Smeg 5-burner gas stove

I want to share this because I wish someone had told ME before I spent a lot of money: The current model of my Smeg 5-burner gas stove (with electric oven) which I bought in 2009 for about R13000 has not changed much, and now retails for about R22000. Recently I bought a Bosch 4-plate gas hob for another house where I do a lot of cooking. It cost a mere R1500. The much, MUCH less expensive Bosch hob works so much better there is almost no comparison. In the past decade I have cleaned and replaced jets on the Smeg more than once to try and improve performance (they cost more than R100 each) had Smeg-certified servicemen out (they don't come cheap) had my gas installation checked by an independent installer (no fault could be found) but have never been able to get proper heat from the Smeg burner plates. The "cheap" Bosch finally showed me what gas cooking is actually about. It warms up and keeps the heat, using exactly the on the same cookware, in a way I was not aware was possible. (And Smeg’s burner design makes the hob really difficult to keep clean…the Bosch hob is MUCH easier to maintain since it has a lot less little grooves/corners that dirt can get into.) The electric oven: no one tells you it has a non-optional cool-down cycle of 10 - 15 minutes after use. (I don't know if this is the same on the newer models, but ask before buying.) For this cool-down both fans run full blast. The oven is EXTREMELY high in electricity use and this doubles it. The oven door seal (about R500 to replace) has never lasted more than 2 years, and oven temperature is uneven with definite hot spots in front of the fans, even when the door seal is new. This makes it impossible to bake things evenly and consistently. There are MUCH less expensive brands out there that will do the job better. Think twice. Don’t let the high-end price and brand name fool you.