In my opinion a convection oven is worth it. I never had one until about 5 years ago and in my opinion it really makes a difference. Where it's particularly noticeable is in roasting meats and poultry. Turkeys in particular come out fantastic - the meat is moist and juicy and the skin is brown and crispy - don't have to baste or cover it with foil or anything special. Also, good for baking - very even heat for doing things like multiple racks of cookies. Convection can be used for most things except things that require bottom heat like souffles or popovers. Overall, I think you'll be pleased if you get the convection oven.

Thank you, Weissman! If anyone else has thoughts, do share!!! Also, forgot to add that I am a vegetarian, although I do like to bake!

i think it's worth it. it's a nice feature to have when you need it, and when you don't need it, you can switch it off.

I definitely think the convection feature is worth it. As someone said above, superior roasting and very even baking. I also like the fact that when I'm preheating my oven in convection mode, the oven comes to an accurate temperature more quickly as the convection fan moves hot air around. An appliance repairman taught me that trick years ago and I use it for all preheating, even if I don't plan on actually baking in convection mode. I actually had the convection feature for years and never used it until this appliance repairman, who had previously worked in a bakery, encouraged me to use my oven to its full potential.

I'm on my third convection oven in twenty years. (None of them broke. Just preference re-models) They're OK, but no huge deal IMHO. I've always done a lot of baking and roasting. Much more important from my point of few is insulation and consistency of heat within the enclosure which, unfortunately, is almost impossible to evaluate other than by experience.

The higher-level ovens I tend to buy pretty much all come with it anyway, so having/not-having really hasn't been part of my buying decision. If it was a single-feature difference between two units that were identical otherwise, and that cost much more, I wouldn't pay it.

Wow -- thanks for the great response. I'm a little confused still, but this does help. From what I can tell, the only difference between the 2 models I am looking at (a Bosch) is the convection oven... and yes, the convection is more expensive :-( Am leaning toward the non-convection since it would be helpful to my budget. From what you all are saying, it sounds like a really nice feature, but not 100% necessary. Still deciding though... argh.

Just two more cents...depending on your own finances, I suppose.....

Throughout my buying-life, I've often taken the attitude that I would just go ahead and spring for additional features more or less on a lark. I've often found that I came to like them. If the differences are in the thousands, that's one thing. If it's only a hundred or two, I often just go ahead. Sometimes its been money wasted but often times I've been rewarded.

No matter what you do, you'll never come to a point of absolute certainty.

Do you like to bake cookies? Three sheets of cookies at a time in a convection oven.