DCS RF195AUUX1 Review

Introduction

You’re probably wondering why it would be worth spending that kind of money on a refrigerator. Well, we can say with confidence that this product has remarkable performance ratings, a stylish design, and fairly high energy efficiency ratings. Other than the boxy external handles—which may very well appeal to those who enjoy an industrial aesthetic—there’s really very little about this product that’s not excellent.

Design & Usability

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Despite having an exterior with a very industrial appearance, the inside of the fridge is as sleek and elegant as you could hope for from a company that sells products primarily in the European market.

This French door fridge has a stainless steel finish, with a control panel on the right-hand fridge door. While we like the overall look, the metal handles are disappointingly clunky, giving the fridge a bit of a boxy look. The angular edges on the front aren't the most comfortable things in the world to grip, but the inner part of the handles at least have been rounded to accommodate the hand.

The interior of the fridge is modern and elegant in appearance, featuring glass shelves with stainless trim. The layout incorporates only full-width shelves, but they still mount onto the back of the cavity. Likewise, the crisper drawers are also somewhat quirky: There are two separate drawers with their own humidity controls, but they sit in one full-width tray. Unfortunately, there's no way to get into one without accessing the other. Underneath the vegetable drawers is another, shorter set of matching buckets, also on a full-width sliding tray. There’s no independent temperature control for these, though—it’s essentially like having two deli drawers on the bottom.

The freezer is broken up into two main sections. There's a lower bucket shelf attached to the door, with a pull-out tray and matching buckets set above that. There's a third plastic bucket that serves as an ice bin, which goes on the left side; this is what the ice dispenser empties into, and it comes with a small ice scoop. The ice maker itself isn't meant to be handled directly; instead, it's controlled using the external panel located on the right-hand door of the fridge. There is, at least, a through-the-door water dispenser set below the panel. Other than the fact that there's essentially no cavity in which to rest your glass, it's like every other standard water dispenser we've seen.

{{photo_gallery "Front Photo", "Fingerprints Photo", "Handle Photo", "Handle Detail Photo", "Water/Ice Dispenser Photo", "Water/Ice Dispenser Controls Photo", "Water/Ice Dispenser Detail Photo", "Interior Photo", "Refrigerator Main 1 Image", "Refrigerator Main 2 Image", "Refrigerator Main 3 Image", "Water Filter Photo", "Refrigerator Door 1-1 Image", "Refrigerator Door 1-2 Image", "Refrigerator Door 1-3 Image", "Refrigerator Door 2-1 Image", "Refrigerator Door 2-2 Image", "Refrigerator Door 2-3 Image", "Freezer Main 1 Image", "Freezer Main 2 Image", "Freezer Main 3 Image", "Freezer Door 1 Image", "Freezer Door 2 Image", "Freezer Door 3 Image", "Ice Maker Photo", "Back Photo", "Back Detail Photo", "Sides Photo", "Side Detail 1 Photo", "Side Detail 2 Photo", "Fridge Temperature Image", "Freezer Temperature Image", "Vegetable Drawer Photo", "Vegetable Drawer Controls Photo", "Ease of Access Photo", "Controls Photo", "Cleaning Photo", "Other Features Photo"}}

Features

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The controls may take some getting used to and the freezer is a bit cramped, but otherwise it’s a very user-friendly fridge.

The wide, shallow shelves in this counter-depth fridge provide a lot of open spaces, making it extremely easy to access food. Conversely, the counter-depth nature means the freezer doesn’t extend out as far as on some other models, so there may be more bending and rooting around to get at frozen goods than you may be used to.

While the location of the control panel is nothing new, the manufacturers at DCS follow their own rulebook when crafting the actual menus. This machine uses symbols that light up when the panel is in use, which, without the instruction manual, are probably going to make little sense to folks that haven't bought this brand of fridge before. The actual physical act of using the controls is quite easy, but you’ll want to peruse the user’s manual to acquaint yourself with the fridges particular iconography.

Stainless appliances always involve more labor as far as external cleaning is concerned, but the inside shouldn’t be as big of a problem. Many of the storage spaces consist of removable buckets which are completely enclosed and easy to clean. There's also some minor spill protection on the front and back of the main fridge shelves. Make sure you keep anything that may spill towards the middle, though; the sides don't have that extra lip, and if anything drips down past the crisper drawer, you'll be stuck with the task of cleaning off the wheel tracks.

Performance

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Solid temperature consistency throughout is backed by ridiculously good moisture retention. Bring on the salad!

