Thank you so much for your response and shared wisdom. Does your convection microwave broil? I assume not. It is encouraging to hear of your happiness with the Sharp. I had it narrowed down to a Miele or Bosch speed oven but it sounds like I may need to look more into a convection microwave. Where is the heating element in your convection microwave?

I have the Miele speed oven and it operates as a micro and as a regular oven plus you can combine the two if you wish for the speed mode. Miele has all the regular oven features including a non convection bake plus a broiler. I use it often as a 2nd or 3rd oven. It is a nice oven but it is pricey but I have found it worth the splurge. It won't toast but will top brown.

Out of curiosity what led you to purchase the Miele over a Bosch or other model?

At one point I was going Bosch. I was then leaning towards Wolf and their new M series oven. At the time they had the larger capacity Combi Steam. I went with Miele Wall oven that had the burst of steam and I liked their combi steam oven better than Wolf's as Miele just came out with their larger capacity. Thermador/Bosch's CSO was quite a bit smaller in capacity and I didn't like that the water reservoir had to be filled with the door open. In looking at features/reviews/this forum I decided Miele was worth the extra $$ as this is the last kitchen I planned to build. The speed oven for me was an upgrade over doing a microwave.

Replaced a counter toaster and MW with Miele speed oven, it is a great small oven and good MW but not for toast, so I have a separate popup toaster in a drawer when actually need toast.

Heating element is behind fan as in a true convection oven. Does not broil in the traditional sense of an overhead/food heat source. Even it there was one like that I'm not sure how having the food and heating element that close would work and how easy it would be to keep clean. I use the Capital oven broiler not unlike a salamander from my restaurant days for regular and finish broiling.

I have a toaster oven that has a broiling element in the top that works pretty well. From my reading on both the Bosch and the Miele speed overs, it looked like they both had 3 different elements: the convection heating element, a broiling element in the top of the oven, and a baking element at the bottom of the oven. Is this incorrect? My impression is based upon the diagrams in the manuals that I downloaded from their websites.

Miele has all the heating elements of a wall convection oven including a separate broiler. It is not as strong as my 30" but it works fine for my needs. I have not looked at Bosch. The miele speed oven has all the oven baking modes as my 30" wall oven except the steam assist. I use it more as a regular oven than a microwave as it is small and heats up quickly.

Which user interface do you have? We expect that we'll mostly use our SpeedOven as a microwave to heat up drinks for the kids. We'll have a CSO and a full-size range, if we need other ovens. As such, we have decided on the lowest-end control knobs.

My hope here is that the traditional knobs are going to be easier to use for the kids than the M-Touch or Sensortronic interfaces. When I tried these two in the store, they seemed a lot more difficult for simple tasks such as "heat this glass of milk for 40s".

The downside is that the model with the knobs appears to have fewer heating elements. As far as I can tell, it doesn't have a "surround" heating mode. I suspect, we won't miss that, as we'll have the two other ovens. But I'd certainly appreciate your input.

I have the M Touch Interface - same as my 30" wall and CSO. I agree getting to the MW can be more steps than desired but I use the minute button almost 100% of the time. If I need 40 seconds just let it count down to 20 and turn off. I don't use the MW frequently - mainly for heating liquids for bread making or heating a small amount of food. I have been surprised how frequently I use my speed oven as a regular oven to "dry" bake/roast a dish while doing another in the CSO using the combi steam or steam mode. Since I cook mainly for two during the week - I rarely use my 30" wall oven. I am sure you will be fine with the lower end model. It all depends on your preference, how you wil use your ovens, and what you want to spend. At a glance it appears the largest missing functionality is a surround/bake and the pre-programmed modes. It will function as a convection oven and has a broiler.

I am struggling with this decision too. We heavily use our microwave and love our Breville toaster oven...

Tarnator -- no struggle, just a coming to grips with what you already know: You use your microwave heavily, so a much less expensive freestanding unit is going to have the magnatron degrade at the same rate as the fancy speed oven's (or built in microwave's), but it will be a much easier replacement when the time comes. You "love our Breville toaster oven". If you love it, why replace it? If you want it off the counter, build in a niche with plenty of clearance for ventilation.

I'm all for spending on good appliances if they'll make your cooking more fun or easier or pleasant, but giving up on good appliances just to spend more and get a "look" isn't worth it for most people. If the look is that important to you, you also have your answer. But if you're going to be dragging in the Breville from your RV or attic, why push it out in the first place?

