tested how evenly it toasts white bread and how well it toasts multigrain bread, so if these are important to you then we suggest giving this one a miss.
Read the full review for Kmart Anko 4 Slice Long Slot Toaster.
Ready for a lifetime affair with this pricey toaster?
Milantoast 2 Slice Toaster
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 54%
- Toasting evenness score: 20%
- Price: $490
Yep, you read that price tag correctly.
This toaster will set you back $490, and one of the reasons it's so expensive is because the manufacturer promises that it 'will last forever' as all of its parts can be serviced or replaced.
(In fact, a CHOICE staff member dubbed this appliance the Tesla of toasters: it's environmentally friendly but a big upfront investment!)
It has a five-year warranty for parts and a 10-year warranty for labour. Considering that most of the toasters we've tested only have a one- or two-year warranty, Milantoast's offering shows that the company stands behind its product and service.
Unfortunately, this toaster did not perform consistently well in our testing.
Although our testers had quite a few positive things to say about this appliance, and in fact found that it's excellent at toasting a single slice of bread, they found it to be poor at producing the same toast colour cycle after cycle and poor at toasting multigrain bread.
If appliance longevity is important to you, you may be able to get better results with a bit of perseverance. Read more about our testing and this toaster.
View the full Milantoast 2 Slice Toaster review.
This toaster won't bring a ray of sunshine to your mornings.
Sunbeam Arise 4 Slice Long Slot Toaster
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 55%
- Toasting evenness score: 40%
- Price: $129
Sunbeam unfortunately has two entrants into our bottom five, with this cheaper model another underwhelming performer.
When you consider that four of the five toasters recommended by our experts cost less than $100, it's clear that there are other more affordable options you'd be better off spending your money on.
Our testers gave a thumbs up to the fact this is easy to use with very good controls and a crumb tray that's very easy to clean, but it received poor scores for toasting single slices of bread, browning evenly and toasting multigrain bread.
Read the full Sunbeam Arise 4 Slice Long Slot Toaster review.
Despite its tech, is this toaster too smart for its own good?
Russell Hobbs Attentiv 2 Slice Toaster RHT802
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 55%
- Toasting evenness score: 40%
- Price: $150
It may look a bit like a toaster perched on top of a digital kitchen scale, but this futuristic model isn't exactly worth its weight in gold.
Its much-hyped Colour Sense Technology reportedly 'reads' the temperature of the toast so it pops up when it reaches the "perfect" toast colour – but unfortunately that's not what our testing found.
It couldn't deliver evenly browned toast, and it also wasn't consistent: it couldn't deliver the same toast colour over several cycles. This begs the question: how much sense has gone into its Colour Sense Technology?
You could take out a year's CHOICE membership for $83.95, pick up a sub-$60 toaster that's recommended by our experts and still spend less money than you would on this toaster. (Not to mention that you'd have perfectly toasted toast every morning.)
Now that's an idea that actually does make sense.
Read the full Russell Hobbs Attentiv 2 Slice Toaster review.
Despite its luxury price tag, this Bugatti was outclassed by a Kmart toaster.
Bugatti Volo Toaster 13-SVOLOC1/AU
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 56%
- Toasting evenness score: 40%
- Price: $439
Another futuristic-looking toaster that doesn't live up to modern-day toasting standards, this Bugatti is a prime example of why you should thoroughly research an appliance before you buy it.
For this much money, you'd almost expect to have your toast delivered to you perfectly buttered, and on a silver platter. But instead you can expect inconsistently browned toast and a depleted bank account.
Even a $7.50 Kmart Anko toaster performed better than this luxury appliance, which tells you just about everything you need to know about it.
$400 for toast like this? That's basically the opposite of value for money.
The Bugatti name is generally associated with racing cars that have multi-million dollar price tags.
The maker of this Bugatti, however, is an entirely different company that makes appliances and kitchenware (also at eye-watering prices).
Regardless of which Bugatti made this toaster, it's certainly not going to be winning any races. In fact, all you'll win if you buy it is a free game of "how brown will my toast be today?" roulette.
Read the full Bugatti Volo Toaster review.
Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
