Cuisinart CPT-122BK 2-Slice Compact Plastic Toaster, Black

Looked at ALL price points for a new toaster because it was time to get a new one. Considered an expensive "smart toaster" but then made a smart decision and bought the smart choice. This Cuisinart toaster does the work, is clean looking and you get great evenly toasted product. It takes up a small space and looks great. I am super happy that with the purchase.

I originally bought this toaster as a temporary solution until the one i wanted to buy was back in stock. But after using this toaster I no longer see the need in buying a more expensive one because this one does everything I need it to.At this price point you will NOT find a better toaster. It's simple, yet looks attractive on my counter. The shape and design makes it easy to clean. I have toasted bagels, and other types of bread in it and so far it works great.I notice in alot of reviews, not only for this toaster but many others as well, that people complain about the toasters not toasting "perfectly even". I never realized how many OCD people there were in the world until I read those reviews. LOL. The reality is no toaster will ever make a piece of toast exactly the same shade top to bottom, front to back. It's simply unrealistic due to science. Toast is toast. As long as it's toasted, and not burnt... who cares what it looks like?It is important to remember that different types of breads, and different brands of breads use different ingredients. Therefore my toasting experience may not be the same as yours. You have to experiment with your new toaster to find the settings that work for you based on the kind of bread you are toasting. Different ingredients in different breads cause them to toast within different time frames. My preferred setting on this toaster is 3. I started at 5, then 4, and kept going lower until I found a setting that didn't burn the brand of bread I buy. You will have to do the same. But once you find the heat level setting that works for your brand and type of bread, it's smooth sailing moving forward.I would also like to address the "chemical smell", "burning plastic smell" reviews. YES THERE WAS A BURNING SMELL THE FIRST TIME I USED THE TOASTER. It's normal when you are running electricity through heated metal coils for the first time. Again... this is science. It is to be expected. IT WILL GO AWAY AFTER A COUPLE USES. I turned on the toaster for 3 back to back cycles without bread, then 3 back to back cycles with bread that I threw away. After that... NO SMELL. Make sure you have the windows open when you do this.This is currently the #1 top rated toaster on amazon. I think it deserves that spot in the rankings. Buy it.

Replaced previous toaster with this Cuisinart. Quality product featuring four toasting levels. Good product but do question why some toasting isn't more even, especially with a brand new product.

Compared to other Cuisinart toasters I have had in the past, I was extremely disappointed with the Cuisinart 2 slice toaster CPT-122BK model. Not sure if I just got a defective one or if they are all like that, but it didn't work correctly.The toaster itself is very lightweight & low quality compared to the others I have had. It looks good & the cord is a good length & can be contained underneath. I definitely recommend a removable crumb tray & it has one. It was packaged well & I had it delivered in an Amazon box. I like the cancel, bagel & defrost options & the wide slots - unfortunately, that's the only good things about it as it didn't toast as it should.I ran a couple cycles to burn off the manufacturing residue & tested the toaster with several different types/sizes/thickness of bread at the various heat settings - all had issues. Weirdly, the pieces of toast that I scraped off the burnt parts tasted like there was cinnamon on it & I was using Texas toast & peanut butter, so there shouldn't have been a cinnamon taste. The bread was still cold even though it was burnt. It appeared brand new in the box with all of the wrappings & no crumbs in it when I unboxed it, so I don't know what happened.The plastic sides of the toaster got very hot, even on the lowest setting. The lever isn't smoothe when you press it down & you can see the red heat elements through the lever slit in the plastic. Thicker bread doesn't pop up very much when it's done. The bread carriage doesn't hold the bread in the center of the slots & it didn't settle in the same spot every time.Toasting at level 1 or 2 doesn't get the bread toasted or warm. Level 2.5 - 3.5 burns one side of the bread while the other side isn't toasted at all. Turning it over to toast the other side ends up burning both sides. Anything higher makes charcoal. There's no control at all over the toast brownness because it goes from nothing to burnt in less than 1 level. Weirdly, even when the toast was burnt, the bread wasn't warm at all. The heat elements get really red & all seem to light up, but I don't know what makes the toaster do what it does at the lower heat levels.If you like burnt cold toast, you would probably like this defective toaster.I need to have a toaster that works correctly & consistently since we use it every day for multiple people & picky eaters.Thankfully, I am able to return the toaster without leaving my house - the UPS building is about 10 miles away from my house & I don't have a vehicle right now & we don't really have any public transportation options here. UPS will pick it up at some point tomorrow & being a label to put on it. Hopefully that goes smoothly! I have already ordered a different brand toaster that has 4.7 stars - hopefully I get one that actually works well, every time.

I love this little toaster. My first one lasted about ten years and I just recently replaced it with the same model. It's a nice basic two slice toaster. Works well, with settings for defrost and bagels. Doesn't take up a lot of space on the counter.