I love my KitchenAid. It has greater capacity than anything I have ever owned. It is more power and a more cosmetically appealing mixer. I took the plunge with the licorice-color and I'm glad I did. Now that I have a more powerful Kitchen Aid mixer, I feel confident it can take the challenge of the high gluten dough I use. This is a reliable machine. Here are my other notes:

1. It gets a workout in my household on almost a daily basis. No complaints! The things I like about this, and the KitchenAid brand in general, is the elegant design, which inspires confidence (being heavy and metal, rather than el cheapo plastic) and accentuates rather than detracts from kitchen decor.

2. I am not sure when so many major manufacturers decided that American consumers preferred cheap and ugly and unreliable, ala Wal-Mart, but they are wrong, and KitchenAid is right. Do not try to scrimp and go with a lower powered model.

3. I suggest also purchasing the ice cream maker attachment for another fifty bucks or so. We have had a lot of fun crafting unusual flavors like green tea and ginger.

4. This is an outstanding mixer. The mixer seems very quiet compared to the mill! The spiral dough hook does an excellent job of kneading, and the mixer has plenty of power to handle the whole-grain dough.

5. I ordered the coated blades for this machine. I always soak my blades and wash them by hand. It works great and looks like new no matter how old. It is a great choice for the high volume home baker like me; great quality, durable and powered to do bigger batches.

6. The customer service at Kitchen Aid is very helpful. When my machine originally arrived they had sent the wrong color. When they were contacted they told us to repackage the machine and send it back at their expense (they e-mailed a shipping label and scheduled pick up) and we received our replacement less than a week later. Fast, friendly and courteous customer service was able to make a mistake a non-event.

Caught up in the excitement of this new, beautiful machine I was inspired to purchase the pasta roller accessory based on the terrific reviews. The machine has now been in my kitchen for a full year. Even though I give it a workout every day or so with whole grain bread it is still going strong. If you cook, buy good equipment. Looking back, I could kick myself for making me so miserable in the kitchen with cheap stuff. You'll enjoy cooking with the right equipment. And your cooking ventures will prove it to you.