I use cabinet pulls on paneled dishwasher all the time.
Now I pretty much only put in European DW's- don't know if the others are tougher to pull. IF it is tough to open OR using a softer wood like Alder then you can add a small metal plate behind the panel.
I've never had a problem, my own DW is cherry panel with top knobs pulls and been there for 9 yrs or so.

I used a cabinet pull on my giant pull out pantry - not sure about DW.

We used 12" handles on our DW, trash cab (with foot pedal opener), and the over-the-fridge cab door. They work well for us.

A larger pull isn't going to magically make it easier to open a dishwasher :)

If your hand fits comfortably, a 6" pull is no different than an 8" pull. Only other difference might be the circumference of the grip - a larger grip will be more comfortable than a thin one.

But that being said, it takes next to no effort to open a dishwasher. So get the pull that looks right.

I have a typical-sized cabinet pull on my DW. I considered a longer one, but had the same hesitation about price (I'm on a low budget here), and then the pulls I chose didn't come wider anyway. We've had them on for a few months, no problem at all.

I have a 6" cabinet pull and it is fine. I would not go with a knob. Had that on the old one and it was too much weight for one screw.

My d/w has an 8" cabinet pull from RH. I've had no problems given the fact that it's technically not an "appliance pull"...not sure if that helps.

That's great news, and thanks to all of you. The 6" handle is comfortable, looks fine on the DW, and would match the rest of the cabinets. I just thought that maybe because the appliance pull is so crazy expensive it's also 10 x better, or maybe runs the DW by itself by a hidden sensor ;)
As long as I don't have to worry about it pulling out of the cabinet I'm happy to save the money.