KitchenAid mixer advice needed

I am thinking of treating myself (big treat!) to a new mixer and am looking at the KitchenAid stand mixers. After making a cake yesterday and struggling with the handheld mixer and trying to add eggs one at a time to the batter.... ....that's it. I have wanted/needed a stand mixer for a years (I am an avid baker) but was not willing to compromise with anything less than the kitchenaid. I have a birthday coming up and DH's parents will give me a gift certificate to Bed, Bath, & Beyond -- that coupled with a 20% coupon will get this closer to a reasonable purchase for me.
Which brings me to my question: has anyone recently purchased one of these? I can't decide between the 5 quart, 325 watt mixer and the 4.5 quart, 300 watt mixer. Both are big enough to handle two loaves of bread at the same time. I decided that the 6 quart, 525 watt is probably more than I need and can afford right now. Are the features of half a quart and 25 extra watts of power really worth the $50 price difference? I'll be seriously disappointed if I go with the cheaper mixer and wish that I spent the extra $50. But I can get the 4.5 quart for $160 with the coupon....much easier to justify.

Any advice?

[mommax3]

I don't have any advice but you might check the website http://www.epinions.com and see if they have any information. I use that site any time I am going to make a big purchase and don't know much about the product.

Sally

[SueC]

I've got the 6 quart and I absolutely love it! I like to bake too and it is so easy to just let it mix while I measure and add the ingredients. It also makes it so much easier to let the girls help me. We use ours for additional functions, such as grinding meat, too. I honestly don't know whether having the 6 quart is necessary--my husband has trouble not buying top of the line everything. My sister I believe has the smaller version (which is by no means small!) so I'll have to ask her whether she ever wishes she had the bigger one. Actually, now that I think about it, I think we bought the big one because I really wanted cobalt blue and the store where we were at didn't have the smaller one in that color! We've got mostly open storage in our kitchen so that bad boy looks pretty cool in our kitchen!

[Meenah]

I don't know the size of mine, but when I do use it it is very nice. My only complaint is it is heavy, and I don't keep it out on the counter so when I use it I have to lug it out of the cabinet.
Luanne

We have the 4.5 quart white Kitchen Aid mixer and I absolutely love it. We got it as a wedding gift. It seems to be the perfect size. It makes life so much easier!! There was only one time when the batter a bit too close to the top of the bowl but I managed just fine. For $50 you might want to get the 5 quart, though...from what I understand these mixers last a lifetime.

Happy shopping! Let us know what you decide.

I have the 5 Qt. 325 Watt in black. Although I love it I wish that it had the tilt back head. Mine just raises the bowl up and down via handle. I'm not certain which models have that function. You will love it regardless. I have never found the size to be inadequate for our family of four.

Trisha

DH gave me the 4.5 qt for Christmas last year for $170 on sale at Target. It's wonderful! I have the tilt back model and was wondering if the lift up maneuver was better! I was actually hoping for the bigger size but in the end think it doesn't make a huge difference. If you've got coupons and the like I'd go for as big as you can afford. You can't go wrong with Kitchenaid!

Happy mixing!

[SueC]

I didn't know there was a tilt back feature. Ours lifts the bowl up and down with a handle and it seems to work okay.

[Rapunzel]

My husband bought the 6 QT version in gunmetal grey for me this last Mother's Day. He knew I specifically wanted that size because I have a number of friends with the smaller sizes and every one of them wishes they had the 6 QT. I thought I'd just put the big one on my wish list and not worry about having to upgrade in a few years. I'm VERY happy with it, too. Last night, for example, we had four adults over and had homemade pizzas. The 6 QT allows you to make a double batch of pizza dough easily (two HUGE pizzas) and so we usually make two double batches and either feed an army or freeze some of the dough for another day. If you don't bake that much or bake for a small number of people the smaller mixer is just fine and you will love it. If you routinely bake for large groups and/or bake A LOT then I highly recommend buying the largest size you can afford.

Jennifer

[Michele]

We have the 5 quart artisan with a tilt head....I love it so far....I've only made a couple of things with it but it works great....

The reason we didn't go with the 6 quart is because I saw a lot of feedback on epinions about a faulty switch....also I don't know why I'd need the extra quart...I considered the 4.5 too but since it was discontinued I went with the 5 qt artisan figuring extra parts / accessories would be easier to find.


I use epinions for everything! It's not my be-all-and-end-all but it definitely weighs into my decisions...

I did it! I bought the 5 quart 325w Artisan series KitchenAid mixer. I looked at the 6 quart and was concerned that I wouldn't be able to fit it in my kitchen cabinets -- and there is no counter space. I also looked at epinions.com and thought that the 5 quart seemed to get the most favorable reviews.

The hardest decision was choosing the color. I really liked the red one, but I if ever have counter storage space for it, I don't want to have to decorate my kitchen around the color of the mixer. I decided on the onyx black. Eric helped me too. I told him this was just about as important as picking a china pattern because we better have this thing for a LONG time!

[Michele]

Congrats! We have the RED and I love it....I've made everything red now.....we just got a Kitchen Aid toaster in red too.

That red one is SO cool, Michelle! It was a tough choice.
Now my tough choice is I'm going to make with this bad boy on my counter. Ciabatta? A cake? Plain old bread? A huge meringue for a pavlova? Hmmmm....I hope this doesn't cut into my work productivity.

[DCJenn]

Ok, you all with the fancy new mixers! I'm using my grandmothers 50 year old Sunbeam and it ROCKS!! (and it's so Retro it's chic!) The Sunbeam nameplate did fall off during one of the moves but other than that it is in absolutely perfect condition. I may get the cord redone with a three-pronged plug but then again, I may just leave it exactly as is. It's huge and does anything that I ask it to, with no complaints! I think my mom had the engine overhauled once in the '70's. She has the fancy new KitchenAid and loves it, but since I hardly ever bake, the old one is perfect for us.

Jenn

[SueC]

I've got the blue, but we've got the red kitchen aid food processer and a yellow blender. We totally designed our kitchen around these appliances! When we remodeled it last year we used white subway tile for a backsplash with a strip of colorful accent tiles to match our small appliances (I know--we're huge dorks!).