Breville BTA840XL stainless steel

BULLETIN - UPDATE WED MAY 18 - Toaster deader than a hammer. I'd been thinking in recent weeks - after getting my original purchase replaced on warranty - that my Breville was a fine toaster, even with some uneven toasting on dark setting. All the other functions - defrosting frozen bread and toasting it in one cycle - have been a lot of fun. Tonight I put a regular piece of unfrozen bread in, set on med-high and the piece of toast began going up and down and up and down. All the lights across the top began flashing. I unplugged the toaster and tried again, several times. Same result. I paid $159 I recall, for a toaster that lasted less than three months. In total, TWO models of this toaster lasted less than three months. OLD REVIEW: I'm hoping like crazy that I will consider this toaster a 5-star purchase a month, a year and 10 years from now. Like everyone else I am banking on the relatively low percentage of 1-star and 2-star reviews and very high percentage of 5-star and 4-star reviews. So far my observations are this: It's slow, but I think that's part of a high-quality process. I make toast on the darkest setting, using Trader Joe's multi-grain bread, right out of freezer, and without using the extra toasting button I get uniformly dark, perfect, one-slice servings on both sides. I'm scrambling eggs and making coffee so it's not like I've found myself waiting, drumming my fingers on the counter, for the toast to pop up. I love the buttons - on top of unit and easy to read and making a beautiful display. To one other reviewer's point on a Cuisanart toaster that smudges so easily, I found the same to be true, and of course, it didn't toast evenly, so that went back after 24 hours. On the Breville, the non-smudge finish is just spectacular, like the finish on a Rolls Royce. There's the line we Amazon buyers have found to be so true: you have to see this in person to believe how handsome an item it is. It's like the fit and finish on a $60,000 car, just gorgeous, reeking of quality. *Back to function: the opposite of the dark setting on my toaster is the lowest setting, for just lightly searing hamburger buns. I like Pepperidge Farm "slider" buns, which I freeze and then remove from the freezer as needed, long enough at room temperature to be able to separate the halves and still keep as once piece. That one bun piece, opened, fits into the slot and on the settings of 1 FROZEN and 2 lightest toast setting, the results are perfect, just enough toasting to seal the bread from the burger's juice. I also like the "Lift & Look" and "A Bit More" buttons, but have not explored them much. Bottom line: If this toaster holds up it will be one of the most fun purchases I've made for my 2nd favorite room in the house, my kitchen. Update photo: I added fourth photo to show the beautiful, functional louvers on the one side of the unit. The toaster does generate a lot of heat - not so much greater heat than other toasters but heat that's on for a longer period of time. I may put tinfoil on the underside of the cupboard above the toaster.