Check ut Liebherr. It is a great alternative to SZ and costs less. Search it on this site and you won't find one negative comment. I recently ordered the 30inch counter depth.

I love the Thermador Freedom series -- another choice that fully integrates (being flush with the cabinets should also help avoid some of the wheelchair issues better than one that sticks out beyond them). Also, you are not limited to cabinet panels with the Thermador. You can have panels made in many materials -- even granite or stone, I am told -- although I have never seen it done.

I love the fact that there is no overhead grille and the function and organization of the interior spaces. Some folks are having issues with getting them installed reasonably, but they are a great product.

Not for everyone and there is no freezer but the quality is impeccable and it is built with commercial components and since the compressor is remote from the fridge, it runs cooler and the kitchen is absolutely silent.

My primary fridge and freezer are Perlick drawers under my island Bluestar 60" rangetop which offers the unrivaled convenience of having of having my most used ingredients where I am using them. The Klondike can hold nine gallons of milk on a single shelf and is used for refrigerating leftovers in pans/dishes etc as well as beverages where you want strength and space. I don't believe plastic shelving belongs in a fridge and this is what initially attracted me to this besides the beautiful woodwork. This unit is the proverbial brick outhouse and I love it.

The Klondike and Perlick drawers hybrid solution worked best in my situation. Similarly, I have F&P dishwasher drawers flanking either side of my main sink and a Bosch Integra 800 for party cleanup etc since hybrid solutions offer the flexibility and convenience I need.

I grew with the integrated side by side freezer/fridge and while the integrated nature of it was nice, the reliability could have been better and the design suffered from use of plastic in the door which I consider a design flaw. Quite simply, given enough and wear, they break, crack and can't hold the same weight. In addition, having all my refridgerative capacity in one unit was a problem since in my mind once you get beyond a certain size kitchen, the kitchen triangle concept gets long in the tooth and is no longer relevant. Designing kitchens around stations makes more sent to me in all but the most constrained kitchens. This makes the idea of concentrating a function in a monolithic form factor outdated to me. Some food for thought...

Here is a link that might be useful: Klondike Fridge

Any comments on the new Bosch Integra refrigeration?

We are considering it as an alternative to the Sub-Zero 700 series. Also, how does the Thermador Freedom compare to the Bosch Integra and Sub-Zero 700 options? We want something built-in with custom panels, but Sub-Zero definitely exceeds our budget.

We are considering the 30" fridge & 24" freezer... P.S. We hate exposed grills- definitely want everything concealed! :)

The Bosch column is mechanically identical to the other columns, all sold by BSH divisions (Bosch, Thermador, Gaggenau). Interestingly, the new Miele columns that are theoretically going to be available this summer are also the same basic unit. There are modest differences between the units. Some of them include:

Bosch: least expensive. white plastic shelving, no motorized top shelf.

Thermadors: Upgraded shelving, motorized top shelf (theoretically to compensate for height of the shelf--it's higher because the columns have compressors under, rather than on top of the units).

Gaggs: Stainless steel interior

Mieles: a number of added features reportedly, most notably WiFi capability allowing remote monitoring.

IMHO, the roughly 50% higher price for the Mieles, plus the track record of delayed releases makes them a tough sell.

Versus the 700 series SZ's: for us at least the lack of flexible sizing was the deal killer. They are only available in 27'' width, which gave us more freezer and less fridge than we wanted. Plus the price of course.

There is the new BI series of SZ's due sometime (depends on who you talk to: this summer, this fall, next January???). They are a replacement for the 600 series "built-ins" which as you've realized have the exposed grill. They look promising but again, uncertain release date was the killer for us, as we start demo Monday.