Also, what are service calls like (easy to schedule repairs, or more challenging because harder to find repairmen for more obscure brands)?

My experience is that for clothes the euro machines are fine. They are made in a way that you can pretty much fill them up completely and they fit more than you think. Also washing a down comforter is fine. The only problem I see is washing a big poly fill comforter. I dont think that fits.

Euro machines wash better. But you do not have giant capacities with them. Large, yes. Take your comforters to the laundry or dry cleaner, and be happy you have very clean clothes.

No washer is going to heat to 240F. Max will be 75C for Miele and 90C for Bosch (Maybe. Some of the newer models max out at 65-70C.)

Most all Euro models will have front drain cleanouts. Bosch and Miele both use front pop open covers with hand screw covers to clean the drain/recirculation pump traps.

I can't speak to the newer models, but we have a 15-year-old Bosch front loader that has been terrific--it has had one issue in those years (a leaking water valve) and we were able to find a YouTube video explaining how to fix it; we ordered the part online and repaired it ourselves. The only issue I have with it is that the plastic on the door has cracked--just cosmetic but wish it were a little more rugged. The newer models may be better on that front. It has a sanitary cycle that heats to 170F, which has been more than sufficient for our needs over the years. We do wash down blankets (and comforters) in it but I believe the newer models are smaller capacity and I'm sure appliance standards have changed over the years, so not sure if this is equally possible with the current models. (Ours is a Nexxt DLX, which is no longer made.)

@Lomo Not everyone has a lot of time to get laundry done when they’re working multiple jobs outside the house, to keep a roof over their head- and instead needs to be extremely efficient which translates as bigger loads :)

@Andrea Again my experience. Full loads of clothes (many items) that will totally fill the washer will not clean adequate unless you use the appropiate ”full load” cycle that adds significant time and I think (hope) more water. In my machine this is a downloaded program. The very large washers are handy to wash bulky items that would not fit in a smaller drum not so much to wash “packed” loads of clothes. I think they suggest up to 20lbs-22lbs while the Miele suggests 17.6 lbs but the Miele will wash a packed load very well. I have many friends that are not happy with their washers becasue they always use a standard fast program. No matter which machine you decide to buy is worth investigating programs that will produce best results depeding on your personal needs.