Review by *Sueki*:

I recently received my new Sanyo microwave and I could not wait to post a review on it! This is a truly sleek, good looking appliance that has finally broken the mold with the innovative design of its controls. Bye, bye to the traditional and confusing button keypads of other microwave ovens...I won't miss you.

As another reviewer already said, there is a scroll wheel (very much like an iPod control) on the inside. You have to open the door to access the scroll wheel, but this is hardly a problem. You simply open the door, put in your plate of food, set the desired function using the scroll wheel, shut the door and hit the Start/+1 minute button. If you have to interrupt cooking, press the Stop/Clear key once to stop the oven, pressing it twice will stop the oven and clear the settings. EASY!

I set the clock on this machine in less than 10 seconds using the scroll wheel. That has never happened to me before! I know it seems trivial, but with every microwave I have ever owned, I had to pull out the instruction manual to remind myself what combination of buttons I had to press JUST TO SET THE TIME.

Incidentally, the pictures of the oven provided by Amazon are not wholly accurate because it is not plugged in. The green tinted clock/timer is on the inside of the oven, but there is a clear, rectangular view finder on the door that allows the time to be clearly displayed while the door is closed. The pictures here make it look like a simple black tinted door with a few buttons on the side. Some might think you have to open the door in order to see the clock, but that is definitely not the case.

My father, who is physically handicaped (he has only the thumb and forefinger on his right hand and has severe vision impairment), loves this oven already because it is so simple to operate. He also likes the fact there is no door handle to pull at, just a simple press of a button, and the door will open. This, again, may seem trivial but try opening a microwave with semi-greasy hands while rushing around in the kitchen. You can open this baby with a knuckle or even the flat part of the back of your hand. When you combine this with the ease of the scroll wheel, this oven may be a wonderful option for those who have severe arthritis too. Just remember to read the instruction manual thoroughly to become acquainted with the functions and you will be scrolling your way through your favorite recipes in no time!

The unit offers four combination cooking settings: combination one (microwave and convection) for frozen entrees and casseroles, combination two (microwave and grill) for steaks, combination three (grill and microwave) for chicken, and combination four (grill and convection) for hamburgers.

I am so excited to start experimenting with this oven! I have only tried the convection option so far (apart from the microwave) and I was very pleased with the results. It took less than 10 minutes to preheat the oven to 350 degrees. The cherry on the top of all this was Amazon's excellent price. When I compared this model to others with similar features, the prices were REALLY out there!

I just hope the thrilled-about-this-purchase euphoria lasts a long, long time!

Review by Mary:

Grill feature was surprisingly nice - does garlic bread perfect and crispy. I bought this for micro feature and to give a try at a convection w/o spending a lot. Although I've only used convection once (consensus still out - doesn't seem to get things crispy... but you can use the grill feature for that, and isn't different than most convections I hear.) This is the coolest looking micro and is a breeze to work. The features for the price are phenemonal. It's fun to use and unlike any you will see on the market. Just buy it - you won't be disappointed. I'm not one to write but had to share --- ENJOY!

Review by R. P. mendoza:

I went to buy this item at Walmart for .00 and lasted only for 5 months - the extractor fan stopped working so now everytime I heat something for 2 minutes (3 minutes and the oven overheats), the interior gets full of vapor, no way to use it normally, causing the microwave to overheat and turn off for several minutes. The customer service is useless - everytime I'd tried to call i get this final message '...all of our X are busy..., good bye' --- zero contact with a living person. To get it repaired you need to send it to California, and then pay to get it back. Don't buy, be sure to check the brand you buy has a local service center.

Review by Gail Long:

We recently purchased this item because our 10 year old microwave was on its last legs. I liked this model because it had grilling possibilites shown on the carton. Major concern after we brought it home---no instructions on how to use the grill in the users manual . Customer service only available from 8am to 4:30pm Mon to Fri. Any idea what my working hours are? It does include a metal grill rack, but can you use the microwave at the same time? I'll keep the fire dept phone number on speed dial.

Review by M. Justesen:

I read the review from another buyer and noticed there was no grill. Given the name of the Microwave containing "grill" I however ignored it and bought it anyway as I wanted a grill. There IS NO grill!

I believe this is a mistake from Amazon as it says nothing about grill on the package it arrived in. Since it is almost impossible to change things via Amazon I have kept it and it works fine.

Review by T. Shields:

I am pleased with the stainless steel interior of this

microwave. Any messes wipe off easily and it stays shiny.

I am disappointed, however, that it does not contain any

grilling feature as described in the ad.

Review by M. Fargo:

I live in a small downtown unit in San Francisco, so anything that takes up space has to earn it's living. This unit is now the only "oven" I use, and it's wonderful. I see many complain about how long it takes to "heat up," but that's a misunderstanding of using convection heat. Just put whatever you want to cook in the oven--cakes, breads, lasagna, etc.--and it will cook as the oven heats. Because of the convection, there are no "hot spots" and nothing will burn. The only adjustment is the cooking time, but that can be gauged with a little practice. Easy to clean, makes wonderful toast, pies, fresh breads and roast cuts of meat.... I don't know what I'd do without this. The microwave is very flexible and easy to use with many different choices on the control panel.

Review by Mr. D. L. Andrews:

We bought this microwave oven because it also has a convection oven. The oven takes a VERY long time to heat up.

