Overview

Great combination cooking performance, flat-bed design (no turntable), stylish looks, large capacity, good features and energy efficient.

The Panasonic NNCF778SBPQ combination microwave oven offers an all in one cooking solution for your kitchen. It allows you to use the functions of a microwave, a fan assisted convection oven and grill independently or in combination for speedy cooking with a crisp, traditional oven finish which will save time and energy costs.  This is a free-standing, ‘flat-bed’ oven, it has no turntable, and comes with standard accessories of a wire shelf for use when grilling/turbo baking or using combination mode (not when microwaving), a square glass dish for microwaving, and a full width enamel tray for convection/grilling.  It’s worth spending a few minutes with the well laid out operating manual to get the hang of what to use with which cooking method!  There’s also an anti-spark ring which sits on top of the wire shelf so that a metal baking container can be used in combination mode without sparking.  The Panasonic NNCF778SBPQ is an all-purpose oven, its flat-bed interior is very spacious though it may not have quite the volume for the Christmas roast.  It could be very useful in the summer for Aga owners and perfect for singles or couples. 

Design

The NNCF778SBPQ combination microwave looks fantastic - it’s finished in brushed stainless steel with a glass door, hinged at the bottom and opened by a full width stainless steel handle.  Its solid build quality gives the oven a premium and durable feel. Inside is also stainless steel but the back wall of the oven has a catalytic lining which is self-cleaning. The user-friendly controls are neatly laid out to the right of the door.  Convenient touch buttons add elegance and all of the functions are clearly labelled for ease of use.  An LED display tells you the time when you’re not cooking, and informs you of the remaining cooking time and mode selected when you are.  Two rotary dials make it simple to select a temperature or input a food’s weight.  

The NNCF778SBPQ’s external dimensions are 531mm (width) x 534mm (depth) x 328 mm (height). Combination microwave ovens get hot, especially on convention, so you will need to leave some space around it - you need 15cm/6” above, and 10cm/4” at the rear and 5cm/2” on one side with the other side open.  Because the door of the oven is hinged at the bottom and opens downwards, this ‘extends’ your work surface to the front of the oven by serving as a ‘rest’ when taking a dish out of the oven to stir for instance.

One of the first things that you notice on opening the NNCF778SBPQ is that the usual microwave turntable is missing. This is because Panasonic has equipped the NNCF778SBPQ with inverter technology which circulates the microwaves to achieve a uniform cooking performance.  This saves energy and gives plenty of room for larger dishes that would not ordinarily fit in a microwave. Using the trays provided, the flat-bed design also makes batch-baking a possibility. It has an optional child lock.

Features

The NNCF778SBPQ is pre-set with Panasonic’s eco-mode active. This is an excellent feature that saves energy when the oven is not in use. Coupled with the energy saving qualities of inverter cooking technology, this is real green thinking by Panasonic at a time when consumers are demanding it.  It is estimated that cooking in combination mode reduces cooking time – and energy – by ½ to 2 thirds, depending on the chosen food (e.g. crispy, fluffy baked potatoes in 18 minutes!).

The NNCF778SBPQ microwave has 6 varying degrees of power (Watts: 1000, 600, 440, 270, 250, 100) with 16 automatic programmes for auto-weight cook in microwave or combination mode. Its fan assisted convection oven has a  temperature range of 100-250 degrees C.  When used together the grill and convection oven form the ‘turbo bake’ feature. This cooks or reheats food using the oven and grill for extra crispness and colour and can often reduce cooking  times. The 3 combination cooking methods adds the microwave  to the grill or oven, or to the grill and oven. This provides the speed of microwave cooking and the crispy finish of traditional oven cooking. The quartz grill also deserves an honourable mention as it requires no pre-heating, meaning you’ll save time and energy and you won’t have to wait to get cooking.

Panasonic has also included a range of automatic cooking features that can save you time. Simply choose the food that you want to cook from the list of automatic pre-sets (fresh/frozen vegetables, boiled/baked potatoes, whole/pieces of chicken, fresh/frozen pizza, fish, pastry, crispy top), enter its weight, press start and the NNCF778SBPQ will take care of the rest. An identical process is followed to automatically defrost food too.  The NNCF778SBPQ also allows you to programme up to 3 difference stages when cooking a dish and has a delay start function of up to 9 hours – so you can have your breakfast porridge ready cooked for you in the mornings, or a casserole waiting for when you return home.

