We have been putting these in for years. I've never had anyone say they regret this microwave. In many cases, it ends up being one of their favorite things. Men tend to think they're cool.

I love mine so far, had it about a month. Only thing to be careful with is guests pushing it closed instead of using the close button. It can break that way. We got the Wolf transitional and it looks amazing.

I am going to be the dissenter here, but I admit the problem is my personality/lifestyle. I am always in a rush, and am impatient by nature. My friend has the MW drawer. I don‘t like the slow-open and slow-close. I want to pop open a MW, shove the coffee in to re-heat, then pop open the door and be on my way. OK, some of that is tongue-in-cheek, but not entirely...

Also, how do people find it to clean? Is it awkward to reach your hand in to the drawer to clean all the surfaces?

I don't have one but there are numerous threads here that have this topic. People love 'em but many others make a case as to what they don't like about them. I think of all the negative comments the one that stands out the most for me is that quite a few mentioned that theirs went dead after 3-5 yrs of use and because of their specific size of the hole in the cabinet that a replacement would have to go into, they were either limited to what was available or that they could not find another one that fit the same way. As the model they originally purchased was no longer available.

Since you have a small kitchen, I think you have to ask yourself is it worth giving up a drawer and would the features and size be of benefit vs going to a less fancy one that is smaller.

I don’t like my micro drawer. I only have one because there was no real space in our kitchen design for a built in wall unit.

What I don’t like....

Waiting for the drawer to open and close.

Not being able to see inside the oven to look at what’s happening with the food unless you bend well over 90 degrees at the waist. Sometimes you want to make sure your butter or whatever is not getting too soft and if it’s in anything other than a clear dish, you cannot see it because of the angle.

I’m only 5’2” and it feels too low.

It is impossible to clean the interior of the oven roof without getting on your hands and knees in order to clean it (unless you are COMPLETELY bent over ....like your head is actually upside down). And even then you need to be a contortionist to actually get your arm up in there and at the same time and actually see what you’re doing. It’s a ridiculous design. Seriously, go to a showroom that has one installed at the standard height and imagine yourself cleaning it.

The interior is pretty short. My nice travel mug does not fit in it. I’m glad I have an extra “normal” microwave in my pantry for taller items.

I use the thing every day and dislike it every day.

One thing to note..... someone mentioned that you can just slightly push the drawer in order to close it, but the manual cautions against doing this and states you should only do this in case of emergency. They advise tapping on the open/close pad in order to close it (Sharp microwave with tilt out controls).

I moved into a house last year that had a MW drawer and I love it. I had been planning one for our previous house's kitchen remodel (never happened since we moved), since there was very little counter space and also very little upper cabinet space. I agree with all of buehl's comments too.

The model I have was put in 3-4 years ago and is working fine. The model that the OP shows, with a tilt-out control panel, looks even easier to use.

M Miller, we use a cover so the microwave doesn't get too dirty. The sides and bottom are very easy to wipe clean. The "ceiling" is a little problematic but easier for me to reach it than it was to reach the top of the microwave that was over the wall oven in a *previous, previous house lol.

I like a “chest” level ( approximately ), that’s what mine is. I stayed at a friend’s house recently, hated her microwave drawer, just seemed awkward to me, but I’m tall. I would just rather have one on the countertop than that.

I certainly wouldn't deliberately get a $1000 microwave drawer because it doesn't nuke my food any better than my previous counter top model that cost about $100.

The reason I got one is simple - I have a small kitchen and I could either get one of the mediocre microwave/hood units; have a microwave on my limited counter top or get a microwave drawer.

Aside from aesthetics, a microwave mounted over my stove would not be ideal since I would be lifting stove above my eye level as I am about 5'4".

In an ideal world where I had a large kitchen, I would put a unit in a cubby with a pull out landing strip immediately below and be done.

However, my best solution was a microwave drawer located under the side opening oven (also installed for ergonomic functionality). I works fine and I think just like any appliance, reports of early death are over-reported on the internet since people with bad experiences tend to post versus those who are okay with their appliances.

I'm tall and I like my microwave drawer. It's not my favorite setup though. My preference is the microwave at eye level. Previous house had a wall oven with the microwave above it and that was great and worked perfectly for us. This house, we didn't have a wall space to put the microwave so we opted for a drawer. I've gotten used to the 'slowness' of the opening and closing. I do like that I can look down and stir without taking it out. Bottom and sides of the microwave area are super easy to clean. Cleaning the top is another story. Like Nidnay said, it requires hands and knees and a bit of contorting the body to wipe down the ceiling of the microwave. I don't clean ours that often (out of sight, out of mind) so not a huge deal.

In summary, I like it just fine. Not my favorite, but would do it again if counter or wall space limited the microwave position.

Not that anyone asked but I religiously cover any food cooked in my microwave and I don't have much to clean up anymore. Sometimes I use Saran Wrap; sometimes a paper plate but I also got one of those microwave covers

I always cover my food as well, but the problem is that covers don’t always work....especially with butter..... and chickpeas of all things...they explode. So, even with a cover on, the expolsion usually causes the cover to come off and then everything gets ALL over the oven. Of course this happens in all microwaves, but “normal” ovens are so much easier to clean.