I'm Steve. This is Fran.
Today, we're gonna rank two affordable luxury categories, LG Studio,
versus, g's, Cafe unit.
G's Cafe line. Sorry.
Yeah.
So good kind of comparison there between these,
and they definitely these these guys compete a lot in a lot of
different kind of product categories.
So we'll break it down a little bit and kind of before we
really get into specific categories.
Let's look
holistically first and let's talk about service.
Yeah. First of all, service is a a problem.
So a lot of dealers will say everyone's got good factory service.
That's not the case.
What we always tell people to look at reviews for service in your area.
Give you an idea we did over thirty seven thousand
service calls, and we're just Boston.
We don't go anywhere else.
And that's up ten percent over last year with a nine percent
less delivered sales.
So it's a problem, especially as manufacturers go through,
their supply chain issues.
I think you're gonna find more service in the last couple of years.
And for this, you have to give an edge to G with a little asterisk because
you never know until you check reviews,
but Gee at least has their own factory service.
Lg's made some strides, they're certainly better than Samsung,
which isn't saying much, but,
real popular they've made some investment service,
but they're nowhere near where GE is.
So for the service angle,
if you're buying from a store without service,
which you probably will be.
Then I I would say you definitely go with g. Yeah.
And like we always say, you know,
always ask those questions where you're buying who's
servicing, and we always try to pound, you know,
buy from someone that services what they sell.
We know that's not always an option.
So it sounds like yeah.
You know, the if there's good local places,
it's it's still the same thing.
So g on that one.
So let's
go into colors and style because that's the reason why
you're buying cafe.
I think cafe's done a nice job with,
with colors, you know, basics like white and black.
You know, whites back in.
We show here in in polished brass. Then you get black.
Black doesn't Black's pretty good with copper, actually.
And they get stainless and you put a different handle on,
like a black or something.
So you You have a completely you have a way to customize.
They're adding green, I think, and gray this year, perhaps,
or in a limited way.
Whereas LG, I don't think, you know,
they finally came out with white,
which is probably gonna be their best seller.
But what was what was that If you've seen their like
decorative hardware, it's like pink earths.
Mhmm.
Some kind of off brass type of thing they were telling me about.
And I'm like, Just make it brass. Yeah. Or distress brass.
So from a color standpoint,
I I would say I would say Yeah.
Which is the reason why you're buying. Yeah.
Pretty easy.
I do, you know, the studio, I think, as far as, like,
the stainless steel and traditional look,
I think it's a really nice looking.
You're a nice job.
Brand for sure, but as far as flexibility and really what making the cafe
kind of what you want, yeah, no question cafe is way more.
Flexibility there.
Now cooking
is is is an interesting category.
Right?
We're gonna break it down a little bit because we're gonna
talk about so first, let's talk about just ranges.
So first, freestanding ranges,
and then we'll kinda look into some other types of building cooking.
But freestanding, you know,
really thirty inch ranges here kind of from more of a
comparison cafe definitely gives you a little bit more.
You can get a thirty six.
But looking at kind of your freestanding front control
thirty inch ranges here.
Yeah. Well, Cafe's really they have two ranges.
They have they have that,
but they're really known for that double oven.
Yeah.
Right.
Where you're either gonna love it or you're gonna hate it.
Now if you cook with casseroles and smaller things,
use that small oven, you're never bending.
If you go bigger things, right,
you gotta pick that turkey up from like almost floor because
it doesn't have a storage drawer or warming drawer at the bottom.
So you get a lot of good cubic footage because you have no drawer.
But it depends on how you cook.
Then they have their, their single oven as well.
Cafe is really interesting in gas.
Because it's got six burners.
And you think, well, who would ever use six burners?
But what they did that was really smart was that grill has
got two ninety five hundred b two burners.
It's a nineteen thousand BTU griddle.
And you can, you know, griddles are so underrated.
You can cook anything on griddle.
So that's That's a really nice piece.
But against that is the biggest oven size you can buy.
That's that's LG's six point three.
Now kitchenaid's got a slightly bigger because they they have
that baking They've had a baking drawer below,
but for pure oven, six point three is as big as it gets.
Absolutely.
And they've got the, twenty thousand Btu burners in the front.
So you really don't need to get a pro range with the LG, with the studio.
Yeah.
They do that kind of the cool,
the different probate convection as well with
convection system is a little bit different than really
everything else that you're gonna find out there.
Because they put the element they put the element behind the
fan so it blows across versus you know,
just blowing the heat from a element below,
so it's technically better.
And they both have very good induction too.
This is a close one.
I don't know.
I I think this is this is really depends on how
you cook.
I would say that in this case, I'd I'd almost give an edge to cash.
I think they have more options, more flexibility there.
I think they're both great,
but I think we'll go we'll go Cafe on this one.
So
next, let's talk about built in cooking.
So kind of wall ovens, cooktops, that sort of thing.
Well, again, your cafes get that unique French door, right,
where where you, you open up,
you open up this way so you have real access to your food, right?
So And that's the way they do it in restaurants where they
don't have a lot of room and they get a lot of people
sliding back and forth.
So that's where the French door comes in.
And so if you gotta island and you've got multiple people cooking.
It's a nice it's a nice idea.
However,
at Lg Studio, they give you a lot for your money.
