Hi -

We purchased the Asko D5233XXLFI a year and a half ago and in general have been very happy. We compared it with Bosch and Miele models and our dishes seem to fit the best in the Asko. I also liked the time delay feature. There have been times when dried on food hasn't come clean, but I'm not sure it would be better with any other DW. We have been using the Finish All-In-One Powerball tabs for detergent and have much better luck with those than the other detergents we tried. HTH.

We had a four-year-old mid range Bosch in the old house, and just put in and Asko 5122 in the new kitchen. The Asko is considerably louder than our old Bosch, cleans the dishes less well (i.e. less than perfectly), and leaves powdery residue in many of the glasses. (I need to try different detergents/rinse aids to see if I can alleviate this last problem.)

I chose Asko over Bosch because of a rebate, a built-in five year warranty, fan-assisted drying, and slightly better rack configuration for our bowls. I was also swayed by reading opinions that say the lower-end Bosch models aren't quite what they were only a few years ago.

The Asko will do, but I'm thinking I should have picked the Bosch.

We have the 5233, I think it is (not at home so can't verify the #). We got it last April or May when our cheapo white plastic DW, which I think was a Frigidaire that probably retailed for about $250 if that, broke mid-cycle and "peed" all over the floor.

We love the Asko. No problems with it so far. We chose it over a Bosch because EVERYTHING in it is stainless steel, whereas the Bosch, even though it had a stainless interior, still had plastic spray arms. We wanted something solid and well-made, capable of taking high heat for years on end without breaking, and on that point, stainless seemed like a better idea than plastic.

It is true that plastic stuff doesn't come out completely dry, but I've heard that about just about every modern dishwasher--it's not brand specific. In any case, we don't care because most of our dishes aren't plastic--even our "tupperware" is glass--and the few that are plastic we either wipe with a towel or air dry.

I have had mid level Asko, Bosch and Miele in the past 10 years in that order. I have preferred Miele, Asko, and Bosch in that order. I actually replaced the Bosch in less than 1 year after installing it because of its small capacity when compared to the older Asko. In the Bosch, I could not fit all of my daily dishes in 1 load as "easily" as the other brands. This was a big surprise to me! I really hated the lack of capacity in the Bosch that I had.

Using my dishes, Bosch has a poorly designed upper side rack relative to the other two. Asko and Miele has metal upper narrow side racks (these are used to hold wine glass stems in general) and Bosch uses plastic rack. Only one side has the rack on the Bosch in the model that I bought. Both Asko and Miele, I can fit coffee cups under the side rack and put something flatish on the "wine glass holder". With Bosch, I could not (the pastic would not go down) do this with my coffee cups. So I had about 3 lineal ft less of usable rack. Bosch also does not have enough steepness on the rack to drain water off the bottoms of the upside down glasses and cups, so they were more wet.

Miele has a flip down rack even on the lower rack which increases the capacity when compared to the others. I use this alot, again increasing the capacity.

When I looked at the Asko this time, I really did not like the odd third rack that Asko was touting on their upper end models. I seriously thought of buying another Asko but I wanted to try using the cutlery rack. Asko had the cutlery rack in the middle section and I thought that this would make the handing of the taller items more difficult. I don't have real life experience on this, just a hunch. After using the cutlery rack, I do think the cutlery rack washes them better....

In terms of cleaning abilities, they are all about the same, IMHO. For me, Bosch was the most sensitive to the type of detergent I used. In the old Asko, I sporadically used a rinsing agent. When used, I saw minimal difference. I have a Miele with built in softener but I don't use it. Both of these factors are proabably due to my soft water.

I think they are all about the same for the noise level, all pretty quiet but not silent. The models are not super high end models where the noise level drops off significantly on the spec.

Bosch and Miele have express or short wash but they were not able to clean my daily dishes well enough to use them in my daily use. Many people seem to be able to use these settings but I could't. I just run the normal wash.

In my old Asko, there was a heating coil that you could turn on and off. I always had the heating coil turned off after "burning" a few plastic items that dropped down. I think they don't make them that way any more.

Hope this helps.

Have an Asko purchased 1997. Was run about 5 times a week on average. Still running super well tho not quite as quiet...moved it to our ofc 3 yrs ago and it still is operates well. Is run once a week. Love the lite inside.
Replaced it with Bosch mid level. Quiet. Not always as clean. But still like it. No lite inside. Upper rack re: glassware cups not as convenient on the Bosch
I WOULD RANK THEM almost EQUAL.
Both have a short wash cycle.
Bosch is even shorter (under 30 min! sometimes 23) and Asko runs 45 but on newer i think it is less. New Bosch is sleeker than old Asko if that matters. Did i mention these are mid level models with all stainless steel interiors (a must for us). Bosch food particle area is easier to clean out (you should do this quarterly) but sometimes glassware is less sparkling and more spotted.
NOTE THAT WE ONLY SCRAPE and do not super rinse dirty dishes...and we use a bare teaspoon of powder. We get super results most of the time on our corelle, fine china, and glassware.
That said, my BIL bought Bosch upper model with water softener. I cant stand it --- we dont run heat/dry cycle and the water softened hi end does not seem to clean as well.
Asko and Bosch both produce hi heat in rinse, we open and air dry (except plastics i remove and shake off) at end of cycle. Bosch has an end of cycle alert.
Lastly, i now am replacing an older KitchenAid Superba that we cant abide by in our family rural cottage...its too noisy and even short cycle is way too long. I think the new fella will be the Asko with FOUR baskets...making capacity much more sensible for various events.

I am on my second Asko (top of line, more cycles than I really needed,) but would not have another. The washing ability is superior. I like it for its energy efficiency- never melts plastics and cleans everything. Its super quiet too.

I have had a mid-range Asko for a couple of months now. After figuring out the detergent/rinse aid needs, I am very happy with it.

I bought an Asko DB1675 dishwasher which had a second rack for bowls and spatulas etc. I thought the second rack was a great idea as our bowls never fit well in the Bosch.

It was expensive, appears to be well built, came with a 5 yr warranty BUT it is the worst for cleaning. I'm very sorry I bought it.

The second rack gets very little water (only comes out of a few little holes) A service tech told me not to put anything "dirty" there as it won't get clean. He was right. It also interferes with cleaning the first and upper rack. Dishwashers should clean "dirty" dishes. Isn't that the point!

I finally removed the entire second rack; it comes in two pieces. Having the second rack out helps a little bit but it unfortunately still does not clean well and I now get considerably less into the dishwasher.

It was a surprise to learn Asko is owned by SubZero/Wolf. After complaining to the store where I bought it, a woman from SubZero/Wolf called me to tell me how great it works and how I should run it, what detergent to use etc. All of her cereal bowls on that rack come out perfect. My experience is different. As soon as the Bosch I should have purchased is in stock, I'm going to replace the Asko. A rather expensive and PITA experience.

I would NOT recommend the Asko dishwasher, period.

Inga