How about I have a 48 and it is too big? Which is the truth. For going on 13 years in 2 houses.

The 48 is there for mostly visual appeal. Sure - the large surface is helpful sometimes. But it also means that it is a longer reach for things. Want a frying pan - it is on one end of the range. What if you want it on the opposite end? Need some garlic - that is on the right side. But I want it on the left. Salt shaker, oils etc etc. Behind you - that is probably a sink/DW/trash. Doesn't matter the setup, a larger range makes things you need further away.

Admit that the best thing for cooking is a 36 inch cooktop and that you are getting a range because it looks good/cool/impressive. Then realize that the vast majority of people get by with a 36 inch or less. So a 60 inch range is on the large side for practicality for a residential kitchen.

It depends upon how YOU cook.

If you are basing your kitchen design on aesthetics, there is an appliance salesman just waiting for you.

How often do you have eight pots going at once? I cook a lot, and in quantity. I've only rarely wanted a bigger cooktop than the 36" (4 burner) range I have. (but I have often wanted more oven space).

It really depends on how you cook, how many cooks are in the house, the space available, and your budget. I just looked at the Wolf 60" ranges, and all of them offer 6 burners, with options for charbroilers, infrared griddles and French tops. All offer 2 approximately 30" ovens. So what you're getting over a 6-burner 36" range are the different cooktops and an extra oven. Only you can determine if that is worth the extra space and cost.

As for the 48" ranges, there's more flexibility. They offer 4, 6 or 8 burners and varying grilles/griddles, broilers, and French top. There is one small and one larger oven.

I have a 6-burner range top and wall ovens, which suits my cooking style just fine. But we are empty-nesters who entertain mostly on the holidays, and not for very large groups.

We were looking at 48" or 36" and decided that the everyday convenience of more countertop and cabinet space far outweighed the occasional need for the extra burners/griddle.

FWIW, the term 'range' is believed to come from medieval castle/manor cook zones where there were a swath of hearths to deal with cooking the various menu items at the same time.

From a HVAC point of view, please note that no matter the number of burners operating at once, the required air flow into the hood is driven by the highest velocity cooking plume. Because we can't tailor the hood aperture to what is being cooked and larger cooktops need larger hoods, larger hoods need higher air flow rate (CFM) to meet the air velocity requirement over the entire hood entry area.

Along with this hood CFM requirement, there is a matching requirement for make-up air, which may require a complex system, or may only require a simple system, but integrating it in a residence is rarely simple. So assume that as one grows the cooktop, the HVAC cost growth will continue to be commensurate that of the range cost growth.

We rejected the 48 “ Thermador range because you had to have a griddle, so it still only had 6 burners. And we rented a vacation house that had one, and the griddle was pathetic. We chose a 48” Blue Star, which we love, especially because you can pull off the grate and use a wok! The downside is that the ovens are gas, not electric. If I was more of a baker, I would probably add a wall oven.

Keep in mind that a 48" range will need a 54" hood, and a 60" range will need a 66" hood, and the required ductwork for hoods of either of those sizes, and a makeup air system. I am saying this in case you have not budgeted for the hood when budgeting for your range. Also, you will forego the upper cabinets to fit the hood.

But if cost is no object -- hood-wise -- there is always Handcrafted Metal Inc. for length, depth, and containment volume.

$$$$$ for the infrastructure for either. Big ductwork, bigger hood, bigger gas line, bigger make up air system. Bigger dollars.

And far less use.