Tried and Tested: Are LG’s InstaView American fridge freezers as practical as they are stylish?

Because we’re in the middle of renovating our home, we’re so excited to be getting a new kitchen fitted. And with that comes the need for a new fridge freezer, so testing out an LG InstaView model was the perfect opportunity. Since we’re a family of four, we wanted one that was energy efficient, looked good and had a large capacity.

An LG InstaView model seemed to meet all of our requirements (and more), so we were really keen to get involved in this challenge and put one through its paces.

Hey Anna, we’ll start with an easy one! What were your first impressions of the LG American fridge freezer that we asked you to try out?

Well my very first thought was how stylish it looked. It had a really clean, modern design and a sleek, stainless steel finish. It’s stunning to be honest with you – it looks lovely next to all my cabinets. And considering it is pretty large (601 litres), it doesn’t dominate the space at all.

The InstaView Door-in-Door™ feature is discreet too, and the touch panel is stylish and user friendly plus the ice maker/water dispenser is a really useful addition especially without the need for additional plumbing.

Good stuff. Would you be able to tell us a little bit about some of the features?

Sure. So InstaView has a cool door-in-door system that lets you keep your most used bits, like sauces and drinks, to hand. I’ve used one shelf for milk and juice, another for sauces, chutneys and salad dressings, one for breakfast items such as yogurt, jams, butter and another for cheeses.

Then, when you’ve loaded up and closed the door, there’s a glass panel on the outside. If you give this a couple of knocks, it’ll turn transparent and show you your shelves behind it. It basically means that you don’t have to open the entire fridge and let the cold air out every time you need a dash of ketchup. So for example, if you want to know if you’re running low on milk, just knock and you can quickly check.

We also challenged you to test out how practical the fridge freezer was. How did you get on?

Because I do one large shop a week, I was so happy to find that my entire shop could fit in it at once. I even had room to spare, which is important to me since I like to batch cook and freeze meals.

In terms of freezer space, I always have high expectations. We make a lot of smoothies in our house, so we like to buy loads of frozen fruit. I always grab an extra loaf of bread to put in the freezer too (I’m making an effort to cut down on shopping trips), and everything fitted in perfectly.

The fact that it’s totally frost free is brilliant as well – an absolutely non-negotiable thing for me. After having it for two weeks now, I’ve not spotted one single bit of frost. Long gone are the days of manually defrosting, scraping away ice and mopping floors…thank goodness.

I also tested the LinearCooling feature, to check if the fridge’s temperature did actually stay the same when the smaller door was opened. I opened it to grab the milk for my cuppa and the butter for my toast – and I’m pleased to confirm that it really did stay the same. That’s bound to save us some energy (and money) going forwards. The bits that were in the door were just as cool as what was in the main fridge.

Did you check out the SmartThinQ™ app too? Was it easy to set up, and do you think you’ll keep using it?

I did indeed. The app was easy to find and download. We did have to manually add our fridge freezer as the app didn’t automatically connect to it, but it was simple to do and the instructions were easy to follow. You need to make sure you’ve registered your appliance first though, just to note.

I’m not sure whether we’d continue to use the app on the day-to-day, but it’s definitely useful for when you’re on the run. The smart diagnosis feature is brilliant for troubleshooting any potential issues.

And finally, what do you think of the appliance overall? Would you recommend it to anyone and if so, who?

I absolutely love it, it met all of my expectations and more. From taking the best care of my foods to just looking beautiful in my kitchen, it gets full marks from me.

I’d highly recommend it to anyone that’s looking for an American fridge freezer with oodles of storage space, a stylish design and smart features.

@feather_and_faff_interiors is using the LG InstaView™ Door-in-Door™ Fridge Freezer

This article includes a conversation between our product expert and @feather_and_faff_interiors, and has been written up by our copywriter.