IMO, Miele is a different class of company than BSH. BSH is notorious for its uncaring and ineffectual customer service. If you go with BSH, and something goes wrong with your fridge (and things do happen), you may very well find yourself regretting a decision to do business with BSH. Miele's customer service, in contrast, generally gest high marks, but more importantly, rarely gets low marks.

I believe you will find there are two LED (not halogen) lights on each side at each approximate shelf level. The lights are round so they look similar to halogens.

David

I meausred and compared the Miele and the Sub BI-48S took the Sub. Have had it for 3 weeks and it stores a ton of stuff. The Stuff that is held in the doors is amaxing I did not see that in the Miele. I have a Miele Induction and the Double Ovens so I'm not anti Miele just the design. You will also find if you add the energy use for the 30+18 Miele it will be 20-30% higher than the Sub BI-48S. Energy is not a big deal but I was amazed. The Sub 48S was 666 KWH/year. we installed the Inset design and the doors open enough to fully open the pull out shelves. The Sub was also about 25% less expensive but that was not the prime consideration.

I have the miele columns
positives - good light, relatively quiet with the exception of about every two hours there is a grinding motor noise that lasts for about 2 minutes and is driving my husband nuts. I have meile service coming to listen to it. The drawers are good size. At first I thought that they wouldn't be big enough but it really is deceptive they hold a lot. The deli shelf doesn't adjust. Once installed, which by the way took forever, the mechanics are all accessible from the front - no need to pull the machine away from the wall. The doors do open much greater than 90 degrees. I have the 36" refrigerator and the 30" freezer which would be too small for me if I didn't have a 2nd freezer in the garage. At thanksgiving I had a 16lb turkey, 6 bottles of pop,, gallon of milk, 1/2 gallon OJ, quart of half and half, Britta water filter water pitcher with room to spare on the first shelf. Shelves are easy to adjust. Looks very nice on the wall.
Negatives $$$ very expensive, shelves are high for me - I feel like I need a stool every time I open the door, the door doesn't swing shut - you have to close it. That may be something that can be adjusted and I plan to ask the Miele tech when he comes. Ice container is SMALL, intermittant grinding noise which may be the ice maker - otherwise almost silent. Cannot put a gallon jug on the door shelf,$$$ did I mention it is expensive
Overall: I'm happier now than when I first had it installed because I've learned how to use it efficiently

CORRECTION on the above post. I have the 18" freezer and the 30" refrigerator. I must have had a brain freeze this morning when I posted.

Thanks for all the comments!!

Re price, the models I'm looking at are comparable to SubZero and Gaggenau.

Turns out there's a new Miele showroom, so I went there today, but they didn't have the 30" freezer. What I did learn (as those of you who have them know) is that the fridge door holders come out of their rims like the wire ones in the freezer do. Also, that the shelves (the rims) remove by sliding them to the top. This rail system is very secure, but that's why the pieces come out--so you can clean easily without removing all of them.

Tommy, thanks for the custserv review!

Thanks, Lucypwd, for the answer about the deli drawer. I've been very confused about that. The "floating" drawer seems to be in the 36" over under, where it's small and slides back and forth under a shelf.

David, I don't know of my own experience, but all of the literature calls the lights halogens, and the guy at the showroom called them "appliance halogens". Maybe they really are LEDs, but that's not what they say.

I also found out that the columns are identical in every size, just wider.

Has anyone seen the 30" freezer? Does the icemaker extend all the way across? Or is there some kind of storage next to it?

Canuck, I guess you might not have had your SZ for long enough to really know, but have you noticed the ethylene filter working?

One more good I learned is that, according to the rep, the kit for installing the units next to each other is a heat shield, and works no matter which direction they open. (SZ have to open armoire style.)

They also told me that having a Miele certified installer do the installation doubles the warranty.

Re construction, the rep said that while the box, compressors, and other big parts are made in the Turkay plant, the electronics are made by Miele in Germany. He said that they spent 7 years developing the American style refrigerators. That sounds like so much marketing but is probably pretty true.

I'm pretty convinced to go with the 30" and 30". I can stand dealing with the kind of issues Lucy is having, if necessary (I was in the showroom for the better part of an hour, and they had three fridges and two freezers running, and all were practically silent, so I'm hoping your tech can fix yours). And I like the sizes and fitments better than on any other units I've seen.

More comments are surely welcome. :)

Air Filter....Can not tell on the filter. I did research the concept and found it used in the flower industry and I know what Ethylene gas is and the issue is real. I do have 3 broccli heads and about 20-30 brussel sprouts in the fridge area for 11 days (On sale) and yes I have eaten about 1/3 of what I originally purchased. Feels and looks the same as the day I purchased them. The fresh guide indicates 1-2 weeks for Broccoli and 3-6 weeks for cabbage. OK I will eat the broccoli first.

As noted above the Miele 18+30 did not feel or measure as big as the Sub and was 30% more expensive and 15-20% less efficient.

DH picked the Miele over the Sub just because of the way Miele stands behind their products and for no other reason. I couldn't believe it as he is definitely the penny pincher in this family and the Miele was WAY more than the SUB.

Ours will be delivered as soon as the cabinet guy has the panels ready and then I'll be happy to provide feedback.

We're getting the 36" fridge and 36" freezer.