This washing machine is nice and quiet, even during the spin cycle. The beep that indicates that it is ready is also very soft, which is a bit less convenient, because you can't turn it up (I usually don't hear it, because the washing machine is in a separate room with the door ajar). The operation/display is somewhat complicated and illogical, so without instructions you can't make optimal use of the possibilities and economy options of this appliance.
LOAD CAPACITY
My previous washing machine had a drum for max. 7 kg. This one could handle 8 kg, but I hardly see any difference and there are only 3 programs where you can really fill it up to 8 kg (Eco, Cotton and Hygiene). The biggest disadvantage I find is that it is allowed to have less weight (max. 2 or 3 kg) for the programs that I want to use often (delicates and synthetics respectively), which is very little.
With many programs, the machine weighs in advance whether the maximum load weight has been exceeded. Before the cycle starts, it will pause and beep if there is too much in it. Unfortunately, it doesn't say how much, so it's a bit of a guessing game as to how much to take out. The instructions say you get 3 attempts. So far, I've managed to keep it to one. You can also ignore the beeps and wash with a fuller drum, with the chance that the washing result will be less good.
CONSUMPTION
To my great regret, the manual does not provide consumption data (energy and water) for the programs that interest me the most, which means I can't choose the most energy-efficient option for a large part of the washing I do.
The eco program reaches a maximum of 40°C, even though it says '40-60', so it's not suitable for people with a dust mite allergy and it can only be used for cotton. Very strange and a shame, because I very often have a mixed load. Perhaps the program for smaller mixed laundry is just as economical, but yes... that information is not included.
With the Cotton, Synthetic and Delicate programs, you can shorten the time for lightly to normally soiled laundry. If it is also a smaller load than the maximum permitted, you can shorten the time even further. How much energy this saves is not stated. You cannot shorten the eco program and it always takes at least 2h45m, even if you only put 2 kg in it. According to the consumption data, significantly less water and energy is used, so that will be automatically adjusted based on the weight.
SPECIAL FUNCTIONS
The Plus Steam option can be used as a separate function to freshen up to 1 kg of dry laundry or as an anti-crease phase following a wash cycle, but then only available with programs of 60°C or higher. The latter is in itself a way to prevent people from exposing delicate fabrics to hot steam, but if you want to wash cotton laundry at 30°C and then steam the creases out, you can forget about that.
According to the instructions, the hygiene program is only suitable for WHITE cotton. Nice for people who work in the healthcare sector, but anyone else who wants to use it because of allergies or for specific hygiene purposes will not benefit from it. Of course, the machine does not check whether your laundry is white, so you can bet that it will not be that bad.
WASH RESULT
The laundry comes out more wrinkled than with my old machine at the same speed, while the drum should be bigger and you can usually put less in it. This is probably because there is no anti-crease phase at the end (unless you use Plus Steam), where the drum rotates quietly in different directions a few times after spinning. I have not seen it do that yet. On average, it washes a bit faster than the previous one, which I find remarkable, because it is also supposed to be more economical (which usually goes hand in hand with a longer wash cycle). The laundry has also come out really clean so far. I even have the impression that it washes cleaner than my previous one.
CONCLUSION
The machine is quiet, economical and washes really clean faster than my previous machine. It is much less practical for my household, because it can hold less for the laundry I usually do and it is impossible to choose the most economical option due to the lack of consumption data. The laundry usually comes out more wrinkled when washing below 60°C (without anti-crease steam function) and in the beginning you regularly need the instructions because of the somewhat illogical and complicated operation.
