Is the Panasonic 4-in-1 NN-CS89LBBPQ steam combination microwave a kitchen must-have?

Buy now, £519.99, Panasonic.com

• Convection oven/grill: Yes/yes
• Power: 1,000W
• Dimensions: 50 x 43.7 x 39.1cm
• Capacity: 31 litres

This sleek black appliance looks more like a mini-oven than a microwave as it’s taller than most similar machines.  It’s neat-looking but large, so it’s worth measuring carefully – including the available space under any wall-mounted cupboards – to be sure it won’t dominate your kitchen.

Once out on the worktop, the black frameless glass design does look great. The microwave is solidly built with a glossy black front, a drop-down door and digital touch screen control, making it easy to wipe across the front to keep fingerprints at bay.

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Inside is even easier to keep clean as the grill heater is integrated into the cavity so it can be easily wiped. Better still, there’s an auto-clean programme using hot steam to keep the whole thing sparkling with zero effort, invaluable if you plan to use the oven setting regularly.

It looks completely different from most microwaves on the inside too. There’s no glass turntable but a flatbed oven-like design instead of two shelves to cook even more at once. This is genius for squeezing in even the most awkward shaped dishes. We could comfortably fit a 40cm plate inside but also loved the fact rectangular trays and dishes could be used. It works so well, it’s hard to understand why every microwave doesn’t use the same design.

There’s not much this Panasonic two-in-one can’t manage. It’s easy to get up and running with obvious, intuitive controls, a good quick start guide and even a clock that’s simple to set. There’s a useful child lock function to guarantee little hands are kept at bay too.

Though it’s obvious how to work all the main functions, it’s still essential to keep the extensive manual handy just to make sure you’re getting the most out of your microwave. There are all sorts of combination cooking modes available including using the convection oven, the grill and the microwave at the same time, so it takes a little while until these become second nature. Bonus extras include a timer to delay the start of cooking and a clever sensor that reheats a fresh, pre-cooked meal by measuring the humidity of the food and automatically calculating the cooking time.

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There are also an exhaustive 36 pre-set programmes if you prefer the microwave to do all the work. We especially liked the fact these focused on everyday foods we all cook every day such as frozen vegetables, jacket potatoes, casserole and whole chicken. A useful junior menu is also included for automatically cooking children’s dishes such as fruit puree for babies and mug cake – of which there are recipes for chocolate and lemon versions in the manual.

The oven proved almost as good as a full-size one in our tests. Jacket potatoes were soft and fluffy with crispy skin, a whole chicken cooked well and even a Victoria sponge came out perfectly. Using combined cooking methods made a noticeable difference too, cooking a lasagne thoroughly but also browning the top instead of leaving it soggy.

Panasonic say the microwave’s inverter technology cuts cooking time by 40 per cent too and ready meals were certainly ready to eat much quicker than the cooking time stated on the packet. The technology also ensures continuous microwave emissions which preserves the flavour, nutrients and texture of food – and allows the appliance to operate almost silently.

Surprisingly, the Panasonic’s auto-defrost settings are equally excellent, something that often lets even the most expensive microwave down. Our mince was defrosted all the way through in no time and had no browning at all on the outside.

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We were even more impressed by the microwave’s steam technology, which really makes this microwave stand out from the competition. It’s a doddle to use with an integrated 800ml water tank and two outlets to inject steam directly into the oven cavity for healthier cooking. The two shelves then make it possible to steam vegetables over fish for an all-in-one, nutrient-packed meal in minutes.

Our only gripe is that we’d have loved a brighter light inside to check cooking progress without opening the door but it’s a small quibble. The grill is also on the slow side but we found it worked better if we didn’t overload it.