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Technical Details
- 2-slice toaster offers 1-1/2-inch-wide slots and extra-lift carriage lever
- Reheat, defrost, and bagel buttons with LED indicators
- 6-setting browning dial; cord wrap; slide-out crumb tray
- Flat side for space-saving positioning; instruction book included
- Measures 11 by 8-1/2 by 8 inches; 3-year limited warranty
Product Description
High-tech toasting technology gets a high-style look with this sleek stainless steel two-slice toaster featuring beautiful brushed chrome accents. A six-setting browning dial and reheat, defrost and bagel buttons give you custom control, while wide slots fit a variety of bread and toaster pastries. Limited warranty. Model CPT-160.Similar Products
Customer Reviews
2010-09-22
By Matt (Reston, VA)
I needed a new toaster, and while I knew I could get a basic one for $15, I figured that since it wasn't something that I buy that often, I might as well splurge and get a good one. Cuisinart was a name that I (apparently wrongly) associated with quality, and I liked the cool retro look of the model, so I bought this one.
Big mistake. Cool looks are about all this thing has going for it. You want toast? Good luck.
As far as I can tell, despite the dial indicating multiple levels, this thing actually has two settings -- "do nothing" and "blacken". Seriously, it was nearly impossible to get anything in between. Set too low, and the bread would come out warm, but still white. Set even slightly higher, and it would be burnt. The dial on the toaster goes from "1" to "6". Set at "1" or "2", the toaster did nothing but warm the bread. At "3", the bread was black. I can only imagine that at "6" it would have just caught fire. I didn't try.
As far as the settings go -- as far as I could tell, the "bagel" setting seemed to make no difference. My understanding of these things is that in the normal mode, both sides of the item being toasted should come out toasted evenly, while in "bagel" mode, it should concentrate the heat on the inside sides and leave the outside sides largely untoasted. Not so here. I couldn't tell a difference.
I tried and tried to get it to work, but each new thing that I attempted to toast became an exercise in trial and error, and I quickly got tired of sacrificing multiple slices of bread, bagels, etc. in attempting to get an acceptable result. Needless to say, this toaster went straight back to the store in a matter of days. I picked up a less expensive, but equally nice Oster model with all of the same features instead and couldn't be happier with it.
Avoid this one.
2010-09-01
By Debbie Lee Wesselmann (the Lehigh Valley, PA)
Several years ago I bought a Cuisinart toaster that was a piece of junk (it burned everything), but I took a chance on this toaster since it seemed more sturdy than the last. So far, after a month of daily use, it works great, both on regular and bagel toasting. It has wide enough slots for bagels and thicker slices, although, not surprisingly, homemade bread with one-side wider than another gets toasted unevenly and sometimes doesn't fit.
I had several criteria when purchasing this toaster: it had to have a bagel setting (with most of the heat on the interior); it had to feel sturdy, with some weight; it had to have a "stop" button (instead of requiring a yank on the handle); it had to have wide slots; and, of course, it had to toast bread without burning. This toaster has all those features plus a defrost cycle (low heat) and an easy-to-remove crumb tray. As with many new appliances, the first few uses created an awful smell which, fortunately, dissipated. The thermostat correctly toasts/heats everything from toaster pastries to thick, wholegrain bread.
Some helpful hints when toasting bread: breads with high sugar content need a lower setting than white bread; English muffins are always tricky since they have raised areas and deep holes, and often they require more time than average bread; the bagel setting heats both sides but has more intense heat in the center. You'll probably have to fiddle with the settings until you discover the ones that you'll use everyday and for special cases.
Given other reviews, I'm a little nervous about longevity. You'd think that if we could put a man on the moon, we could create a fantastic toaster, but, alas, that doesn't seem to be the case. This toaster gets five stars from me because it beats (so far!) most of the competition, not because it is perfect. If it fails within a two year period, I'll be back to change my star rating.
-- Debbie Lee Wesselmann
2010-07-30
By bobbijo
I always thought that when you bought a Cuisinart anything, you would be assured of high quality and reliability, so I never minded paying their higher price. I have used their food processer for many years and it is a workhorse in the kitchen but this toaster is a major dissappointment. The toast comes out ok but really...how hard is it to toast bread competently?? My gripe is that it is falling apart after less than two years of use. First the setting dial kept falling off.(We leave it off now and just use one setting) and yesterday the push-down lever fell out! Nothing seemed broken.. it just keeps falling out of the slot. We are only two adults... no kids use this so it is not abused. I noticed that Cuisinart now sells less-expensive "reconditioned" product in different packaging in discount and job-lot stores. I think it is all the same product. Must we keep filling up land-fills with cheaply made junk?? I am on my way to get a new one... NOT a Cuisinart!
2010-07-28
By Durango Dave
We bought one of these toasters in February 2008 because the design fit in nicely with our remodeled kitchen. The toaster died in December 2009. It never did toast that evenly - the elements on the outside do not toast as much as the elements in the middle. I can live with that, but a $60 toaster should last more than two years IMHO. It just quit toasting on the outside elements and would no longer latch down to toast.
Since the toaster has a three year warranty, I got it replaced. But it cost me $13 to send the toaster to Conair (the parent company that owns Cusinart) and another $7 for shipping the warranty replacement to me. So after several weeks and $20 we received the new toaster in January 2010, which did not toast any better than the first toaster. Now this toaster has died exactly the same as the original toaster, except that this toaster only made it seven months before it quit working!
So I called customer service and they said they would replace it again but only if I send the defunct second toaster back to them. Why would I expect that another one of these pieces of junk would last any longer than the first two?? Just more cheap junk made in China destined for the landfill!!
If I could rate this product zero stars I would. Do not waste you $ on this cheap piece of junk!!! :(
2010-07-16
By Walter J. (ASTORIA, NY, US)
So, I bought a Black & Decker toaster that looked similar to this one and it didn't toast evenly so I returned it. I thought that perhaps I should spend a few extra dollars for the super cute Cuisinart. Wrong! I bought one and it only toasted one side of the bread. I returned it and held off on buying another one because I was just baffled by all of these dysfunctional toasters. Finally, today, I broke down and bought another Cuisinart thinking that perhaps I just got a bad apple, but this one only toasts one side of the bread as well. I would think that at the very least, a $60 toaster should toast both sides of your bread. If I could have given this toaster a lower rating, I would have. Ridiculous.
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