Questionable features are the digital timer and flashing lights, I don't know about Cuisinart's forays into electronics. I would expect those things to fail before the motor. And why a glass jar with a "durable" plastic handle, huh? As if they were trying to save weight on this one. It's some unnecessary cost-cutting that lowers the robustness a bit and makes cleaning a little trickier.

Separate ice crushing button and being able to add things through the top are both helpful features, and the warranty is excellent, they will usually stand by their products.

36 of 36 found the following review helpful:

A Glorious Smoothie Machine, But...  Nov 11, 2003
By Brian Gibson "gibheid"
I had this unit for two weeks and used it once, or sometimes twice a day. It makes glorious smoothies! Unfortunately, it's so noisy that you can't speak to someone standing next to you without shouting (96db at the operating position, if you care). It's impractical: there are lots of little nooks & crannies for food to be trapped in. It can't pour for @#%*... who designed that jar?! But it makes glorious smoothies!

One morning I was admiring the glorious smoothie process when I thought I heard a change in the motor's pitch. My nostrils began to detect a delicious toasted aroma. Little-by-little the smell grew more-and-more acrid, until I realized that a delicate haze was permeating the kitchen. I switched off the blender and lifted the jar, only to see a cloud of black smoke waft into the room. Had I burned out the motor? No! The little high-speed spindle that rotates the blades inside the jar had over-heated and melted the plastic surround! When the plastic was gooey, it slowed the motor down -- once it had cooled, it fused solid, hopelessly locking the motor.

It's going back to the store, where I'll ask for a replacement. Why am I bothering to replace an impractical, noisy, poorly designed fire-starter? Well, it might be a one-off... and did I mention the glorious smoothies?

40 of 44 found the following review helpful:

Smells like burning tires!  Aug 31, 2005
By S. C. Watson
We've had our Cuisinart for over a year and use it infrequently. One of the reasons why it gets so little use is the size and the weight. This is a heavy, heavy blender. And while I normally equate heavy industrial kitchenware with quality, in this case, I'm afraid Cuisinart has let us down. I never stress the motor on our model, yet even blending salad dressing, I get a faint whiff of burning rubber or... There is also an issue with the actual glass, the lip of the blender is so wide that pouring liquids is a pain--tons of spills. I have a feeling that Cuisinart's best men/women were out to lunch the day this design was passed. Maybe we can blame it on the interns. And while pictures of the product look nice, seeing the thing sitting on my counter, well, it's so large and bulky that that is exactly how it looks: Large and Bulky. No real elegance and it's not funky cool the way KitchenAid mixers are. Seems to me we got more longevity and easier use out of my cheaper model that I tossed to make way for this one.

28 of 30 found the following review helpful:

Perfect drinks made quietly in your kitchen!  Jun 09, 2003

I am recently married and, because of this, we have been able to try out a few blenders. We have tried a $100 Oster, an $80 Waring, and this ...Cuisinart. The Oster worked fine, but it was very loud. The Waring worked ok, but it was very loud and broke after the second pitcher of drinks. Now, this Cuisinart is awesome. The 50 oz. jar is big enough for a pitcher of frozen drinks without overflowing and it is at least half as quiet as the Oster and Waring. With the Waring, I felt guilty about running the blender for more than 30 seconds in my apartment. But with this Cuisinart, the noise isn't a problem at all. This Cuisinart has the most power of the blenders I tested, and the ice came out the smoothest. I usually buy bags of ice to make drinks because the ice is smaller and "softer", but when I wanted to test this Cuisinart I had no bags of ice. So, I used the icecubes from my freezer which are bigger and harder. The drinks came out perfectly smooth anyway, without one piece of unblended ice. PERFECT!
The one thing I cannot comment on is the endurance of this blender. I've only owned it a short time, so I'm not sure about it's lifespan. But if a perfectly smooth drink made quietly is what you want, this is the blender to do it!

23 of 24 found the following review helpful:

Heavy Duty & Heavy  Jun 02, 2006
By Specific Gravity
I was skeptical when I purchased this blender after reading the other 35 reviews here at Amazon. I picked this up at a local retail shop because I had a gift card which made this blender only $52 ($102 normal retail price). Got home, plugged it in, and made my first frozen berry smoothie.

I smelled the same "burning rubber" smell that others have commented on and having worked in construction for a couple years can say that is the smell of a powerful electric motor. I smelled the same thing using electric drills. This is a 600 watt motor... not the cheap motor you get with a $35 blender.

The blender is heavy. The glass jar is thick and heavy as well. I'm a guy so I don't mind the lifting of this weighty behemoth, but if weight is a consideration for you just keep that in mind before you purchase.

The blender crushes ice like a champion, frozen fruit is no problem. With any blender put your liquids in first, followed by you softer items and heavy (ice like substances) last.

The mouth of the jar is wide and it can be tricky when pouring out your liquid but its not all that bad.

The metal blades are sharp and thick, good for chopping up those ice cubes and frozen strawberries.

I like the clean simple buttons and interface. Has a handy count up digital timer to let you know how long you've been blending.

Overall I am very pleased with this blender and would not hesitate to purchase it again.

PRO: Heavy duty construction and motor, powerful. Large capacity. Simple button configuration.

CON: Heavy. Pouring of liquids from its wide mouth might prove challenging if you're not careful.

See all 146 customer reviews on Amazon.com