After returning 3 B&D models, we LOVE our Cuisinart!!

It's been 4 years since I originally reviewed this product, so I've updated it to give a more long term viewpoint. This product, though not perfect, has definitely earned a 5-star rating and is still serving us faithfully. We use it multiple times daily and it continues to perform to our expectations.

The control pad on this model looked intimidating at first glance, but it is actually very intuitive, quickly learned, and gives you much better control over the cooking than you would expect possible with a toaster oven. It has a variety of cooking methods such as toast, broil, temperature-controlled bake, and there is a convection fan to help keep the heat evenly distributed (the fan can be turned on/off). In bake mode, it has a preheat alert that notifies you when the temperature you've selected has been reached. It does a very good job of browning toast/bagels, cooking crescent rolls, reheating pizza, baking cookies. This brand has more features than most of the other models we looked at.

We also worried that the oven's interior cooking area looked too small, but its size has been sufficient for our needs. We also found that turning the cooking rack upside down allows it to be lowered even further.

I was disappointed by the $50 price difference between the white model and the black/chrome models. We purchased the white to save the extra fifty bucks, but knew at purchase time that we would probably have difficulty keeping it white (more on that below).
We paid $125. We had just returned our third attempt at purchasing an $80 Black&Decker model, but all three of the Black & Decker models were either dead out-of-box or failed within the first week due to faulty sensors and/or poor workmanship. We have not had any regrets with purchasing the Cuisinart and have not had any failures or malfunctions.

As much as we like this toaster oven, it isn't perfect. Here are some concerns that I would like to see changed/improved in future models.

1) Within the first year, the plastic around the control pad cracked in several places. I suspect one of my family members used a plastic-unfriendly cleaner on it because the same happened to our electric can opener. Still, I place the responsibility on the manufacturer to use materials that can withstand cleaners commonly used in a kitchen. That cracking is only noticeable when standing close-by and has not affected our usage of the oven.

2) When purchasing, take into consideration that white model, over time, will become permanently stained by heat & smoke around the edges of the door. I personally would have chosen the black except for the premium color pricing (+$50)

3) There are minor nuisances in the logic of the controls, things that I think could be made even more intuitive:
a) The TEMP button should be eliminated. Selecting BAKE or CONVECTION should be enough to indicate that the up/down buttons will modify the temperature (and not the toast brownness level).
b) Once you press the START button, you cannot easily change any of the settings. To do so, you must turn the oven off, reenter the settings and press start again. The controls should allow any mode changes after start has been pressed (such as lowering temperature, turning fan on/off, switching from bake to broil, changing the time remaining, etc).
c) Consider adding a light to the oven. When the heat-coils are engaged the oven is sufficiently lit without a light, but since the coils turn on and off to control the temperature, you may or may not be able to see whether that golden brown texture as been reached.
d) Allow at least two fan speeds for the convection fan--low for quiet operation, and high for maximum effectiveness.
e) Allow the timer to be used with or without an alarm. My wife doesn't like it when I cook late night and wake her when the oven beeps, but I would like to use the timer to turn the oven off in case I forget about it.
f) For safety, provide a maximum auto-shutoff. When in bake mode, the oven never shuts off on its own. I once accidentally left an item cooking overnight! There is a timer, and if set it will begin beeping at completion and continue to beep until you turn it off--I like that. But, you are not required to use the timer and I find myself occasionally not using it. Either have the oven auto-shutoff after some factory-set maximum elapsed run time, or have the oven start beeping after that maximum elapsed run time and if the beep is not acknowledged by a button press within so many minutes, then auto-shutoff.

Again, these items were presented as things I would like to see improved in future models and are not intended to discourage you. On the contrary, we love our Cuisinart and would purchase another.