Breville BOV450XL Mini Smart Oven, Brushed Stainless Steel | Evenly bake, toast, broil and more with this versatile, space-saving countertop oven and toaster with 8 cooking functions

This is my first Breville product of any kind. I don’t have anything against the brand, it seems the vast majority of people who own them like them or even love them. And the few negatives I’ve read never really explain in detail any fault of the product itself, it’s usually something to do with user error or not choosing the right product for their needs. My only issue with the brand is that sometimes it costs far more than it should and I don’t see enough of an advantage in it to pay that much more. This time though I could see a few advantages to this model which took it to the top as my first choice (after several weeks of extensive shopping and comparing numerous other toaster ovens).SIZETopping the list of why I chose this model is size. I have a wonderful Cuisinart TOB-100 which to me is the ideal size for a toaster oven. It’s served me well for over five years and still works fine except, as happens, the heating elements are getting old and everything takes longer to cook. These days the popular trend is for manufacturers to be pushing extra-large toaster ovens as a replacement for a full size oven. I don’t agree, my stove works better as an oven than any toaster can possibly do and between it and a microwave and an air fryer (not to mention hotpot, steamer, slow cooker and other small appliances) using a toaster oven is nothing but a compromise and not a good one at that. The Breville Mini is the right size to toast bread, bagels, English muffins and similar things and occasionally heat up a leftover single slice of pizza. I mean, really, who really gets one of these things to bake pizzas, especially tiny eleven-inch ones?CONVENIENCEWhen I want to toast a bagel or something I just want to be able to walk over to my appliance, put the thing in, and push one button. This model does that, it remembers my last setting and if I want to make a slight one-time adjustment I don’t have to read a service manual and push and turn a bunch of knobs to do so. The button layout on this model in my opinion is far easier to use than the next model up, the Compact, which requires you to push and turn a knob and have to think about which mode it is in every time.SPEEDThe Breville line of toaster ovens use quartz tubes for heat. That is not my preferred choice. I’ve had plenty of ones that use this technology and while it is definitely faster than the metal rod elements my Cuisinart uses the quartz tubes have several downsides. First off, in reality they are nothing more than a high power light bulb and like most bulbs the more powerful they are the more heat they give off. Being a glass tube they are fragile and delicate and like most bulbs they have a relatively short life then they burn out (they are replaceable if you’re handy with such things). Metal heating element rods usually don’t get quite as hot and they take a lot longer to heat up to temperature than quartz tubes which are instant on. But metal rods can last far longer than a glass tube, especially if they get splashed with grease, which is a common event in a toaster oven. A metal rod can simply burn the grease off but a glass tube can shatter or instantly burn out. So I only consider ovens of this type conditionally acceptable if you use a lot of care to protect the tubes from getting splashed.SMARTThey use the word smart loosely, this oven doesn’t really sense the doneness of your food like some toasters I have owned. It simply determines how much heat to use for how long depending on what you tell it to do, so you are really the one doing the smarts. To me the word smart really goes back to the word convenience – being able to choose a setting with one simple dial, adjust time and temperature with simple push buttons, having a large clearly marked on/off button, having the display change color to tell you it’s cooking, and having a convenient button to add a little more cooking time if you need it without resetting everything from scratch.WISH THEY DIDN’TI mentioned that the size of the oven was my most important factor is choosing this model. The layout of the controls was second and the speed was the third. None of the other models I considered had all three. There are a few minor things that I don’t care for though. One is the etched on writing on the door reminding me which shelf position to use to cook various things, I think it is useless and the painted on labels detract from the look of the device and of my kitchen. I also don’t like that there is no hook to slide the wire shelf out when I open the door. This used to be standard on every toaster oven. I think it’s inconvenient and dangerous not to have it. The last thing isn’t a negative, it’s an observation – I cannot understand why anyone would complain about this or any toaster product because “it gets hot”. What are they expecting, on what planet does an appliance meant to toast something not get hot? For the record this model doesn’t get much hotter or stay any cooler than any other toaster I’ve owned, in fact using professional grade thermography test equipment I measured the outer cabinet to be slightly cooler than the Cuisinart. The simple answer is that your mom should have taught you a long time ago not to touch a hot stove. There is one review I read suggesting to use an extension cord so you can push this toaster right up to the wall in your kitchen. DON’T! You will burn your house down. If the little pull tab on the power cord bothers you, simply plug it in to another outlet that’s not located right behind the toaster. But never use any extension cord on any toaster and never push it any closer to the wall than the manufacturer tells you to.MORE ABOUT IT BEING TOO HOTSince there are several one star reviews that dismiss it for the sole reason that it “gets hot”, here are some extra facts about that topic. If you set your oven for 400 degrees its temperature is going to be 400 degrees. It doesn’t matter if you have a Breville, an