Russell Hobbs 2 Slice Lift & Look Toaster (Longer slots, 6 Browning levels, Defrost/Reheat/Cancel function, Removable Crumb Tray, 1670W, Cream & Stainless Steel Gloss finish) 26551

I’ve been using the Russell Hobbs 2‑Slice Lift & Look toaster in cream and stainless steel for a few days now, and it’s been a solid performer. The extra‑long slots easily fit thick or artisan slices—no more half‑toasted bread peeking out the top. The six browning settings give precise control from lightly golden to deeply toasted. The Lift & Look feature is a standout: I can check the toast’s progress without cancelling it, which saves time and avoids over‑toasting. The defrost, reheat, and cancel functions all work as expected and are helpful when dealing with frozen or cooling toast. Cleanup is simple—the removable crumb tray keeps the toaster hygienic.On the downside, several users (and I’ve noticed too) reported the toaster’s sides get quite warm during use—touch with caution. A few online reviewers even mentioned uneven toasting across the slice. Overall, though, it’s a stylish, reliable budget pick under £35, offering more finesse than basic models with useful features you’ll actually use. Given its price point and performance, I’d highly recommend it for daily kitchen use.

We did not have much choice in buying this toaster because it was the only one we could find that fulfilled our needs. As we bake our own bread we need a toaster with extra long slots which this one has. Most toasters seem to be produced for the standard Mother's Pride type bread size, our bread comes somewhat larger and we don't want to cut the top off! This product however does leave a lot to be desired, the toasting is not even, resulting in one edge being burnt and the reverse edge hardly brown. To get the slice down is not easy either and one has to really thump down the lever otherwise it will not engage. We feel that with a little more attention to detail and a price rise would make this toaster fit for purpose, to sum up, rather disappointing when it could be great.

I've only just received this toaster and used it for the first time, but I absolutely love it. It seems very big to me as my last toaster was nowhere near this size, but it still looks very nice on my worktop. The slots look huge, both in length and width, and I can't imagine anything that wouldn't fit. To test it I toasted a couple of burger buns, set on 2. They popped up so fast I thought I obviously had it set too low, but they were toasted evenly a lovely golden brown and exactly how I like toast to be. A second set of buns had an identical result. I am so happy! Obviously it's early days (extremely), but there is nothing about the toaster that suggests to me it's not good quality, and with a 3 year guarantee there is no reason not to love it. One thing I would point out is the fact that it needs to be run at high setting while empty before the first use. They warn there may be some smell, which is normal. Thankfully I have an electric socket next to my back door and so I decided to stand the toaster outside the door while doing this. Being outside I don't know about a smell, but it smoked like crazy for a short while and had it not been outside, my smoke alarms would have been going insane! After that initial run I toasted the buns as normal and there was neither smoke nor smell. Absolutely recommend this toaster.

This looks just like the old RH toaster I was replacing but the build quality is terrible. The lever is very poor: it can catch and stay down but the toaster doesn't turn on - you have to push the lever down again more firmly. The 'lift & look' feature didn't work: it turned the toaster off, and the lever is so sticky you need to hold onto the toaster while you pull the lever up and the whole casing is roasting hot. Burnt the edges of toast before the centre was at all browned. Returned for a refund. Avoid this model!

It does the job and it takes large slices (you won't have to buy those daft small toaster loafs). I got one for my girlfriend too, in white. Looks good, had mine about a year without any problems.

This toaster really does have great sized slots. They're not only long, but also wide, so we never get things like rolls stuck in the sides like we did with our last toaster. I don't think we've found anything yet that hasn't fit. It's also very compact considering how spacious the slots are. The toaster looks fine - nothing fancy, but blends into our kitchen. I like that you can push the toast up to check how done it is without ejecting/ending the toasting session. The one downside (and it's a fairly big one!) is it just really doesn't toast that well. Most of the time things are not evenly toasted, and it also seems like the line between 'not toasted at all' and 'burned to ashes' is hair-thin. It doesn't even seem to be consistent, so some slices from the same loaf of bread will get toasted differently despite being on the same toaster settings. So unless you are really not picky about your toast then you do kind of have to stay with the toaster the entire time, constantly checking. The toaster claims to have a 'reheat without toasting it further' setting, but it regularly burns our toast when we use it. So annoying because this toaster really would be perfect for us but the inconsistent toasting is just really stressful.

good item makes even toast

It takes large thick slices of bread as I don't use supermarket sliced. BUT, as with all toasters I have had, it tends to toast one side better, maybe because I only toast one slice not two?As another reviewer has remarked, the slices don't always stay down when you first insert them & you have to give the lever a rather hefty thump to get it to engage, so I wonder how long this will last before it gives up!It's a pleasing design. What more can I say? It's a toaster, it works well enough, not something I can get excited about, as long as it works.