I have had a KitchenAid MW/convection oven for 13 years. Pretty much we use for heating things up that need to be crispy again, much like a toaster oven. I would not use it to broil or cook meat -- the mess and cleaning the interior of the oven would never be worth it! Mine is not a speed oven.

pillog - absolutely true. In theory we shouldn't replace either of these cheap options. But we are building a brand new house in an expensive neighborhood where everyone puts in high end appliances. Our ratty little toaster oven will look super out of place, so we want to make sure that the house will appeal to a future buyers. If there is something that would also work for us, then bonus!

So, make a niche(s) with the proper electric service and size to have a built-in put in if you really need it to sell (but I bet you won't)--if you're planning to sell within three years, get the built-ins already, but otherwise, they're going to be just so many used appliances. If yours are truly ratty, you can buy new versions of each.

If you WANT a speed oven, and intend to use it as such, that's another story. Go for it! Read through the manuals, etc. But I think you'll find that it's not at all the same thing as your Breville toaster oven. You can use the convection oven settings on a speed oven to perform some of the same functions, but it's a real oven, with limitations, not a toaster that tap dances.

I sometimes use my speed oven the way others use a toaster oven--mainly for heating up frozen appetizers or reheating casseroles when other ovens are full, but my old (dead) toaster oven was beloved for making great toast, which a speed oven isn't, and not for other uses. I do zap sandwiches on MW mode, and once in awhile lightly defrost or melt, but if I used a microwave more, I wouldn't have such an expensive machine doing it.

I agree with putting enough thought into a remodel that it won't limit resale, because you never know what the future will bring--thus make sure there's place for built-ins to be built into--but unless it's a flip, it should be designed for your own use and enjoyment, and you used the key words "heavily use" and "love".

I have the Miele speed oven with the knobs. They don't make it simpler to use. They aren't real mechanical knobs--they're knobs operating an electronic interface and not that cool. I don't know if the other models have better controls. That said, it's a nice little oven. Preheats quickly, bakes evenly, and has a real broiler element. I use it often for baking, rarely for "speed" functions.

I have put away my toaster oven but added a toaster. Still have a microwave. Oh, if your microwave gets as messy as mine does, you don't wanna be doing that in a speed oven. They don't clean that easily...

And if we're talking about future proofing, my 24" speed oven is in a cabinet that can handle a 30" replacement. :)

The m-touch controls on the Miele are fine if you are comfortable with technology and easily use things like remote controls, ipads, iphones, computers, etc. If you feel like you need to take a class to use your iphone, then you probably want to look elsewhere. For me, it was obvious how to do everything (except change the minute+ button to 30 seconds, if there is a way to do that I can't figure it out). My parents and father-in-law (all late 60's, early 70's) will struggle with it for sure. I'll probably just bring out the countertop MW we used in our temp kitchen when they stay with us for extended periods of time.

MW covers do wonders for keeping MWs clean.

Bought my first micro in 1982...and it was a large countertop micro-convection that would cook a good size turkey in about 2 hours, crispy skin and moist inside. When I gutted my kitchen 10 years ago I installed a Miele microconvection and loved it. Great for baking (breads, cookies, cakes)reheating, roasting chicken ( not big enough for turkey) broiling etc.I never burned a broiled item like garlic bread since it was installed at eye level and had a light. Got rid of toasteroven but bought a toaster. Now in a house with only one oven..I am lost. No Miele service techs where I am now but still may install one...nothing else seems to fit the bill.

This has been a good thread.

We currently have a toaster that works fine, a microwave that is old, and dual 30" wall ovens. We cook a lot.

With getting solar, we now have energy usage information, and can see exactly how much electricity the ovens take!

I would like to replace our old microwave with a microwave/toaster oven combo. we don't use the microwave much--mostly for reheating food and liquid.

I really would like a small oven for heating up slices of pizza, morning muffins or rolls, and other items that you want cripy. I can see if it works well, using it for more baking if we don't need to heat the big ovens.

Sounds like there are ovens today that work okay as microwaves, but can also work as small counter-top ovens. How hot do they get on the outside? How much clearance do they require? Do i have the right use case for these machines?

How hot do they get on
the outside?

Warm, have never noticed any issues: mine is sunk in a shelf mount flush with the door and outside so sides are enclosed. Have never noticed any cabinet discoloration and that's over two kitchens with very similar installs.

How much clearance do they require?

Sharp wanted a little more than the following; I went with the custom cabinet company's recommendations and they were right: top and sides have 1 3/4" total (cavity is larger than opening) and outside is about 3/4" on all sides between frame and micro. Made for a tighter/builtin look.

Do i have the right
use case for these machines?

Yup. Seems so to me. That's largely how we use ours.