The Kenmore Elite CS 57442 is a great big side-by-side refrigerator that is every bit as well-featured and solidly built as the most upscale fridges on the market, but sports a significantly smaller price tag than other luxury side-by-side models.

But it isn't the Elite CS 57442's price alone that impressed us; after all, it's hardly a low-priced unit. For those looking for a super-upscale appliance with lots of convenience and performance features, however, this model will seem like a bargain.

The Elite CS 57442 has a fresh foods compartment with a capacity of 15.0 cubic feet, while the freezer has a 10.1-cubic-foot capacity. Additionally, for a very large and well-featured fridge, this unit is also surprisingly energy efficient; it runs on approximately 613kwh of energy each year, so you can expect to pay around $55 annually to run it.

As soon as you open the door of the Elite CS 57442, you'll feel the quality that is built into this fridge. The door itself is on the heavy side and has a durable feel. The door itself has one fixed bottom shelf that can hold liter bottles, as well as two adjustable gallon-size door bins and a top dairy compartment. This model also has a wonderful "Fresh-n-Ready" bin, which is a tilt-out, clear bin that's meant to hold fruits and vegetables and keep them in a convenient place. The door also has an "Ultra-Chill Zone," a bin that uses cold air from the freezer to keep its contents a few degrees colder.

Within the main fresh foods compartment are three adjustable glass shelves with a spillsaver feature, plus another shelf that sits above the three drawers. Two of the shelves slide out. The Elite CS 57442 also has one humidity-controlled crisper drawer and a convertible drawer that can be used as a second crisper or as a meat drawer. There's also a snack drawer.

The freezer compartment is thoughtfully designed. For starters, the ice bucket that serves the through-the-door icemaker is on the door; it's attractive and removable, so it can be used anywhere you want to take it. The big benefit of placing the ice storage on the door is that it takes up a small amount of space and frees up room in the freezer compartment.

The freezer compartment has three white wire shelves plus three pull out baskets. The baskets have solid fronts that coordinate with the refrigerator section's crisper drawers and make the bins easier to remove. On the door are three shelves with wire gates.

The Elite CS 57442's through-the-door ice and water dispenser is completely flush and doesn't stick out of the door area at all. It's a sophisticated dispenser, capable of all sorts of tricks. For starters, the dispenser delivers water through a PUR Ultimate water filtration system; the filter is located in the fridge base grille and is easy to access and change. The Elite CS 57442 has a measured water delivery system, so you can program it to dispense a precise amount of water. The dispenser has a bright white LCD readout that indicates the water amount, the type of ice and the age of the filter. The base of the dispenser even slides out so you can rest a wide pitcher on the shelf while you fill it with water. The dispenser has a light as well as a lock feature.

Additionally, the Elite CS 57442 also uses sophisticated cooling technology to keep the internal temperature of both compartments chilled to your specifications.

The Elite CS 57442 side-by-side refrigerator is available in white, black and stainless steel.

The Kenmore Elite CS 57442 is a wonderful, large side-by-side refrigerator that looks smart and has plenty of features that you'll welcome for years to come.


Pros: Smart styling, energy efficient, loaded with features, quality build, sophisticated through-the-door water and ice dispenser, in-door ice storage
Cons: Lacks small features like bottle rack and egg caddy

Warranty
1 year, parts and labor