What's hot: ranges, cooktops & wall ovens.(Buyers Guide)

New features, finishes, and ways to cook--including induction, which heats the pan, not the cooktop--are some of what you'll find among the nearly 100 models we've rated in our latest tests.

Induction cooktops, which cook via glass-covered electromagnetic elements, were the fastest-heating models we've ever tested. While induction isn't new, big names such as Gaggenau and Viking are reintroducing it for its speed and panache.

You'll also see hotter burners and finishes even trendier than stainless steel. Jenn-Air is among the brands that offer glass-covered wall ovens for added style and easier cleaning. Many of these ovens are sold with convection and convert cooking temperatures automatically.

Some of these new products bring new problems. Months of baking, boiling, and broiling also confirmed that some appliances aren't all they're cracked up to be.

Induction: promising, not perfect. Besides bringing 6 quarts of water to a near boil in just 8 to 11 minutes, the tested Gaggenau and the Viking simmered sauce flawlessly and responded instantly to the controls. Cooktop and cooking area stay relatively cool, since most of the heat goes to the pan. That also reduces the chance of fires and eliminates burnt-on spills.

On the downside, induction cooktops begin at more than $2,000. Sears has promised a lower-priced model, though it didn't arrive by press time. You may also have to buy induction-approved magnetic cookware, which these cooktops require.

Gaggenau's owner's manual recommends not using induction cooktops if you wear a pacemaker, citing the unlikely possibility of electromagnetic interference. Recent international studies and the American Heart Association have dispelled the connection between induction's magnetic field and today's pacemakers, however. "Induction cooktops should not affect pacemakers made after 1995," says Augustus O. Grant, M.D., spokesman for the association and professor of medicine at Duke University.