You'll want to lower the thermostat a bit on this fridge; we had it set to 37 degrees Fahrenheit—and the air did actually get that cold inside the main cavity—but the internal temperature of our test material was just a bit warmer than that. There was—as is often the case—a slight temperature shift from the top of the DCS’s fridge compartment to the bottom, but it was less of a gap than what we usually see. A slight increase in warmth near the bottom is actually acceptable; in fact, it may be beneficial given that produce isn’t meant to be kept as cold as other refrigerated items.

As for the freezer, it gets cold. With a 2 degree difference on average from top to bottom, this product hovered right around zero degrees or below. The temperature consistency throughout the compartment is excellent, and the shift in temperature over time was so low that the risk of developing freezer burn is minimal at the very worst.

As good as all that is, however, the real standout was the vegetable drawer. The crispers on this baby were some of the best we’ve tested to date, with no exceptions. It’s almost absurd how well this machine managed to retain moisture; what that means for you is a longer-lasting freshness for fruits and vegetables, and less brown produce in your garbage.

Conclusion

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Yes, it's an expensive fridge. It's also absolutely worth it.

It’s rare that we get a chance to test a fridge that costs about $2,999. It’s even rarer that we can say wholeheartedly that every penny of that price tag is worth it. The DCS RF195AUUX1, which is made by Fisher & Paykel, is a pinnacle of refrigeration style and technique. This French door model showed off superior performance, including the best moisture retention we’ve ever seen—for now, anyway—as well as a visually striking interior design and solid energy efficiency. While we may not be the biggest fans of its boxy and industrial-looking handles, that one small flaw won't keep us from encouraging consumers to seek this fridge out first if you're looking to purchase a counter-depth model within its dimensions.

Science Introduction

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

With the exception of its slower-than-average freezing time, the DCS RF195AUUX1 performed more than admirably in all of our tests. The numbers don't lie: It's one of the best models we've tested to date.

Temperature Performance

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

An excellent performance from top to bottom.

From top to bottom, there was a two degree difference in fridge temperature—an excellent result. You typically want the bottom of a fridge to be slightly warmer since produce isn't meant to be kept as cold as other items. The one downside is that while the thermostat read 37 degrees, our test material registered an average of about 39; we recommend turning the fridge temperature down by a degree or two so your food is thoroughly refrigerated.

The very bottom of the freezer clocked in at about zero degrees Fahrenheit, which is exactly where we want it to be. The top portion, which is closer to the air vent, was actually colder, with an average of -1.46 degrees; no worries about accidental thawing here. At the worst, this freezer exhibited a mere third of a degree in temperature shift over time, so not only will your food stay cold, there's very little risk of freezer burn.

{{photo_gallery "Science Section 1 Images"}}

Moisture Retention

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Some of the absolute best we've ever seen... ever.

Trouncing everything we’ve seen that came before it, our test materials lost a mere 0.06 grams of moisture per hour after being placed inside the crisper drawers in this machine—phenomenal results that mean food will stay much fresher for much longer. Not only will it keep your food fresh, it'll also mean you can buy more at any given time. One of the biggest money drains with refrigerators is the amount of food that's thrown away because it spoils before you have time to eat it. Delicious food and less money wasted; it's a win-win situation all around!

{{photo_gallery "Science Section 2 Images"}}

Freezing & Thawing

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

While the freezer may take a while to cool things off, there's no need to worry about power outages.

Despite all the other extraordinary performance ratings we’ve seen, freezing time proved to be a bit poorer than average. Taking 1 hour and 46 minutes to freeze a room temperature item, the DCS is slow enough to have a potentially negative impact on the delicate texture of thawed meats and other sensitive items.

That said, at the end of our 36 hour power loss test, the internal temperature of our frozen test material hadn’t even broken 28 degrees. After yet another day, everything was still truly frigid. You definitely won’t have anything to worry about with respect to power outages here.

{{photo_gallery "Science Section 3 Images"}}

Storage Space & Energy Efficiency

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

It's a counter-depth fridge, folks; don't expect a ton of storage.

Rear-mounted shelves and lots of drawers with removable bins mean a fair amount of space is taken up by what you'll use to store your food. That said, you can fit a total of 9.32 cubic feet worth of groceries into the fridge proper, as well as another 2.71 cubic feet in the freezer; it's not a lot, but it's a decent amount for a counter-depth unit.

While the DCS RF195AUUX1 won't gouge out your bank account with electricity costs, it isn’t the cheapest product on the market. Calculated using a standard rate of $0.09 per kWh, we determined the DCS would cost consumers about $54.53 per year to operate. Even with the relatively small amount of available storage, that high price is actually quite justified. This model requires a mere 0.14 kWh of energy per cubic foot of space. That’s exceptionally low, and makes it clear as to why this model is Energy Star certified.

{{photo_gallery "Science Section 4 Images"}}

Other Tests

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

{{photo_gallery "Other Tests Images"}}