The Sanyo Digital Convection Toaster Oven SK-VF7S is an attractive and efficient countertop cooking appliance.

This unit is constructed from brushed stainless steel for a clean, bright appearance. It is reasonably compact with dimensions of 12-1/2 inches (depth), 15-3/4 inches (width), and 9 inches (height). It comes with a removable 9-3/4-inch wire rack that sits within a 10-1/2-inch square rack guide. You also get a 10-1/4-inch square shallow oven tray that is useful for baking cookies, or cooking frozen pizza, French fries, hot dogs and more.

The Sanyo SK-VF7S has a couple of unconventional features, which took some getting used to but did not detract from the performance. The first was the two-piece oven rack/guide combination, which turned out to be quite useful. The rack can be set atop the guide and used for toasting, or it can be removed and placed inside the shallow baking tray (which is then set on top of the guide) for cooking hamburgers or chicken pieces, allowing the grease to drain through the rack into the pan. We also liked the rack-advance feature. The guide clips onto the front door and pulls forward several inches when the door is opened to allow easier removal of cooked foods.

The second unusual feature was the timer dial, which turns freely in both directions. The dial can be set between 5 and 40 minutes and small indicator lights located around the dial glow to show the remaining time. We found it odd that the timer dial does not actually move its position; yet the time continues to count down silently until the oven shuts off with a series of beeps. If more time is needed to finish cooking, the timer can be reset.

One exceptional feature of this model is the convection fan, which operates continuously while the oven is preheating and turns on and off to maintain a constant temperature. While on, the fan is amazingly quiet. Two inlets distribute the heated air throughout the oven chamber for faster, more even cooking. The heat is generated by two oversize quartz heating elements -- one on the top and one on the bottom. The elements glow bright red within seconds of activation and cycle on and off during cooking. The combination of heaters and fan provide fast, efficient heating within the oven chamber.

We were impressed with this model's toasting ability. The sliding wire rack accommodates up to four slices of bread comfortably. There are three one-touch toast buttons, depending on the number of slices being toasted (1 slice, 2 slices or 3-4 slices). There is also a shade selector dial with settings from light to dark. Using the medium setting, four slices of bread took approximately 3 minutes to reach a rich brown color. The toasting was fairly even; however, we noticed that the slices in the back of the oven were slightly darker than those placed in the front. When just two slices were placed in the center of the oven, the tops and bottoms toasted to a perfect, even color in just 2 minutes!

Baking was also accomplished quickly and efficiently. The preheat time for this unit was just 5 minutes, which is a decided advantage for busy cooks. A smooth touchpad control panel offers a range of toast and bake selections. We found the oven temperature selections a bit confusing at first, since there are only five options (470, 400, 320, 250, and 180 degrees Fahrenheit). Pressing the temperature control button lets you toggle through the options quite easily, but the trick is gauging which temperature to use, especially when recipes call for something other than the default settings. In our tests, we took the cautious route, choosing a temp close to, but just lower than the one specified in the cooking directions (using 320 degrees, for instance, for a banana bread recipe that called for a 375-degree cooking temp). The lower temp worked quite well, even finishing before the stated time. We did have to watch the top of the bread for over-browning though.

Where the Sanyo SK-VF7S really excels is with fast cooking tasks, such as frozen waffles, buttermilk biscuits and other convenience foods. Items can be placed either directly on the wire rack or in the shallow baking tray.

The Sanyo Digital Convection Toaster Oven SK-VF7S is a unique appliance that can cook a variety of foods quickly and without fuss.


Pros: Digital touchpad controls, convection fan for even heat distribution, stainless-steel housing, 40-minute timer
Cons: Limited to five temperature settings, can't reset timer until unit shuts off

Warranty
1 year, parts and labor