My issue with the Miele (we're buying the Optima which has the same bottom rack configuration as the Excella) is not the diameter of the plates, but their depth. I called Miele and they ahve a large plate holder which can address the larger diameter issue (not sure if 11" is a problem or not), but not the greater depth.

Our solution: my DH went out and got new plates. (Not my taste, but that's another story). Of course, our investment dollar wise into our existing plates was not large, but I really liked them. Oh well...

Picklenose: what size plates did your hubby get that met the depth requirements for the Miele? Can't believe another detail to be obsessive over!

I would say that most normal plates would meet the requirement for depth. I had some handpainted ceramic plates that were fairly deep and very heavy.

He just wanted to pick plates that would not chip and could be used in the MW, DW, etc. So he picked up stuff that I would never have chosen.

I would suggest taking your existing plates to a dealer and putting them in the bottom. (Again Optima is the same configuration, so you could test with that.) Or if that's not possible, call Miele and ask them. Measure the diameter, and the depth and see what they say.

They've been most patient with me, even answering my stupidest questions, such as "do the ovens in all black look okay".

Just to give yourself peace of mind.

We have two Miele DW's: an old G541 and the new Optima.

We have two sets of every day dishes. One set is 11" square 12" on the diagonal and the other set is 11" round. Both fit fine in both dw's.

I can wash a full service for 12 with serving pieces in either DW and love them both. I especially love how easy it is to reconfigure them to hold whatever I need to wash.

I just adjust the middle rack up slightly to take larger plates.

My older model Miele (a Touchtronic Ultra) has small but clever feature that seems to have been dropped from the newest models: there is a small extension on the front left side of the upper rack that sticks down about three inches. When you pull out the lower rack and fill it with plates then slide the rack back into the dishwasher, the plates must clear that little extension. If they strike the extension and you can't push the lower rack in, that means the plates would block the upper spray arm. That lest you know right away that you need to adjust the upper rack.

From the pictures on the Miele website, it looks like they've eliminated that. Wonder why?

I've got the Optima and 11 1/4" plates. They fit if the uppper rack is not on the lowest of it's 3 settings.

Thank you all for explaining away the concern. Raising the upper rack seems the most logical thing to do. When I get back to the states in Dec/Jan we will be racing around trying to finalize these little details. We'll stick with Miele!

According to the Miele brochure they offer a plate insert that will allow plates of up to 13 3/4 inches. This insert is used in place of one of the inserts in the lower rack, so you can't use it if you are getting a model that does not come with a lower rack that can use inserts.

I have two of them but so far have never used them.

Also if you are going to the store to try out your plates here is a hint. When the lower rack is pulled out into the door it's height is slightly higher than when it is in the machine, so when trying your plates to see if they fit make sure you push all of the racks Into the machine and then take a look and spin the center wash warm to see if it clears

My beautiful Royal Doulton -Gordon Ramsay white dinner plates do not fit into the meile dishwasher - height wise okay - they just won’t stand - and knock about - they are average plates - all other dishwashers I have owned never had this issuse - so VERY Dissapointed - not worth the money i spent .

I thought the same thing with our Miele dishwasher and stacked my dishes backwards at an angle, but then I read the manual and discovered I could raise the top rack. Now my dishes fit fine.

Sorry - as stated above - height is not an issue - the dinner plates simply do not stand up - rather fall over - this did not happen in my prevous homes - with Jenair / Kitchen Aide and Sears Kenmore … perhaps sn engineer could help with this design flaw