I can't say enough about how much I love my KitchenAid mixer. After purchasing several of the other brands of stand mixers thinking I could save money and have the same thing..........I finally opened my eyes to realize that they were JUNK!

The best mixer on the market is KitchenAid! What more can I say. I used if for everything from the best mashed potatoes in town to the thickest recipes immaginable. I use mine for grinding nuts to grinding venison.

I love my KitchenAid mixer so much that I bought this exact mixer for my daughter for a gift! No kitchen is complete without a KitchenAid mixer. Don't throw all of your money away with the immitation mixers to turn around and buy the real deal. You won't be sorry to buy the best mixer first.

This 1 1/2 Quart Stand Mixer is definately large enough for the average kitchen.

Before you give up on the American standard give this a second look. This model is just right for a small kitchen. Believe me I know, back in the day when I was a young child Julia Child cooked in our family ranch commercial kitchen and I had the privilege of being spoon fed her Calzone and Cannelloni. One thing that always impressed me was how efficiently she used this model of the mixer. In those days, the late 70's, it was either that small model or the huge ones that used god knows how many watts. But in addition to being the most economical this model has some advantages that a great chef learns to take advantage of. For instance just recently I made bread and wanted to use a larger bowl- a stoneware pitcher just a bit wider than the stainless provided. That's where the smaller, tighter radius with this machine comes in. You can place a slightly wider base over the outside of the machine base and do no harm to a stoneware dish. By just holding onto the dish I was able to mix the bread dough just fine. Point being you can often fit the paddles on this machine into just about any bowl you mix with and when you're really cooking it can be so handy; all you have to do is reach over and hold your dish under the mixer and turn it on. So all in all if Julia Child could multi-task her kitchen this way then it's definitely no sacrifice for a quart less. A fantastic mixer!

Also watch for a sale I got this one for 50% off new from Amazon!

I own a KitchenAid mixer - which I loved until Motor Oil started leaking into my food. Just do a quick internet search on Kitchen Aid leaking oil and you'll get plenty of information - in particular that the company won't do anything about it, other than tell you to use your mixer more often. Give me a break!! Everytime I use it, I sit with paper toweling to catch the oil before it gets into the food. No more Kitchen Aid or Whirlpool products in my house.

I actually bought this same "bottom of the line" KA 4.5 quart white Stand Mixer about 6 or 7 years ago from a local store during the January clearance sales so I talked my husband into buying it since my birthday was coming up. He was just learning to cook and we really didn't have a good mixer - just a double beater hand mixer that was old and the "cheapest model" back then (probably 25 years old back when we bought our KA). He couldn't imagine using a stand mixer but after using it a few times for various pancake batters, omelets, and other "light" cooking projects, he really liked it and has never regretted the price.

I already owned a breadmaker so I hadn't even tried to use mine with the bread hook or to make bread with it. I'm happy to read the other people's experiences because I will watch out for that and see if we have a similar issue. Will doubtless continue to use my breadmaker though...

I grew up using my mom's old Sunbeam stand mixer so that's one of the reasons I wanted one, but I didn't like the two beater version and had enjoyed the Kitchen Aid when I tried out the one that a friend had. Her mixer eventually died and so when this went on sale this past November or December, us kids went in on one and delivered it to her. She loves it for the cookies and cakes that she frequently makes (she's always preferred to make her bread by hand, kneading it herself!!).

So for most things that a smaller family might need, this is probably more than adequate. But if you are into the "Artesian Breads" (think King Arthur Flour and their bread recipes!!) or other projects, you'll likely want to invest in the professional models like you see on TV.

I've also seen elsewhere on Amazon some cool graphics you can stick onto the mixer head and stand (like "flame" styles you'd see on a car or a cycle) so if this one is too boring a color, you might consider some decal enhancements! ;-)

I WAS SO IMPRESSED WITH THIS MIXER I ORDERED ONE FOR MY MOTHER IN LAW AND SEVERAL OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS. AMAZON TRUELY HAS THE VERY BEST OF THE BEST BUYS