Conclusion

The Panasonic NNCF778SBPQ flat-bed combination microwave oven has really impressed us, without the turntable you can fit more in and this increases cooking flexibility and performance. We think it could be the best overall free-standing combination microwave on the market. Panasonic’s pairing of the best features of a microwave with a grill and fan assisted convection oven gives great cooking results every time. There are also thoughtful design elements, like the drop down door doubling up as a work surface, that make the NNCF778SBPQ a joy to use. Nothing on the appliance feels like an after-thought, instead there’s a sense of it all having been carefully worked out to meet the fast-paced demands of modern life. The operation manual comes with clear instructions and comprehensive defrosting, reheating and cooking charts as well as some delicious sounding recipes.

Overview

Comes with a great design and combines a selection of easy to use, versatile features with NEFF's energy efficient 'InnoWave' technology for consistently good cooking results.

The C67M70N0GB is part of Neff’s Series 5 kitchen appliances.  It is designed to be built into kitchen furniture, either a base or tall housing unit.  It will match, in size and design, with other Neff Series 5 appliances. If you are just looking for a built in micro/combi oven, then this model is a winner.  However, if you are planning a new kitchen, it’s worth knowing that by choosing your appliances from Neff Series 5, you can create a very contemporary look by installing them in-line.  This creates a side-by-side or up/down bank of appliances which sit perfectly together.  Your choice from the Compact Series 5 range includes a single oven, a coffee centre, a circo steam combination oven, this microwave combination oven and even a dishwasher.  They all measure 450mm height and the standard 594mm width. These appliances are from the Series 5 Compact range – the dishwasher is smaller than usual with 6 place settings – but ideal if you don’t have much washing up.  You can also select full sized ovens and dishwashers from the 5 Series, and add plate warming or utensil drawers to obtain the neat in-line look. The C67M70N0GB microwave combination oven combines the best of both worlds, allowing use as a microwave oven or traditional fan oven, or combination of the two for speedy cooking times and crispy results.

Design

The C67M70N0GB combination microwave looks fantastic.  It has a pleasing symmetrical design with a brushed stainless steel control panel which has a central oval bevelled control and function buttons on either side.  All of the control buttons are retractable.  Above is a dark glass display panel with a text display in the centre, the clock and temperature display on either side.  The front panel is brushed stainless steel, with a curved, bevelled bar handle and centred glass window.  The external appearance is designed to exactly match that of other Series 5 appliances (though control buttons will obviously vary).  Inside it has CeramiClean liners to the back and roof for easy cleaning, 3 shelf positions, and comes with a full width enamel tray, a high/low wire shelf and a flat wire shelf.  It also has an optional control panel lock. It is a ‘flat bed’ oven, i.e. it has no turntable and therefore allows the use of larger dishes and, although from Neff’s compact range, it has a generous 42litres of useable internal space.

Features

Neff tends to set a high standard with its product features and the C67M70N0GB is no different. It has 5 microwave power levels from 90C to 900C and incorporates the use of Neff’s ‘InnoWave’ technology. This ensures that microwaves and heat are evenly distributed throughout the oven and this continuous circulation not only cooks food faster and more evenly, but is also great in conserving energy by reducing the power usage by up to 15%.

The oven has the following operation modes:  Hot air, Hot air plus, Top/bottom heat, Circo-roasting, Full-surface grill, Centre-area grill. These operating modes can be used on their own – as you would use a traditional oven or grill - or at the same time as the microwave.  Food will cook more quickly due to the microwave but still be nicely browned.  Additional oven only operation modes are Bottom heat, Low-temperature cooking and Keep warm.  The two modes which you may find most useful are MicroCombi, gentle, and MicroCombi, intensive.  When either of these is selected, a microwave power setting is automatically activated.  You simply need to set the oven temperature specified in the recipe and halve the cooking time.  MicroCombi, gentle is suitable for cooking cakes, pastries and roasts and the MicroCombi intensive for cooking poultry, gratins, bakes and grilled fish – your food will be ready in half the time!

The Neff C67M70N0GB instruction book makes defrosting and cooking even easier by giving a comprehensive list of automatic programmes where items or dishes are defrosted or cooked according to their weight.  In addition you can select up to 3 stages of cooking in series on both microwave and combination operation.

Conclusion

Neff’s C67M70N0GB Microwave Combination oven has an elegant, sophisticated design that will look fantastic in any kitchen.  But it has more than good looks.  This is a versatile oven, much more than just a microwave, it has it all – it can microwave, roast, bake, grill, fan oven or in combination for fast cooking and crispy finish. The Neff C67M70N0GB is the one to choose if you are looking to buy an integrated microwave/combination oven.

Overview

Compact and attractive freestanding combination with all the functionality you need to achieve consistently good results at an unbeatable price.