Oster, a Cuisinart or a no-name brand they will all be the same temperature inside. If it’s not getting hot and your oven is cold it’s not doing its job and that’s what someone should be complaining about, not that it gets hot. A toaster isn’t a toaster if it doesn’t get hot. The more powerful it is, the higher the wattage will be and the faster it will toast – and the result of that is heat. It’s simple science. A hot toaster is a good thing and people who buy it should be adult enough not to touch it, place it close to a wall, put anything on it that can melt or burn, or allow children to play with it like a toy. I don’t know how anyone can expect any stove or toaster to cook and not get hot, and I’m even more baffled why they would complain about it and consider it a defect or a reason to give it a negative review. I attached those professional thermal imaging photos showing my highly rated Cuisinart next to the Mini to directly compare the amount of heat created by both of them. See for yourself.TROUBLESHOOTINGBased on user comments there are most commonly misunderstood concerns about this product’s reliability. Here is some info that may be helpful in determining the true cause for a perceived issue.1. It gets hot – as discussed earlier that is not a fault but rather simply how a toaster works2. It smokes – that’s steam, a normal byproduct of what food does when it heat it. If it’s real smoke then your food is burning, that would be a user error3. It’s too small – they make other sizes, if this model is too small don’t buy it4. The dial is hard to read – choose another model or brand, after using it 2-3 times you will learn where your favorite settings are without having to even look at the dial5. The weird plug – keep complaining, maybe they will eventually listen. That hook doesn’t make much sense but if it’s in the way just plug it in to a different outlet6. It “broke” – I have yet to read any review giving details what they mean by broke. As I have explained earlier this model (as well as many other brands) use glass tubes that are essentially light bulbs. Those are delicate and can break and they will absolutely burn out. That’s not a defect, it’s the trade off for an oven that gets hot fast. If that concerns you buy an oven with metal heating rods7. That clicking sound – again, not a defect. Quartz tube ovens work by turning the light bulb on and off, the temperature of the bulb itself can’t actually be controlled. What you are hearing is the relay that powers the bulb on and off, it’s normal and it has to do that. If it really bothers you get an oven that uses metal heating rods, they don’t click. Oh, and I really can’t even hear the clicking unless I’m standing right in front of it.A DOSE OF REALITYI am constantly amused about comments about how some users either love or hate the way a toaster oven cooks, as if they could really tell a difference. This appliance is one of the most basic things in a kitchen, a technology that goes back to the stone age. In the simplest terms, it's a metal box with a wire rack that heats food to a certain temperature and cooks it for a certain time. There's nothing magic about that, it can't make food taste better. In theory every model sold does the identical thing the same way, the only difference is how it looks and whether you manually choose the time and temperature or a built in program does that for you. But the process of the heating elements getting hot and cooking your food never changes no matter how much or how little you paid for the thing. If it burns your food it’s not the toaster's fault, it has no idea what you put in the oven and what you consider "properly done". So, sorry to rain on any parades but no, this gadget won’t and can’t make your food taste any better nor will it make you the next Julia Child.YES OR NOThis product met all of my needs as expected and I think it is in fact designed and made to a higher quality standard than cheaper ones. And the reality is that if you are looking for one that takes up a minimal amount of counter space you probably know that most of the more deluxe ones aren’t this small. It fits a niche, it may not be for everyone, but for the reasons listed above I chose this one and I’m satisfied.I’m neither here to defend nor condemn this product, I paid a lot of my hard earned money to buy it which entitles me to my opinions. I simply believe in facts versus baseless accusations. I hope this information has been useful to you and if so please feel free to comment.

I like this oven so far, especially compared to a similar product I decided to return (see my other reviews for that).While this oven was deeper than what I was looking for (about 14" including handle), it does not actually make my standard depth countertop feel cluttered. The power cord is not super long at 3 ft, but longer than the previous product by about a foot, and for my installation it is long enough to reach the wall socket without compromises.The rack position is adjustable to fit pans of various thickness.The controls are digital and very intuitive to use. I like the preset modes (pizza, beagle, toast,...), while it still offers a regular baking mode where one can select the temperature and cooking time. I would have liked even more if I could have turned off the auto-shut off feature, but that is not possible (i.e. cooking time is not optional and the oven automatically turns off once the time has elapsed). Max cooking time is 1.5 hours.Other than that oven reaches temperature super fast and cooks evenly.

This toaster oven is expensive and I was hesitant to take the plunge and buy it. I was replacing and older Cuisinart. But the features of this toaster were appealing. I bought it and can say it's definitely worth every penny. When toasting you set a a number on the digital display to control how much you want your bread toasted then push a button to start it. The digital display shows a time count-down so you know exactly when it's going to be done. It toasts evenly and consistently. I haven't tried some of the other features. This is a quality product I highly recomend.