I mean, you know, it's what nine point four cubic foot
ovens, with the double, and it's what
under three grand, is it?
Or Correct.
Depending on promos and things like that.
And then they have the. Right?
And then they have the combination of it as well with
the speed oven, that combo, which Cafe does.
But really tough to beat the value of the LG Studio. I know.
And I heard even their steam oven works.
I haven't, I haven't tested it.
And their steam is a lot cheaper than the ones that that
that typically get reviewed like Mila Gagnau and wolves.
Mhmm.
Like, their steam ovens, like, half the price.
Yeah. Yeah.
And and and steam, if you're looking for steam, speed,
microwave, I'm a believer in steam.
I have one in my house.
And my I want to learn how to use it more in terms of
cooking, but in terms of reheating things,
steam is way better than micro.
Yeah. It's ten minutes versus two.
But what you get out of it is is is more flavorful.
So I would say, although the very different
I think from a value standpoint, I almost give it to
the, to, the studio.
Yeah.
I'd agree there for sure.
And I think it's cheaper too.
Yeah. It's tough to beat studio.
Comes down to the value of what they give you when they're built in.
And then as far as control panel, you know, really nice,
large LCD control panel.
Cafe gives you something similar as well.
Colored, you know, that's that's a nice control panel too.
Alright. So we'll lean studio on this one.
And then
now let's move to cooling.
Let's talk about refrigeration.
Well, it really depends what kind of refrigerator you want,
what options you want.
Personally, I think one of the best
I think one of the best products introduced in a long
time is the counter max.
Yeah.
Where you can get, you know,
you don't have to buy an LG studio line.
But you now have six different kind of maxes where it's it's
you can buy a counter depth refrigerator that's twenty six
point five cubic feet.
Mhmm.
When I started, It was, it was, nineteen point nine.
And actually the average is like twenty three, I believe,
or twenty two, twenty three Bosch is twenty.
That goes nineteen.
So you're getting a much bigger fridge still with a counter depth.
Of course, the door protrudes a little bit more about another inch.
I mean, the the, the, the door, not the, not the chassis, it's
still kind of depth.
I really like that for, and it's inexpensive.
You can buy it on promo for seventeen ninety nine.
With with Cafe, you're talking about more options.
You're talking about the Keurig.
You're talking about the turbo cool, turbo
Turbo freeze, where you can just put something in the drawer and
have it thawed or frozen.
Yep.
You can get like a hot water to vendor in some of those.
Yeah. How water you get the curried coffee maker?
It's two compressor.
Now on the counter max, it's one compressor,
one evaporator on the cafe's And on the rest of the LG's,
it's, one compressor to evaporate.
So it holds temperature better.
Although, they have, you know,
LGs get different things like the door cooling plus where you
open it up in this, you know, vent that goes down.
I think from a price standpoint,
you're looking at two thousand dollar fridge versus a four
thousand dollar fridge.
It depends what kind of options you want.
But here, I'd almost
I'd almost give it to LG again.
Yeah. I think they make really nice refrigeration.
And kinda like we talked about,
we're cooking a little slimmed down product category.
They really have couple refrigerators encountered depth
in that studio line, one with the, the Instaview, one without Yep.
And the external dispenser there.
But I just think from a price perspective,
really nice features, the craft ice, the stainless interior.
I think with LG, it's a really good thing.
Stainless in the back, though.
Correct. Yeah. Yeah.
So you what you do is you put the milk against the stainless
because absorbs cold better and then your milk gets colder faster.
Okay.
So let's go studio here.
And then last category, we're gonna
talk about dishwashers.
Well, our very own Shannon Stoneer had tested all of these.
And, you know, well, the one thing is I, I do think the, steam works.
They've got that lg's got that steam generator.
My next door neighbor had one.
And and, you know, I I, I baked a pot of, macaroni, and
I really dig that in. Steam did well.
I mean, you still have to wipe it down afterwards.
You know, cafe and pro profile, I think the cafe is a more
expensive profile.
They have the,
they have the, bottle nozzles for, for,
pure sports drinks, but Here's a clue.
You don't need them because all the dishwasher is washed.
They get this silverware basket with the special washed You
don't need that either as it turns out because he cleans and
he's got the third rack.
They're both good dishwashers.
I think really one of the things we haven't talked about is reliability.
And Yeah.
And the LG dishwasher is the most reliable,
even more than Bosch or Mila.
So I would I would give this one to studio,
Although I would say for both dishwasher,
you don't need to go with studio or cafe,
you can buy the lesser expensive versions in LG and profile.
Yeah.
Unless you're buying colors cafe and matching them.
Yeah.
So, yeah, you said you've kinda debunked in a recent blog,
a lot of the, cool,
some of the other features that you've been adding those kept
paying a lot of them, but, Yeah.
No. I agree. I think they're close here as well.
Studio probably the better overall value for sure.
So I think I might as close.
So it's a pretty even it's a pretty even match depending on
what you're looking for.
I mean, you know, even,
even if you like the French for a while,
and then you would go to cafe.
If you want colors, you go to cafe.
If you want to service, you go to cafe.
If you want more features in your fridge, certain features,
then you would go with cafe.
So it really depends on what you're looking for.
This is just from very high altitude comparisons.
So, anyway, if you like these videos,
we'll be doing more rankings.
So click the subscribe button, and thanks for watching.