The Panasonic NN-CT552WBPQ offers the quick cooking times of a microwave as well as the authentic effects of traditional convection oven cooking. It even has a grill, ensuring that all of your cooking needs are covered. You can use the microwave, grill or convection oven independently or in ‘combination mode’ for speedy cooking times and an oven browned appearance. It is slim-line, taking up 20% less space, so is suitable for kitchens where work surface space is at a premium, small enough to fit neatly into your kitchen. Most importantly the NN-CT552WBPQ is excellent value for money, so you won’t have to break the bank to buy one.   It’s well built, promising years of good use. If you don’t have much space in your kitchen and like the idea of an all in one cooking solution, the Panasonic NN-CT552WBPQ is one of the best value combination microwaves available.

Design

Despite its value price tag the NN-CT552WBPQ has the premium design quality that we’ve come to expect from Panasonic. The NN-CT552WBPQ is a classic kitchen white with a large glass door. The inside is easy clean stainless steel, to give a tough end product that’s built to last. Panasonic has really put the customer first in realising that as well as being affordable, it’s important that a new free-standing microwave combination oven looks the part too.

The NN-CT552WBPQ measures 520 mm (width) x 395 mm (depth) x 310 mm (height), which is very compact for a combination microwave. Panasonic refers to this design as ‘slim-line’, meaning that it should take up 20% less surface area than its competitors, making it a great option for smaller kitchens.  All micro/combi ovens get hot, especially on convection, so you will need to leave some space around it.  The top and left-hand side house its cooling vents which shouldn’t be obstructed so you will need to leave the left-hand side open with 5cm/2” clearance on the right-hand side, 15cm/6” clearance over the top and 10cm/4” clearance to the rear. Amazingly, despite its ‘slim-line’ dimensions the NN-CT552WBPQ has a spacious 27 litre capacity. It comes with a 34cm diameter glass turntable for microwave use and a wire rack and enamel tray for grilling, convection or combination use.

The front of the NN-CT552WBPQ has a wide windowed door, letting you keep an eye on the cooking process. The controls are situated on the right of the door, neatly laid out and clearly labelled for ease of use. A bright LED display lets you know the time when the microwave isn’t in use and displays the remaining cooking time when it is running. Panasonic help your energy efficiency by making the display’s brightness automatically reduce when the appliance isn’t in use. The touch sensitive controls are vertically set out beneath the display, providing an easy method of entering an item’s weight and activating the various pre-set cooking programmes (more on this later).  It has an optional child lock.

Features

Considering that it’s an entry-level combination microwave with a very affordable price, the NN-CT552WBPQ comes with a decent range of features. The first of these is Panasonic’s sensible demonstration mode. This feature is usually found on more expensive combination microwaves and it allows you to experiment with the NN-CT552WBPQ by setting different programmes so that you can get used to the various functions.

The microwave oven has 6 power levels up to 1000watts, and the convection oven has a heat range 100 – 220C.  The grill, microwave and convection functions can be used alone, but can also be combined.  So you can use the grill and microwave function together or, perhaps the most popular especially for casseroles, joints of meat, jacket potatoes and pastries, the convection oven and microwave function which offers fast cooking with the crispness of an oven.

Although you can manually set the NN-CT552WBPQ, it has 13 automatic programmes.  There is an automatic defrosting option called ‘Chaos Defrost’. This allows you to simply enter an item’s weight and the microwave will then defrost it automatically in the minimum amount of time necessary. This speeds up the defrosting process whilst also saving energy. There are a number of automatic cooking programmes that work in a similar way. Simply select a type of food from the clearly labelled list of buttons (Curry/ Chinese/ Pasta/ Casserole/ Fresh Fish/ Fresh Vegetables/Jacket Potatoes/ Frozen Potatoes/ Whole Chicken/ Frozen Pizza), enter the item’s weight and the NN-CT552WBPQ will ensure that it is cooked with the optimal settings and for the exact length of time necessary. These programmes can save you lots of time and give guaranteed results every time. The NN-CT552WBPQ also allows you to programme up to 3 different stages when cooking a dish and has a delay start function of up to 10 hours.  The operation manual comes with clear instructions and comprehensive defrosting, reheating and cooking charts as well as some delicious sounding recipes.

Conclusion

The Panasonic NN-CT552WBPQ microwave combination oven will fit neatly into any kitchen and particularly those with limited work surface space.  Its good looks and functionality are hard to beat, combining the efficiency and speed of a microwave with the traditional browning and crispness of a conventional oven.  We think that it could be the best free-standing microwave combination oven in its price bracket and would recommend it to anyone looking for a great all-round performer that doesn’t cost the earth.