[quote=UCGal]I would go with the 4800X.
But I buy appliances for function, maintenance, and cost. Whether a dryer looks good doesn’t matter to me – it’s not in my entertaining space.

And my washer is an old school top loader… Which is super reliable, albeit less efficient with the water.[/quote]

The looks don’t matter to me at all, either (a lot of what I wrote was tongue-in-cheek).

At the same time, the price differential is so enormous that I can’t believe it’s primarily a “taste” issue.

However, what I’m reading here leads me to believe that the dramatic increase in appliance prices doesn’t necessarily correspond to actual innovations in doing laundry (bummer).

But it does explain the Kelly Ripa commercials for Electrolux. If you want people to spend that kind of dough-re-mi, you better make them believe in magic.