Speedier cooktops and wall ovens.(Lab tests)(Product/service evaluation)

Cooktops and wall ovens are touting quicker meals and safer cooking. But our tests show that unless you've got money to burn, you'll probably prefer a recommended cooktop or wall oven from our Select Ratings at right. There are also some interesting models that did not make our list. Here's what we found:

Tasty cooking. Top electric wall ovens such as the A1 Bosch and smaller A4 Frigidaire in our Ratings combine impressive baking and broiling with plenty of room for roasting.

Fast cooking in a faster crowd. Induction cooking can help speed your meal to the table. The D2 GE brought water to a near boil in just 8 minutes. The less expensive B1 Electrolux smoothtop electric accomplished the task in 12 1/2 minutes. The electric B2 Kenmore and gas C2 GE also cook comparably, if more slowly, for less than $1,000.

When safety costs more. Although it's not listed in our Select Ratings, Miele's KM5656 electric cooktop, $1,500, has an interesting safety feature: It shuts off when a pot boils over and liquid spills onto the controls. It also deactivates if a burner is on for an unusually long time without being adjusted. But its heating speed was just middling. You'll pay little more for a much faster induction cooktop, and far less for most electric or gas models.

Also consider. GE's built-in Advantium 240, $2,400, uses microwaves, convection, and halogen light to cook up to eight times faster than a conventional oven. But with only about a third of the space, it can fit a breast or two and not the whole bird. Our tests yielded delectable chicken and rib roasts, but cookies emerged unevenly baked. As with other induction cooktops, Bosch's NIT8053UC, $2,000, cooks quickly using a magnetic field that sends most of the heat to the pot or pan. It brought water to a near boil in about 9 1/2 minutes. That's still slower than the D2 GE induction cooktop.

 
Select Ratings 
 
Best choices from our tests of 49 models. 
 
                         Brand &      Price  Overall  Test results 
                          model               score 
 
Recommendation  Rank                                   Baking 
 
                A     30-INCH 
                      ELECTRIC WALL 
                      OVENS 
 
Recommended     Al    Bosch          $2,100       69  Very good 
                      HBL54[50]UC 
 
Recommended     A2    GE              1,600       67    Good 
                      JTP70SM[SS] 
 
Recommended     A3    Kenmore Pro     2,100       66  Very good 
                      4100[3] 
 
CR Best Buy     A4    Frigidaire      1,400       61  Very good 
                      Gallery 
                      GLEB30S9F[S] 
 
                         Brand &                          Features 
                          model 
 
Recommendation  Rank                 Broiling   Capacity   Covered 
                                                           element 
 
                A     30-INCH 
                      ELECTRIC WALL 
                      OVENS 
 
Recommended     Al    Bosch          Very good  Very good    Poor 
                      HBL54[50]UC 
 
Recommended     A2    GE …