The SZ was too expensive for me with all the negative reviews. I forget what I thought about the Bosch. The Liebherr does have exposed ventilation in the toe kick, gasp, but that's fine for my application. It seems to have pretty good reviews, though there's a kerfuffle now on Appliances from someone who never heard of expensive appliances needing early service before. One thing I liked in particular is the fact that it's designed to play nice in a corner, because you don't need to open the doors past 90 degrees to remove the drawers. Wish me luck.

A few years ago I looked at all of them and decided on the Bosch 36" single door. At the time, it was identical to the Thermador Freedom and the Miele sameshapething except for trim level and silly stuff I wasn't interested in. It had better gallon storage. Badge engineering is what we called it in Detroit. I don't know if they are different now.

I'd looked at the integrated Liebherr and SZ as well. I couldn't reach the top of any of the integrated models except the SZ which didn't hold enough and didn't like the looks of the SZ "built in" when paneled (vs the gorgeous but lower-capacity integrated model).

So I didn't get any of them. But new remodel, so I'll have to look again. Interested in the responses (but for me the deciding feature is probably going to be if I can reach everything).

Every time I clean my temporary fridge, I'm impressed with all the little features it has that are easily forgotten. But it's a fatty and has no place in an overstuffed galley. It'll be 13 in March.

As you three well know, I adore my now almost 5-yr-old 30" Liebherr. Pal, what's your concern with the way the Liebherr shelves are attached on the sides? One thing I really like about the open shelving brackets is the ability to put a half shelf wherever I want. But is this significantly different from the way the other models do it?

Only difference for us Usians to get used to is the presence of actual moisture at the inside back -- the reason produce stays fresh so long, I ween -- and the importance of cleaning out the little weep hole occasionally, lest some octogenarian broccoli clog it up and cause drippage onto the bottom shelf.

Besides all that, here's the really important thing: how many other fridges on the market have a label for your Venison and Pretzels on the appropriate freezer drawers?

In the other two the sides and back are perfectly flat and the shelfs are cantilevered by hooking into recessed slots. It just seems "cleaner" that way.

Have a brand-y new Liebherr 36" FD (CS2062) installed in my *still* unfinished kitchen. In fact, it's the only appliance presently installed. It's been up and running about 3 weeks now. I love it. Being rather 'vertically challenged' myself (5'4") I, too, was afraid of needing a step stool to reach the ketchup and mustard on the top shelf. I lowered the shelf to the 2nd placement and have no problem reaching anything. I really like the 1-piece shelves rather than the cantilevered ones I've always had in the past. I always kept them "even" anyway. Just throwing in my 2 cents. Good luck in your search.

Oh, circus! You sent me to the OED with "I ween." There, in addition to the 9th century OE references, I learn that:

The word seems to have gone out of general use in the 17th cent. It has survived as an archaism, especially in the parenthetic formula illustrated in 1h.

...

1h. used parenthetically (esp. in 'I ween') rather than as governing the sentence.

As one of many examples, they cite:

1835 E. Bulwer-Lytton Rienzi I. i. v. 86 And never, I ween well, had she greater need of true friends than now.

[Note that Edward Bulwer-Lytton (from Wikipedia) 'coined the phrases "the great unwashed", "pursuit of the almighty dollar", "the pen is mightier than the sword", as well as the famous opening line "It was a dark and stormy night".']

Ah, the shelves arent split, they are just attached and cantilevered from the back in the S-Z and Bosch. I don't much care for the split shelves myself, at least in the current GE Profile in the rental.

I am used to the quirks of high-end appliances: the salt reservoir in my former Miele DW, the condensing grid that had to be removed and cleaned in my former Asko Condensing Dryer. The appliance place that I go to the different sales people say that they like the Bosch and various Liebherrs but "they aren't Sub-Zeros fit and finish wise". I am not so sure. Of course they make more commission on S-Zs, I am sure, but my local dealer sells Mostly by Size. They sell a Lot of smaller appliances and there is very little middle range in small-sized appliances, you are buying either mostly top of the line or rental grade, with few choices in between.

So, I don't know that their bias is purely financial, because you could end up buying Avanti or Danby for a fraction of the price, rather than paying a lot for something that's "not Sub-Zero".

From Wikipedia:
Ween was an American experimental rock band. They formed in 1984 in New Hope, Pennsylvania when central members Aaron Freeman (Gene Ween) and Mickey Melchiondo (Dean Ween) met in an eighth grade typing class. Ween has a large cult underground fanbase despite being less known in American pop music. The band's style is eclectic, and while they could generally be referred to as rock music, one of their defining tendencies has been experimentation with various styles incorporating a strong element of humor and absurdity. Both Gene and Dean are skilled multi-instrumentalists who overdubbed various instruments on their recordings, though they also record with the regular touring band. Gene is normally the lead vocalist and Dean the lead guitarist. Lead singer Freeman announced to Rolling Stone on May 29, 2012 that he was "retiring Gene Ween", and a few days later, Ween's manager, Greg Frey, told fans on Facebook that Freeman had decided to "end his musical relationship with Ween," in order to "more fully explore and pursue his solo career".

Sorry. Back to our regularly-scheduled programming.

we have a 48" Liebherr and love it. I'm short too (5'4"), but I just let my 6'4" husband use the top shelves :) we have the Biofresh drawers and they are wonderful. they truly extend the life of produce.

I had the 30" Liebherr freestanding with bottom mount freezer for 1-1/2 years and loved it -- quiet, steady and a great freezer with the drawers. It held a lot for an apartment fridge and the freezer kept DH's ice cream in a perfect state. The shelves were a non issue when everything goes in. It was installed to look freestanding right up against a wall and the 0 clearance thing was a lifesaver because there were no strips required on the wall side. The drawers were a bit tricky to remove for cleaning but they did come out with no issues re the door. I just had to be careful about jamming them on the door because of the installation. The lighting was excellent.

Food stayed really fresh for a very long time and it was completely quiet. Blissfully so. The only nuisance was the drain that needed to be cleaned out from time to time with Q tips but that may have been due to really bad quality water from old building pipes.

My girlfriend has the 36" French door, installed mid-year last year and has issues. First ice maker then something else. Hers is built in and completely behind wood panels and looks fabulous. But also looks like it will be replaced (though her fridge has been really jinxed in this kitchen -- this is the 4th or 5th one that hasn't been quite right). Marthavila has the same model with 0 issues and adores it.

DD has always had SZs and loves them. Now has a Miele 36" bottom mount but says she still prefers the SZ. I've been in and out of all her SZs in the various houses and the only difference I found between those and the Liebherr was that they were slightly noisier and more heavy duty-looking inside. But I don't feel the beefy insides make all that much difference with the fridge if, ultimately, the function is equivalent for less investment.

When my Viking 36" fridge goes (and it will) I plan to replace it with Liebherr based on previous experience.