Consumer Reports Calls This Luxury Dishwasher One Of The Worst To Buy In 2026

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When you shell out for a high-end kitchen appliance, you probably expect it to work pretty flawlessly. Unfortunately, though, that isn't always the case, as we found out from Consumer Reports' ranking of the best (and worst) dishwashers of 2026. On that list, the Smeg STU2FABWH2 — which retails for $2,199 — received one of the lowest overall scores.

To create its list, Consumer Reports has reviewed about 130 standard-sized dishwashers, ranging in price from around $300 to $3,000. The process involves testing each product for about 30 hours, during which time the team dirties a dozen white ceramic plates, bakes them until they're crusty, puts them in the dishwasher, and runs a regular wash cycle (with no pre-rinsing). Then, it uses software to determine how much mess is left on each plate. It also evaluates how well the dishwasher dries dishes and how much noise it makes during operation.

To create its rankings, Consumer Reports rates each dishwasher in the following categories: lower wash performance, upper wash performance, ease of use, drying, energy use, and noise. In addition, Consumer Reports typically factors in the brand's predicted reliability and owner satisfaction when ranking appliances, but these scores don't appear in its review of the Smeg dishwasher.

So, what exactly did Consumer Reports have to say about the Smeg STU2FABWH2? On the plus side, the researchers reported that this Energy Star-certified dishwasher is highly efficient, costing about $45 per year to run. For that, it earned a perfect score for energy use. However, Consumer Reports classified the appliance's lower and upper wash performances as "mediocre," which hurt its ratings in those categories. Its drying capability, ease of use, and noise level are considered "acceptable," but there's room for improvement in all areas.

It's a bit tricky to figure out what real-life customers think about this product. Smeg dishwashers are sold by a limited number of retailers, so there aren't many online reviews available. On AJ Madison's website, the Smeg STU2FABWH2 has an average rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars, but most of the criticism is focused on the delivery of the dishwasher, rather than the dishwasher itself. You can also buy this appliance directly from Smeg or from Williams Sonoma, but there are no public reviews published on either company's website.

To be fair, we should point out that the Smeg product isn't the only one that received such a low score. Going by the Consumer Reports ratings, Viking is also one of the worst dishwasher brands in 2026. The Viking FDWU724 — another premium dishwasher that starts at $2,469 — earned the same overall score as the Smeg model. So did the Frigidaire FDHP4336AS — but since it retails for about $600 (a fraction of the price of the other two), that might not be as surprising. So, which high-end dishwasher earned the highest score from Consumer Reports? That would be the Bosch Benchmark SHP9PCM5N ($1,999).