Zanussi ZWJ14591W review

EASE OF USE AND FEATURES

There’s no denying that the Zanussi ZwJ14591W is a little more basic-looking than some of the competition, with its plain white case. However, it’s certainly inoffensive and the build quality felt good to us.

Control is through a main dial that lets you set the wash type. For each wash type (Cottons, Synthetics, Delicates and Wool/Handwash) you can select the allowed temperature. For example, the Cotton cycle lets you choose Cold, 30C, 40C, 60C or 90C; the Synthetics cycle lets you choose Cold, 30C or 40C.

In addition, you can select additional features per wash, including the Soil level (Light or Heavy), which increases the wash time to help remove stubborn stains, Prewash and Extra rinse. There’s no option to save your favourite settings into a wash, though.

Controls are basic, but simple to use

A small LCD screen displays the current settings and time remaining. It’s basic, but tells you all you need to know.

Sound wise, the Zanussi ZWJ14691 is rated at 55dB for wash and 79dB for the spin cycle. That’s a fair bit louder than other machines we’ve tested, although the machine didn’t shudder or vibrate in our tests, so it wasn’t too obtrusive in our test lab.

CONCLUSION

Consistent running costs and decent wash performance mean that the Zanussi ZWJ14591W is a good budget choice. Given more money we’d buy the Panasonic NA-168VG4, which has considerably lower running costs and better wash performance, but if you’re on a tight budget, this is a good buy.