The Cuisinart Classic CPT-180 toaster is good overall. It toasted bagels particularly well when compared to the best toasters. The Smeg 2 is another toaster that makes bagels well but doesn't have a specific bagel setting. The Cuisinart Classic CPT-180 toaster impressed us by creating evenly toasted bagels and bread. The classic stainless steel design of the Cuisinart Classic CPT-180 toaster will fit well into any kitchen, and for a model with space for four slices, it's reasonably priced, too.
Cuisinart Classic CPT-180: Performance
This toaster has a solid design. It has all the common toasting features, such as defrosting and reheating. The slot's dimensions are all within standard size. You can fit four slices of bread up to 1.4 inches thick with this machine. The glossy exterior and timeless design work well with practically all kitchen decor. It is a clean-looking unit that does everything you need for your morning toaster and does it fast. This unit toasted a slice of bread on medium, setting the fastest at 1:27, considerably faster than the slowest time of 2:44.
Controls are modern but not over-complicated. The Cuisinart Classic CPT-180 toaster comes with two six-setting browning dials, dual reheat, defrost, and bagel buttons with LED indicators.
The design does have a few drawbacks. It has a removable crumb tray accessed from the back. With a back-facing tray, you'll need to move the toaster in order to access it. This is inconvenient compared to a front-facing tray, where you can just pull it out from where the toaster stands. The low lifting height of this toaster is also fiddly, meaning oddly shaped bread slices may be hard to grab from the top of the toaster. With such a narrow margin, you could easily burn your fingers trying to pull out a short piece of bread. The Breville Smart Toaster BTA840XL is a safer option.
This machine comes with a three-year manufacturer warranty. The majority of modern toasters only came with one year, making this a substantial advantage.
Should you buy the Cuisinart Classic CPT-180?
The Cuisinart Classic brings a timeless design and solid performance. It has a few downsides, such as the crumb tray, which can be difficult to access, and the potential difficulty in reaching smaller slices of bread. However, the Cuisinart Classic CPT-180 toaster has useful and versatile features and toasts fast and well, making it one of the best toasters available on the market.