Example:

350 degrees takes 35 minutes

425 degrees took over an hour

In contrast my regular electric (full size) oven takes 8 minutes to reach 425

Our old Panasonic microwave/convection oven took 15 minutes to reach 425

This machine was supposed to be a time saver, but we hardly ever use the convection setting as it takes too long to warm up. We find we now have an overpriced microwave oven. We could have got a much larger microwave (without convection) for the price we paid for this.

My advice - steer well clear of this machine unless you don't need the convection oven - in which case you are better off getting a cheaper model.

I wish I had read the other reviews before I bought this machine.

The only good point is you can use the glass turntable on convection mode - our old Panasonic required you swap out a metal turntable whenever you wanted to convection cook, which was a real pain having to store the other turntable. However, you are unlikely to use the convection mode unless you remember to heat the oven an hour before you actually use it. I presume all this heating time is wasteful too, so using the full size oven for much less warmup time may work out better value...

Review by N. Gibson:

For a combo, micro/convection, oven, the price was very reasonable. The design is modern and, quite attractive, but it is way under-powered(1000W)compared to my previous microwave, which was Sharp Carousel (1500W). Which means, it will take more time to cook or re-heat things, e.g. a cold cup of water takes about 3 minutes to boil compared to 2 minutes in the Sharp. Also, the metal (very light weight) grate that came with for the convection cooking was broken (poor welding job) from the factory.

Review by Elizabeth G. Melillo:

I acquired this microwave when I was moving to a flat with limited kitchen space, and my primary reason for the choice was that the Sharp model was multi-functional. Since I've begun using it, I happily have ceased to sing a requiem for the toaster oven, separate grill, and other items I was 'consolidating' in this purchase.

I have used the Sharp microwave for grilling and roasting, as well as normal microwave functions, and the results are better than I could have expected. Grilled and roasted foods are extremely tender and juicy - at least of the quality one could expect from a conventional oven. I have had similar success with cooking vegetables.

Reheating muffins and breads has amazing results - they seem fresh baked and, unlike breads normally heated in a microwave, do not harden in a minute. I have used the convection feature for preparing breads, and had especially stunning results with preparing a frozen chicken pie. I suppose the surrounding air from the convection oven was the reason, but it seemed like a fresh-baked meat pie.

There are a few drawbacks, which would not compromise my five star rating because of the great versatility and high quality of the unit overall. The 'auto' roast, defrost, and grill features are very convenient, as is the prompting (telling one when to turn over the meat, for example), but they are very limited in the weight restrictions. For example, if one is defrosting ground meat, it has to be a certain weight - significantly more than that of a single hamburger. Though grills and roasts would mostly fit in to the specifications, this is a drawback for defrosting, where one must estimate times and key them in manually.

Another difficulty I have experienced, when grilling on the rack, is that drippings which fall either on to the carousel tray or a pan placed under the meat can become badly burnt and baked on. This was slightly disappointing for my intentions of preparing gravies on the side. My single attempt to do so meant I had to soak the pan overnight and then scrape. The grilling results are wonderful, as far as the effect on the meats, but there is a great deal of smoke generated. Whenever I grill, it sets off the smoke alarm - probably best to roast, then only grill at the end.

I would advise anyone purchasing this microwave to read the manual in full. The capabilities will not be realised otherwise. I actually use the unit less for 'standard microwaving' than for its other features.

One further comment: the Sharp microwave cookbook, which is advertised in the manual for the unit, is useful but not specific to the multi-functional machine. It contains only microwave recipes - none for grilling, roasting, or convection.

Overall, and considering that it can replace several appliances, this microwave is an extraordinary value.

Review by R. Drew:

First let me say that I got a killer deal right here on Amazon. I paid 4 with shipping included. The unit arrived in tact although the box was a little beat up. So much so that I had to unpack it outside. Now onto the review. The unit is very heavy and well constructed. The majority of the weight comes from what appears to be a commercial grade convection motor. I lugged the unit inside and put it on a utility cart with the back facing a window. I unpacked the contents, which were securely stowed inside the unit. Contents included a porcelain coated turntable, rotary mechanism for the turntable and a circular raised rack for grilling. I plugged it in and it immediately displayed instructions on how to set the clock. That was cake so now it was time to cook something! Despite what others may say, you do have to read the manual to do just about anything (except setting the clock) because the unit uses special codes for different foods, i.e 1 for pork, 2 for chicken, 3 for humans and so on. The manual is relatively easy to follow and the unit also comes with a quick reference card so you don't have to whip out the manual everytime you want to cook something. So far, I have cooked a stuffed pork chop, cinnamon rolls, chocolate chip cookies and a 10 inch frozen pizza. All came out near perfect to perfect. I would attribute this to the quality of the convection motor. I might even go as far as comparing the quality and effectiveness of this motor to that of a Hobart. If you're looking for a high quality and extrememly versatile convection/microwave/so much more, then you can stop looking. I would have paid a lot more if I knew it was going to be this good. Bon Appetit!

Review by rooster_ranch:

**EDIT: My first review I gave it five stars b/c it worked great for a few weeks. I can't change the stars to one now, so I will just update my review summary. After about a month of use, we discovered the coating must not be that high of quality on the plates. I had major peeling off on the grill plates while making a panini. I contacted Koolatron and they sent replacement plates after I emailed them a copy of my receipt. However the replacement plates peeled again after a couple uses. Then the grand finale, THE MACHINE DIED ONE YEAR AFTER PURCHASE. Piece of junk.

Review by A. Walker:

I used this item 5x. it stopped working I had to send it back.

buy Black & Decker 4-in-1 Multi-Purpose Grill at Walmart. It is the exact same thing