Hotpoint Class 6 SI6864SHIX Review
A great entry-level oven
Verdict
A nice-looking basic oven, the Hotpoint Class 6 SI6864SHIX is straightforward and easy to use. It cooks and grills well, although it is a touch hotter to one side of the oven, in my tests. If you prioritise looks then this model will look stylish in any kitchen, but the entry-level Hotpoint oven offers similar features for less.
Pros
- Smart and stylish
- Good array of accessories
- Large internal space
Cons
- Slightly warmer on one side
- No shelf rail
Key Features
- CapacityHas a total internal space of 73-litres, making this one of the largest built-in ovens that you can buy.
Introduction
A simple and straightforward oven, the Hotpoint Class 6 SI6864SHIX is designed to make cooking simple.
It has a smart user interface, plenty of room inside and ships with a decent range of accessories. If you need a good value oven, then this one has a lot going for it.
Design and features
- Plenty of accessories
- Basic but smart interface
- Some automatic programmes
Technically a step up from the Hotpoint Class 4 SI4854HIX, the Hotpoint Class 6 SI6864SHIX has a slightly smarter interface than its little brother. Here, the control dials pop out to be rotated, pushing away for neater storage.
As this is still a more basic oven, the programme selector relies on icons, rather than on-screen text description. Most are straightforward to understand, but the manual will be helpful to have on hand when you first start to use this oven.
Cooking options include conventional, convection, forced air, grill, turbo grill, maxi cooking, fast preheating and eco-forced air. There’s also a diamond clean option that requires 200ml of drinking water to be added to the cavity, so steam can help clean the inside.
With the conventional cooking options, the second dial is used to select temperature and, optionally, a cooking duration. It’s simple to do, with the basic LCD showing you the options selected.
Select the chef’s hat option, and the automatic options are available: meat, poultry, casserole, bread, pizza, pastry, rising, keep warm and slow cooking. Select the one you want, and the oven picks the best mode and temperature for that dish, and shows you which shelf position to use.
There are no additional options, such as being able to set the weight of the chicken to have the Hotpoint Class 6 SI6864SHIX set the cooking time automatically.
Internally, there’s a decent 73-litres of space. Ovens don’t come much bigger than this, so you’ll find plenty of room for cooking, even for large groups.
Hotpoint provides a single metal shelf, a baking tray and a drip tray with wire rack. Given the low price of the oven, that’s a good range of accessories. I do miss having a rail for sliding out a shelf to make it easier to add or remove food.
Performance
- Even grilling
- Slightly warmer to one side
- Top gets warmer than the bottom
To test the Hotpoint Class 6 SI6864SHIX, I ran through my standard tests. First, I started by cooking oven chips. After setting the oven to 210C, I let it warm up. Adding the chips, I found that they were cooked properly after 24-minutes. Ignoring the start-up time, the oven used 0.460kW of energy, which is efficient for a large oven. The only oven I’ve seen cheaper is the Samsung Bespoke Series 6 NV7B6685AAN/U4 Oven with Dual Cook with the divider in space and the top oven in use only.
I found that the chips were better done at the back right, but otherwise nice and crispy throughout. I suggest that turning and moving food around during cooking is a good idea.
Testing how well the oven warms up, I set it to 200°C. Measuring ceramic beads on the middle shelf, I found a decent temperature variance, with 206°C at the front and 209°C at the back. That can be seen below in the thermal image.
On the top shelf, the oven was much hotter: 215°C at the front and 218°C at the back. Again, heat distribution was good. It’s worth accounting for the temperature variation while cooking, and going a little cooler than the thermostat reads.
Turning the grill on, I added six slices of white bread to the top shelf. After they were well cooked, I took a photo. This shows that the grill is even, although a little sparse on the front left and right around the edges. I’d turn items in the grill part way through cooking to get an even finish.
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Should you buy it?
You want a simple and smart oven: This model is a great entry-level oven for those that want something straightforward and smart-looking.
You want something with more features: If you want slide-out rails and/or more cooking options, check out a slightly more expensive model.
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for a straightforward oven, the Hotpoint Class 6 SI6864SHIX is a good choice. It is a little uneven in terms of heat distribution, although adjusting food and turning it can help counter this. However, the Hotpoint Class 4 SI4854HIX offers similar features for less, and has the same range of accessories. The Class 4’s interface isn’t quite as smart, but for the price saving, I’d take this.
How we test
Unlike other sites, we test every oven we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
Used as our main oven for the review period
We use ceramic beads and a thermal camera to see how evenly the oven heats.
We use slices of bread to see how evenly the grill cooks.
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FAQs
This built-in oven has a metal shelf, a baking tray and a drip tray with wire rack.
No, this oven is controlled via the front panel only.
Full specs
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Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
