Hello!

45 Comment

We are very thankful to the team at CHOICE. They do all the hard yards putting all sorts of things to the test so we don’t have to. We love their gruelling and fiercely independent reviews and they’ve saved us from getting cons and buying duds over and over again.

This time we can’t help being surprised at their most recent appliance test. Smeg has an almost cult following in the world of customer electronics. It’s insanely expensive but super prestigious and seems to have a good reputation for quality. That is…until now.

In an independent lab test, CHOICE has branded Smeg with the dubious honour of the “worst fridge ever!”

The Smeg FAB38RCRAU scored an abysmal 22% overall and 0% for temperature stability.

“This Smeg fridge received a truly chilling score of 22% – the worst fridge ever tested in CHOICE’s independent lab,” says Ashley Iredale, CHOICE fridge expert.

smeg-fridge
The Smeg Fridge | Pic Via CHOICE

Yikes, So Expensive!

Even more “appalling”, is that the fridge costs an eye-watering $3,990.

“You might get a 50s style aesthetic from this fridge, but you’ll also get the 50s levels of performance,” Iredale said.

The Smeg fridge notched up shockingly low scores in all testing categories including temperature evenness, temperature stability and response to outside temperature.

CHOICE’s experts discovered a number of problems with the Smeg FAB38RCRAU. One of the most concerning issues was its stability score – which was a rock-bottom 0%. This means that the temperature inside varies wildly, particularly in the freezer, which is really bad for food storage.

Lots of Issues

“This fridge also scored 22% for its response to the outside temperature, meaning the temperature inside will change a lot depending on the temperature outside. If you buy this Smeg fridge, you’ll need to constantly adjust the settings as the seasons change, or even if there’s significant day to day temperature changes in the area you live in,” says Iredale.

This Smeg fridge is also really expensive to run, “costing $1,707 over the 10 year life of the fridge.”

Plus, Iredale adds, you need to add in the cost of replacing all the food in the fridge “that is likely going to go off far more quickly than it should.”

ash_with_smeg_fridge
Iredale With The Smeg Fridge | Pic Via CHOICE

Don’t. Buy. This. Fridge!

“Don’t buy this fridge. It might look pretty, but when your food goes off all you’ll have is a smelly Smeg in your kitchen,” says Iredale.

Have you had any experiences with Smeg fridges? What do you think is the worst fridge? Tell us in the comments below.

  • Love Choice reviews. It’s my got to. I always look at their reviews before buying products. Haven’t regretted a product yet! They are very detailed in their reviews.

    Reply

  • I have had a two-door side by side SMEG refrigerator for nearly thirteen years – I am one of those SMEG everything!! My fridge hasn’t skipped a beat! One of the things you need to remember is that SMEG didn’t make these fridges – they are a rebranded different fridges!!!

    Reply

  • I have a Beko fridge freezer. The fridge has more ice than the freezer. At least once or twice a year it turns itself off. Once the iceberg in the fridge defrosts and water spooned out of back it works again. It is on the lowest temp setting too but it still freezes more than the freezer. Never buy a Beko they are rubbish

    Reply

  • I wouldn’t bother buying a new fridge without doing heaps of research first, and I sure as hell wouldn’t spend this much. Friend of mine has smeg everything and he loves it but he won’t be getting the fridge thankfully

    Reply

  • Too late I have the red one. Alas it’s prettt empty as I barely cook

    Reply

  • I once rented a house with a smeg dishwasher and it was absolutely terrible. Put me off the brand all together.

    Reply

  • Samsung 3 door fridge – also bad, food went off before we realised the temperature wasn’t working, said the right temp on the dial! Don’t buy.

    Reply

  • Ouch, I love the old style look but not that price tag.

    Reply

  • Did you test more than one of their fridges just in case you got a faulty one?? You might be wrong and it’s only one fridge that’s faulty and not all of that model. And no I don’t own any Smeg products as they are way too expensive for what you get

    Reply

  • Can’t wait to tell my brand obsessed Step Mother that more expensive isn’t always better

    Reply

  • After reading this im definitely not interested in smeg

    Reply

  • I always read industry and consumer reviews before I buy a major appliance.

    Reply

  • I always have a doubt if everything is made i the sMe place just labelled different

    Reply

  • Don’t own any smeg appliances, though I do love the look of this fridge. But for that price, I would buy a bigger one with the touch screen built in

    Reply

  • I have no experience with a Smeg, and, touch wood, have had no bad experiences with any of our fridges!

    Reply

  • We bought a Westinghouse fridge about 5 years ago now. The first one stopped cooling after a month and was replaced. Within 6 months, that one was icing up. No replacement tho as there wasn’t a fridge the same value for the warranty insurance to cover. Wasn’t this expensive tho

    Reply

  • Not that I’d ever spend that much on a fridge, but good to know you can hey better quality much cheaper

    Reply

  • Thanks for sharing this review, good to know. And no, I’ve no experiences with Smeg fridges

    Reply

  • It’s all for the name really. Thanks for the results choice!

    Reply

  • Just goes to show that a well known brand name may not mean much.

    Reply

Post a comment

To post a review/comment please join us or login so we can allocate your points.

↥ Back to top

Thanks For Your Star Rating!

Would you like to add a written rating or just a star rating?

Write A Rating Just A Star Rating
Join