waanaknow2, what a well thought out and informative answer!

wannaknow2, incredibly thorough response. And even handed. Well done! Good to see someone else did more than just a bit of homework when researching and comparing appliances : )

Thank you so, so much!! I decided on the bosche! I think you can't go wrong with either, but the flex zone and the smaller right front hub won me over.

Sounds great! When you get it in, please let us know how you love it!

You're definitely going to love the ease in cleaning the top and how fast your water will boil.

I had read that ovens (maybe it was convection?) take longer now-a-days to reach temperature. I figured I'd have to add 1/2 hour to any time when using the oven. I was thrilled to see that it didn't take anything like that to reach full temperature. I can't say for sure how long, but about 9 minutes to get to 375, and less than 15 minutes to get to 450. I wish the temperature would register continuously so you know what how much lost when you open the door. I'm not sure any manufacturer does that.

We've taken to measuring water in the mug we'll be using so there is little to no waste after it is poured. You can put the water up, put some instant coffee and sugar in the mug and at that point the water is just about done, at least on the 2500w elements that we use most. Very cool!

Enjoy!

I have a thermometer in my oven to show how quickly the oven really reaches temp. It takes longer than the oven indicates. It also shows how much heat I lose when I open the oven. Super cheap, under $6 at Target.

I heat the water for my coffee on my induction stovetop. Works super fast.

That's kind, Waverly and 2ManyDiversions. I had to know for myself, after that it was just a matter of sharing, most of which I felt was out there (after all, I found it by searching and reading, but maybe condensed some into one place).

When I was researching, Bosch called its synchronized burners "flexinduction" but now they call it "flexzone" and the features seem different. Does anyone know when they updated their range? Does anyone have the flexzone yet? I'm hoping you can tell us about it, and what you think. It looks to me like the flexinduction joins two elements whereas the flexzone actually gives you more "zones" in the area. Thanks!

It's really nice to have it all laid out like you posted. Thank you!

Wannaknow, I couldn't answer as we don't have ours yet (Benchmark® 30" Induction Slide-in Range, HIIP055U) but are you sure they are 2 different things? I see on Bosch's site they refer to the Flexinduction as being cooking zones. The Benchmark model has the flexinduction, but the area is referred to as the flexzone on a couple websites I just found.

...or am I just completely wrong?

2ManyDiversions, I just am not sure. I thought the term "flexzone" is new terminology, not found in the older references. I just did a quick search for the differences between the two words, and found only one thing: The new Bosch FlexZone is up to 20% larger, with space for {cookware} up to 24cm wide. I don't see when this was written; it is from a company, Oxfordhouse, in Malta, and I don't know if that pertains to American models.

I think I misspoke in limiting the flex portion to larger cookware, you can also put 3 fairly small pots into the area and have each recognized independently.

I was curious and just called Bosch. The rep asked me where I had seen 'flexzone' and I couldn't find it on their website. They call it flexinduction or cooking zones, as you've already noted. She didn't know how long it has been, but at some point Bosch has changed the flex area from two to four zones. You could use any you want, or if you had a large enough pot, then all four at once. There is a higher end brand that lets you put the cookware anywhere on the cooktop, the Bosch flexible use of the four zones seems to be a nice and more affordable intermediary feature.