If you fancy a good old-fashioned cheese and ham toastie, this is just the machine to make it in style. The non-stick toasting plates are scooped out so you can get plenty of filling in there and the ridges seal the edges together and cut your toastie in half at the same time. The controls are very simple--one light to tell you the toaster is switched on and another to tell you it's hot enough to use.

Heating doesn't take too long, so toasted sandwiches cook quickly. You don't have to stick to square bread with a filling; you can heat up rolls and pannini in here too. To seal and cut sandwiches you need to fasten the clip on the handle, but the weight of the lid means sandwiches still heat up quickly if you can't get the clip fastened or don't want to cut them while they're cooking. You can fit in two sandwiches at once, but there's no problem just cooking one.

The chunky design means the toaster balances well when you open it and you can even stand it up on end to sit neatly on the work surface--showing off the gleaming chrome finish as well as taking up less space when you're not using it. The power cord emerges at either side of the base, depending on what keeps your work surface neater. There aren't any fancy options and extras; this is a simple, easy to use toaster that does just what it says on the box. --Mary Branscombe