I’m also interested to hear what people have to say about this - seem to be way more available options for 30” ranges

I’m on the same hunt. Sigh. Tweaking a kitchen for a young couple on a budget. There is nothing affordable for them.

I had the 48” Aga induction and absolutely hated it. The lack of technology made it fairly dangerous - you couldn’t tell when an oven was on once it finished the preheat phase. It was also hard to tell when the cooktop was on. I have a Bosch Benchmark 30” now and it’s fine. My sister has the 36” Wolf Induction and she is happy with it.

Cjammer, interested to hear you hated the Aga induction. I hear you about the lack of technology ( when nowadays , many ovens have an app to control then and so on. ) I’m curious as to the issue of not knowing if the oven is on. The one light turns off after preheating but the light above the other knob stays lit the whole time.
It would be nice to have a clock or timer but I have gotten used too using my phon. Also I have to keep looking up what the little icons mean but if I used the ovens more, I’d be familiar with it.
I’m trying to use the ovens more. I think the cooktop is absolutely outstanding and so far, the ovens do a really good job.
And it is sooooo beautiful

Waverly, we got a lot of error codes with the cooktop (EE) so it was frustrating. And it wasn’t our first induction appliance. I was disappointed because I wanted to love it. Maybe ours was a lemon. Once it was preheated, there was no light on. We had to manually check to see if it was on or off. I am not one for apps, but for me, the Aga needed a little more technology. Our current Bosch Benchmark is too sensitive with the front keypad, the dog has turned on the self clean feature with his beard. We have to keep the panel locked at all times now.

Very strange and interesting that the issues were not taken care of by service.
My cats were jumping onto the electric glass cooktop in my other house so that was one of the prime reasons I went with induction We have to design our homes around our pets !!!!

The fact is this: 30" ranges are the sweet spot of the range market: competition among manufacturers is the fiercest, features are most available, performance is comparable, and prices are lowest. The least expensive 36" induction range on Appliances Connection is the Verona VDFSIE365SS at $5000. One can pick up a 30" Frigidaire FGIH3047VF for $1500 and a freestanding model for even less.

Waverly and Cjammer - thanks for sharing your experiences! I’ve also been thinking about sensitivity of the controls and figured that may weigh in favor of knobs.

Wdccruise - thanks for this insight. Do you see a significant difference in technology/performance between any of these brands? It’s surprising that performance would be meaningfully better in 30” vs 36” models - would have thought comparable.

"It’s surprising that performance would be meaningfully better in 30” vs 36” models - would have thought comparable."

I think comparable is more appropriate (fixed). But note that the power and sizes of induction elements are often the same among 30" models and 36" models (check the specs) so by buying something considerably more expensive you may be just buying a range whose elements are just more spread out.

Got it - thanks for explaining. Food for thought! Anyone have insights on Fisher & Paykel induction ranges?

We are planning to replace an existing 36" gas range in our kitchen with an induction range. Looked at our local appliance store last weekend and were dismayed at lack of choices compared to 30" ranges.

They had Fisher & Paykel, Bertazzoni, and Wolf models on the floor. I really liked the F&P easy glide racks and the knob layout. In comparison, the Bertazzoni racks were clunky and the knobs were not as user friendly (burner location pictures were under the knobs so you had to bend over to see which knob went with which burner).

It was not obvious what the extra $2-5k that the Wolf costs would get us.

We haven't decided, so I'll be following this thread closely :)

OP, if you have a choice, go 30” by all means. wdcruise is completely correct.

Is a cooktop-oven combo not a possibility in your design? Much cheaper, more desirable, and more functional. In my case, I am helping some young family members replace a 50+ year old GE 36” monstrosity that burns everything. The kitchen is 1960’s original birch plywood and they love everything but the 36” range. So, yeah. I am looking for something I would never ordinarily purchase. In the end, the kids will likely have to try to patch the cabinets and install a 30”.

We have had Bosch 36" for 5+ years and love it. It still looks great after heavy use.

@Jubilante "We have had Bosch 36" for 5+ years and love it."

Bosch does not offer a 36" induction range.

Thanks, all, for your thoughts!

Swampthing - good luck with your shopping; we are of a similar mind on these options!

MizLizzie - thanks for the advice. Looking more into 30" too, hoping to avoid having to figure out separate cooktop + oven that work together and further tweaks to kitchen layout (our appliance (in)decision is holding up our cabinet order...sigh).

Moosemac - glad you are loving your Bertazonni! I was very interested but got scared off by one too many complaints on here about issues and difficulty getting service. You are adding a good new data point :)

moosemac, good to know. Can you share your model number?? TIA