We’ve now been living with the Samsung Showcase Fridge Freezer for several weeks, and as I mentioned during the ‘first look‘ I wanted to come back to do a full review at a later date.  It often takes time to get used to new appliances, seeing how they fit into family life and making the most of all the features.

Here are our thoughts on the Samsung Showcase after several weeks of family use.

The Look:
We still love the way this fridge freezer looks, I’m pretty confident it would fit well into any kitchen.  It’s design is sleek and sophisticated with its sleek brushed steel and simple lines.  Thankfully the door doesn’t get covered in finger prints and is easy to wipe clean when required without worrying about marks and smears.

The Showcase Door:
The unique element of this fridge freezer has to be the innovative ‘showcase’ door which helps you find what you are looking for as well as giving easy access to those cooking essentials you use on a daily basis.  It’s great for keeping the temperature constant, as it stops the mass heat loss caused by opening the full fridge door.  In our house it’s most used for getting drinks and snacks throughout the day.

Layout:
In additional to the clever showcase door, the overall layout of the fridge works well for a family.  The fridge unit has 3 large internal draws which has helped us divide our fresh fruit and veg.  We have divided our produce up with salad in our top drawer, other vegetables in the second drawer and fruit in the bottom.  There are plenty of shelves which help to easy divide up your items, some of these can be rearranged to customise the space further.  Much of the showcase shelving is used for jars, divided between preserves, and sauces and accompaniments like mustard and pickle.  All the shelves are a good size, and I particularly like that some of them pull out so you can see all the way to the back.  There’s also room for 5 bottles on the integrated bottle rack, we use this for wine as well as bottled water.

As I’ve recently returned to work I have less time to get things done at home and I can confirm that it’s been easy to find what I need even when I’m rushing around at 7am to put a packed lunch together.  I can open the showcase door, survey the fridge for what I need, and get everything out in a few minutes, saving me the stress of panicking that there is no food!

Features:
One of the main features, that it can be easy to overlook, is the clever technology that you cannot ‘see’ working.  The Samsung Showcase uses a digital inverter to improve energy efficiency and cooling performance by automatically adjusting in response to cooling demands.  For example, if you leave the door ajar or put a hot plate of food inside the compressor reacts rapidly to provide cold air avoiding inconsistent temperatures.

Freezer:
Most importantly to me, the freezer is well-lit making it easy to find what you’re looking for.  We use our freezer a lot to make the most of the food we cook so the wide shelves of different sizes and two drawers divide up the space well.  The shelves are sturdy and make it easy to stack leftovers, and plan our meals for the next week.  Some of the space is taken up by the ice dispenser but there is still a good 174 litres of space to fill!

Ice Despenser:
The ice and water dispenser is plumed, which means once you have it connected to your mains water you will have ice and chilled water on tap.  We have found the ice dispenser large enough to serve our family needs and we’ve never yet run out.  Our favourite feature has to be the crushed ice which feels especially decadent when you’re relaxing at home on a warm day.

Full Spec Details:

• Height: 177.4cm
• Width: 91.2cm
• Depth: 72.1cm
• Fridge Capacity (net): 396L
• Freezer Capacity (net): 174L
• Energy Rating: A+
• Average Cost per year: £42

Overall:
The Samsung Showcase is a great family fridge freezer, with many features that make it a cut above the rest.

What are our favourite features?
We are still keen to show off the showcase feature to friends and family, as we have found that it really does work for us.  It’s helpful for our children to gain independence by accessing their own snacks and we are able to monitor what they have access too as the handle for the main fridge is too high.

Disclosure:  I was sent the Samsung American Style Food Showcase Fridge Freezer : £2,549 RRP for the purpose of this review.  For more information, to order or to find stockists, please check the Samsung website.