Sharp SMC2266KS 2.2 cu. ft. 1200W Stainless Steel Countertop Microwave Oven

Why it's worth it

The Sharp SMC2266KS is a full 2.2 cubic feet with a 16.5-inch carousel, which means a standard 9x13 baking dish sits flat instead of wedged at an angle. It also has inverter cooking and sensor cook, so you're not trading evenness for size.

If you cook for four or more, capacity is the spec that actually limits you. Good Housekeeping treats the ability to fit a 9x13 dish flat on the turntable as the benchmark for family-size utility, and a 1.6-cubic-foot interior is roughly where that becomes possible. At 2.2 cubic feet with a 16.5-inch carousel, this Sharp clears that bar with room left over. Your Pyrex goes in flat. Your dinner plates rotate without clipping the walls.

Sharp packed the good features into a big box, which is rarer than it sounds. Large-capacity microwaves often skip inverter power and sensor cooking to hit a size target. This one has both, plus 10 power levels, two-stage cooking, weight and time defrost, and a melt/soften function for butter and chocolate. Express Cook gets you up to six minutes with a single press.

From our review of 5 countertop stainless steel microwaves, by David Sinclair, Managing Editor

What we like

• +If you cook for four or more, capacity is the spec that actually limits you
• +Sharp packed the good features into a big box, which is rarer than it sounds
• +Owners repeatedly describe it as quiet — quiet enough that it stands out against the GE and older units people replaced
• +Sharp's Carousel system has been around long enough to have generational owners, and several people buying this one are…

What to know

• –It's genuinely big — 24.4 inches wide and 19.6 deep, before you add the clearance these units need on the sides and back
• –The control panel is the common gripe
• –A handful of owners report failures inside the first year or two — the turntable stopping, or the unit running with the door…