Why buy a bottom-mount fridge?
If you grew up with the old-fashioned freezer-on-top fridges, you might be wondering what the point is of a fridge with a freezer on the bottom. We asked CHOICE fridge expert Ashley Iredale.
"Why would you want a bottom-mount fridge? It's all about convenience – a bottom-mount fridge means you don't need to bend down to get the milk, or any fresh food for that matter, and I can guarantee you do that far more often than diving into your freezer," he says.
In a bottom-mount fridge, the things you're likely to be reaching for most are much closer to eye level, making it easier to find what you're looking for.
"Purchase price and running costs tend to be slightly higher for bottom-mount fridges than their top-mount counterparts, but it's a small price to pay for the improved utility and convenience," says Ashley.
The freezer capacity tends to be around the same in top-mount and bottom-mount freezers, but bottom-mounts are generally built with sliding drawers, whereas top-mounts generally have shelves, which can make it harder to access frozen goods buried deep at the back of the freezer. Ultimately, which one is best comes down to personal preference.
The worst bottom-mount fridge
Smeg FAB38RCRAU
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 22%
- Keeping food fresh longer: 26%
- Total volume: 407L
- RRP: $999
Don't be fooled by the cult brand and glitzy marketing: this Smeg shocker received much worse than just a frosty reception when it was reviewed by our expert fridge fanatics. They were so appalled at this appliance's poor performance, they gave it the lowest score they have ever given a fridge in CHOICE's long history. Ever.
Why is it so bad? As well as using a ton of energy and being expensive to run, our testers uncovered wild fluctuations in the temperature of the appliance, which means your food is likely to go off far more quickly than it should. Add to that an eye-watering price tag, and this is definitely one to avoid. Find out more about the worst fridge we ever tested.
What are the best bottom-mount fridges?
We recommend fridges with an overall score of 75% and at least 60% for all aspects of temperature performance.
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And the winners are...
Two of our top-performing fridges in this category come from LG, a brand which also scores highly in our brand reliability surveys. In fact, the two frontrunners are pretty much the same fridge in different sizes. The third comes from Mitsubishi and includes a special nifty feature...
LG GB-335WL
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 82%
- Keeping food fresh longer: 80%
- Total volume: 335L
- RRP: $999
This kitchen white knight is not only the best bottom-mount fridge we tested recently, it's also the cheapest. Our experts rated it as 'very good' across a number of tested areas, noting that its temperature stability is particularly impressive (which means you get even temperatures throughout to make your food last longer).
Considering how well it performs, it also has a low running cost when compared with other more expensive models, saving you up to over $800 over a 10-year period. What a cool buy!
Read the full LG GB-335WL review.
LG GB-455WL
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 81%
- Keeping food fresh longer: 79%
- Total volume: 454L
- RRP: $1299
If excellent temperature stability is what you're after, this fridge delivers the goods: it scored 90% on our temperature stability test, which means it'll keep your ice cream frozen and your fresh food fresh. It also performed well in terms of its noise level, temperature range and ability to keep food fresh for longer.
The only downside our testers could find is that it doesn't have a chiller — but aside from that, it's a winner.
Read the full LG GB-455WL review.
Mitsubishi MR-CX402EJ-ST-A2
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 81%
- Keeping food fresh longer: 80%
- Total volume: 402L
- RRP: $1799
This fridge comes with one of our highest brand reliability scores (as rated by 9500 CHOICE members), and features a configuration we haven't seen before: freezer on the bottom, fridge on the top, but with a crisper drawer that's accessible via its own dedicated drawer.
Why would you want a separate crisper drawer?
"Well, firstly it means that you won't let all the cold air out every time you need to grab some lettuce from the crisper, which will keep the temperature of the main section stable," Ashley says.
"And secondly, if your kids are constantly whinging that they want a snack, you can tell them they can have anything they want from the middle drawer – carrots for everyone!"
It's probably not a feature that everyone will appreciate, but CHOICE's thermal experts were excited to test it.
"Personally I love the idea of a fridge with a separate-access crisper compartment – but then I am a fridge nerd," says Ashley.
Read the full Mitsubishi MR-CX402EJ-ST-A2 review.
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