Hisense RR220D4BDE Retro Fridge

Is the Hisense RR220D4BDE Retro Fridge worth buying?

Yes, the Hisense RR220D4BDE Retro Fridge is worth £229 if you want a retro silver cabinet in a narrow gap, with 150 litres of fresh food, a 15-litre 4-star ice box and defrosting it does itself. It is the one to buy when the fridge is on show in a small kitchen or a flat, and 334 owners rate it 4.2, more than any other model on this page carries.

It is not worth £229 if you simply want the most food space for that money. Two other models at the same price or less give you well over 200 litres, and this one tops out at 150 litres of fresh food. Buy it for the shape, the wine rack and the auto defrost, not for the litres.

How much fresh food space does the Hisense RR220D4BDE Retro Fridge give you?

The number that defines this fridge is £1.53, and it is the price of a single litre of fresh food. The cabinet measures 165 litres in total, but 15 of those sit in the 4-star ice box, which leaves 150 litres for the shopping. Take £229 and divide it by those 150 litres and you land on £1.53 per fresh litre, the dearest figure of the ten fridges ranked on this site.

Compare that with the £0.95 per litre you pay for 242 litres in the Fridgemaster MTL55242E at the same £229, and the gap is 58 pence a litre. What the £1.53 buys is the 15-litre ice box, the automatic defrost, the wine rack in the door and a body only 51.9 cm wide. The ice box runs to 4 stars, so it will hold a bag of frozen peas and an ice tray without softening them.

What are the dimensions and what comes with the Hisense RR220D4BDE?

The cabinet stands 128 cm tall, 51.9 cm wide and 51.3 cm deep, and it weighs 32 kg, light enough for two people to lift up a step. Inside you get three glass shelves, four door shelves and a drawer for fruit and veg, with the wine rack holding bottles upright on the door. The interior light runs on the compressor cycle, so it comes on with the door.

It arrives ready to plug in on a 220 V supply with a Type G plug, and it uses R-600A refrigerant with a reciprocating compressor and no inverter. The door is right-hinged and it does not swap sides, so the worktop has to be on the left of the cabinet. A 2-year warranty covers it, and the lock takes a key, which is a rare thing on a fridge at this price.

Where does the Hisense RR220D4BDE Retro Fridge fall short?

The 150 fresh litres are the first thing you will feel. It is enough for one or two people doing a top-up shop, and it is not enough for a family doing a 13-bag weekly run, which is what 242 litres covers. Three glass shelves leave little room to shuffle, and a large pot has to go on the bottom shelf under the drawer.

It draws 141 kWh a year, more than the 102 kWh of a 230-litre COMFEE' at £199.99, which means a smaller fridge working harder. And the right-hand door is fixed, so a kitchen where the only free wall sits to the right of the cabinet rules this fridge out before any of that matters.

How does the Hisense RR220D4BDE compare with other larder fridges?

Against the Fridgemaster MTL55242E at £229, the two cost exactly the same and the Fridgemaster gives you 242 litres against 150, which is 92 litres more for £0.00 extra. The Hisense answers back with a 15-litre ice box, automatic defrost, a key lock and a body 3.3 cm narrower, so it wins the small kitchen and loses the big shop.

Against the COMFEE' 230L at £199.99, the Hisense costs £29.01 more and gives 80 litres less of fresh food. That COMFEE' works out at £0.87 per litre and runs at 40 dB, though only 29 buyers have rated it at 4.0 against the Hisense's 334 at 4.2. Choose the Hisense if you want the retro shell and the ice box, and the COMFEE' if you want the most litres for the least money.