This is a review and comparison of the 1800-watt Breville Mini Smart Oven, model BOV450XL/A, and the 1300-watt Panasonic Toaster Oven, model NB-G110P. We have had both less than one month, so no comments on reliability, though the Breville seems more robustly built.Our primary goal for replacing our 20-year-old Panasonic toaster oven is to make toast that is dark enough. For the tests, I set both toasters on Dark. The bread we prefer is from When Pigs Fly bakery in Maine, which are generally substantial whole-grain slices about 3/8” thick. For these tests we used Honey Wheat Soft Sourdough. The Panasonic begins toasting with the timer starting at 3:00 minutes, but there is a computation going on. Initially the timer is flashing, when apparently the “smart” toaster is deciding just how long to actually toast. After about 30 seconds, the timer stops flashing, and the timer counts down in real time as one would expect a timer to do, but the result is that it skips ahead during the flashing period, so the final toasting time is only about 2 1/2 minutes. The result is a lightly browned toast, with roughly equal browning to both sides. See attached photo.The Breville oven takes a different approach. You can set darkness in 7 levels and the number of pieces of toast that you are toasting from 1 to 4. To get the greatest darkness available on one slice of bread, I set the darkness at 7 and the number of slices at 4, even though only one slice was being toasted. At this setting, the timer starts at 4:20, and counts down in real time. The result is toast lightly browned on top similar to the result of the Panasonic, but lighter browning on the bottom. These are also shown in the attached photos.There is a difference in the taste of these single toast slices from each of the toaster ovens set at maximum darkness. Because of the time difference to achieve roughly equivalent browning, the shorter more intense heat from the Panasonic leaves a center that tastes more like untoasted bread. Toast from the longer time of the Breville tastes more fully toasted, which we prefer. If you prefer darker toast, the Breville has two ways to do that: When beginning toasting, you can push the Frozen button, which adds 30 seconds to the toasting time. After toasting is done, you can push the “A bit more” button for an additional 30 seconds. With all this flexibility, the Breville won the toast competition.I should mention that the Panasonic also has a Frozen Waffle cycle that starts at 5 minutes on the dark setting. This is probably able to produce darker toast, but I have not explored it further. In place of the “A bit more” button on the Breville, on the Panasonic you can hit Toast again, but you have to watch to see when the level of darkness is achieved and manually stop the process. Watching the toast darkness is easier with the Panasonic because it has a light that is on when heating. The intermittent nature of this light can be annoying when cooking foods that do not require the heaters to be constantly on, as other reviewers have mentioned.With the toast competition out of the way, there are other features worth mentioning. In general, the Breville seems to be the more flexible small toaster oven. The Panasonic has six special-purpose options (Toast, Frozen Waffle, Reheat Roll/Bread, Frozen Pizza, Quick Reheat, Frozen Hash Brown) plus timed baking up to 25 minutes at a temperature between 250 and 500 F. It does not have a Broil feature as far as I can tell, but the Breville does. The Breville has 8 functions on its dial, Toast, Bake, Broil, Roast, Cookies, Reheat, Pizza, and Bagel. On all these except Roast, Broil, and Reheat, there is the option to press the Frozen button. So, for example, you have presets for fresh and frozen pizza, but on the Panasonic Frozen Pizza is the only pizza preset. Also, the Breville has a preheat function before a frozen pizza is added.Both of these toasters get pretty hot while cooking, and their walls and top are thin. The Panasonic specifies 4” clearance on both sides and the back, and 6” above it. The Breville specifies only side clearance of 4”. Not having a top clearance is an important omission, since these ovens are likely to be place on a counter under cabinets above. The Panasonic is higher, so clearance from cabinets a standard 18” above the counter would be 7 3/4 inches. That for the Breville would be 9 1/4 inches. Long baking times at high temperatures would require these clearances, but a few runs of the toaster may not.Another difference is the grill that holds the food. On the Panasonic the grill is attached to the door and slides in to cook and out when the door is opened. This is convenient and avoids reaching into a hot oven, but the position of the grill is fixed relative to the top and bottom heaters. The heavier Breville grill can be slid out by hand (using a pot hold after cooking). It can also be placed at 3 different levels, depending on the cooking function.Both units come with a cooking tray. The one with the Breville is slightly larger (just large enough for the one frozen pizza we’ve cooked) than the Panasonic one (9.75 vs 9.0” square, inside at bottom) and is more sturdily built of enameled steel with a flat bottom; the Panasonic is made of aluminum alloy with a ridged bottom that could be harder to clean (covering with aluminum foil is recommended). The ridged bottom may allow for a crisper pizza crust, though we haven’t tried it. An optional grill is available to put in the bottom of the Breville tray for a crisper pizza.Both units come with a 1-year warrantee. They both say to unplug the unit when not in use, which I hope is being overly cautious. The Panasonic seems to have a mechanical on/off switch, which when off should keep microprocessor errors from turning the unit on unintentionally. This is less clear for the Breville unit. The Breville manual is somewhat easier to understand and to search for what you want to know.As is obvious by now, on balance we are keeping the Breville toaster oven. In spite of a slight difference in toast browning between top and bottom, its extra flexibility made the difference. I’ll update this review as we learn more about the Breville.