Great performance so far. But it's a dishwasher, not a Tardis!
4/5
This model is near the top end of Indesit's integrated full size dishwasher range, with a stainless steel tub rather than plastic as found in economy models. Thankfully it does not have wi-fi connection, which would be wasted on me, as I don't see the point of it.
Integrated dishwasher sizes are dictated by standard kitchen unit spacing and height, so they do not vary much. Therefore the cubic capacity is also is pretty much standard across brands. I don't know why the industry thinks that quoting the number of “place settings” is a meaningful measure of capacity; in my view the makers just reduce the spacing between the plate support tines to bump up the number, resulting in plates crammed together which ultimately must adversely affect cleaning performance. Also, manufacturers tinker with the design and layout of baskets to achieve what each one considers to be the ideal set-up, but the truth is it's all a bit of a compromise – there is limited space in there!
Anyway my Indesit model is no exception to all this, with its advertised “14 place settings” capacity – what tosh!
The upper basket has four “foldable flaps” which are supposed to hold about 12 wine glasses in place. I don't use wine glasses frequently, and these flaps are space-hogs even when folded away, so I carefully removed them (they are clip-on) and now I use the freed-up space for mugs and tumblers – much more useful to me. Another reason for removing these flaps is that the cutlery tray is situated just above, there is minimal clearance when the top basket is in the “upper” position and my cutlery tray always got stuck on the flaps. The basket can be “lowered” to get more headroom, but then the revolving spray arm underneath catches on dinner plates in the lower basket – this is what I mean by “compromise.”
Cutlery trays seem to be coming into vogue in place of the old-fashioned basket, I can't honestly say that one is better than the other.
Before first use you need to prime the machine with dishwasher salt and rinse aid (even if you are going to use tablets) and then if necessary calibrate the dispense rate to suit your water hardness (which you can find online from your friendly water supply oligopoly).
The dishwasher has 9 programs, most of which are superfluous for me. I tend to use Eco mode as default, which is a bit counter-intuitive because it takes 3 hours to complete, but the test figures prove that it uses less water and electricity than the other full programs. The door automatically pops open slightly at the end of the program which apparently helps with drying. I've had the appliance for about a month, it is used every 2 or 3 days or when full, and the cleaning and drying performance has been excellent. So far I'm very happy with it.