Panasonic NNSG676B Mid-size 1.3 cft. 1100W Genius Microwave Oven, Black, Black

This model costs a little more but has the Genius sensor and inverter technology. At first I thought this was just Marketing but it really does cook food better. Basically you don’t end up with cold in the middle and boiling on the exterior. Also, the popcorn function on the microwaves I’ve owned previously has never worked and I had to tweak it myself. This one is spot on. I pressed the popcorn button and it actually popped the whole 93g bag in only 1:45 minutes and 99% of the kernels were popped and nothing was burned. I was truly amazed by the speed.

On the other side, I sometimes warm a coffee or tea and 45 seconds does it. This one took longer at 1:20. I think it’s a power setting, or sensor setting because I also tried a small ravioli bowl and it was boiling hot at only 1 minute. I have to look into that.

The item was extremely well packaged and although the box was not damaged, there was a small dent on upper side. There was no more stock and ours had broke so I contacted Amazon and they were nice enough to offer 20% off instead of returning and waiting, which I accepted since it’s on the side and would no be visible once in the cupboard.

It is slightly narrower than my 1000 watt Danby but much deeper. The player is exactly the same size so I kept it as a backup.

I would definitely recommend this microwave. I gave it 5 stars overall but 4/5 value for money because at $179 I find it expensive for a microwave oven. But seems that’s the price these days.

One last thing the beeps are not annoying like others and they do not continuously ring until you remove your item so this was also a plus for me.

Mine was defective and wouldn’t always run full power so I returned it, thankfully. These things happen, especially when the item is delivered by Canada Post, so I don’t hold that against Panasonic or the oven.

That said, this unit is poor in lots of ways (many of which are described in the ad, but are still gotchas):
– While it has the “Genius” moisture sensor, it lacks the “Inverter” to regulate intermediate power levels. It runs like a $90 microwave from 20 years ago with slow on/off/on/off cycling on intermediate levels. Who knew Panasonic even made ovens like this any more? I thought boil-overs were a thing of the past, but not with this oven. “Inverter” is a must if you ever use anything other than high (for cooking or defrosting).
– Not a soft-touch keypad like all the other Panasonics I’ve bought or used in recent years. You are pushing the buttons hard enough to shift the oven unless you hold it in place.
– 1100 Watts, not 1200. Just enough that the time-programmed features (like Popcorn) don’t quite complete, and you have to add about 10% to any recipes you have been using with a normal microwave.
– The wall plug is straight, not 90 degrees. Are you going to put your microwave on a built-in shelf with the outlet at the back? Expect to not be able to push the oven as far back as your previous one without adding a swivel adapter. Gotcha.
– Interior size: While the outside of the oven is the same size as other Panasonic mid-size ones, the inside is smaller. The rotating plate is a couple of cm. smaller than every other mid-size I’ve seen in the last decade. They expand the electronics on the right side to squish the interior smaller.
-Light/window are poor. You can not really see inside during cooking at all, like ovens of old. Compared to a modern microwave with better windows and bright, LED lights this one is poor. You can still sort-of see in if you get the viewing angle right though.

I still like Panasonics, just not this one. We replaced it with a NNST66KW from another seller for significantly less. Amazon currently has NNST766W for less if you are OK with family size. Shop around and read the features closely.