Toasters

Toasters

A toaster is decided by three things and price is rarely one of them. Slot count comes first: a 2 slice model suits one or two people and takes the least worktop, while a 4 slice does a family in one go rather than running the same machine twice and reheating the first pair. Slot width is the one people forget, and it matters more than it sounds, because a standard slot will not take a crumpet, a bagel, a thick cut loaf or a slice of soda bread without jamming. Look for wide or variable width slots if that is how your household actually eats. After that it is the controls: variable browning gives you the setting you want rather than the one the machine offers, a defrost setting toasts straight from the freezer without burning the outside, a reheat setting warms toast that went cold, and a high lift lever gets a small slice out without burning your fingers. A removable crumb tray is what decides whether the toaster is still clean in a year.

Colour and finish carry more weight in this category than in almost any other small appliance, because the toaster sits out permanently and usually beside the kettle. Matching the two in the same range, rather than buying a boxed set, is the usual way people get a coordinated worktop.

Russell Hobbs covers the widest run of finishes and ranges, including Bronte, Honeycomb, Textures, Classics, Inspire, Eclipse, Stylevia and Adventure in 2 and 4 slice, with matching kettles across most of them. Morphy Richards brings the Equip, Illumination, Ascend and Felspar Clay ranges, Smeg the 50s Style retro models, and Bosch the DesignLine stainless steel and anthracite models. Delonghi, Kenwood, Ninja and Sage complete the range. Split by size in 2 slice toasters and 4 slice toasters, and see matching kettles.

The 4 slice models and the retro finishes clear first because those are the ones bought as presents rather than as replacements. Prices are live all year, so see what is reduced now on toasters on sale, or the Black Friday toaster deals.