Cuisinart SPB-3 SmartPower 40-Ounce Vari-Speed Bar Blender, White

This is a really lame blender. I got it to make smoothies... that's it! You'd think it'd be able to do that job with no problem. But it doesn't.

The two chopping options don't really do the ice-crushing and smoothie-blending properly. You have to stop the thing and stir the ingredients around a couple times then restart it to get things blended. Even then it doesn't work as well as my old blender. Then, when you go to pour the contents into a glass, you get lots of messy spills, etc. because the spout is not designed very well.

Overall: not great. Spend the $$ and get one that does the job.

This blender worked pretty well for four months, although it had a tough time making a really smooth "smoothie." At four months, the black gear mechanism that connects the blade setup to the motor spun right off the base. Cuisinart sent me another blender, but only after they received the defective one back, a process which took almost a month. Most companies will send you the replacement, then ask you to box up the defective one for them to pick up. The replacment blender base had plastic that was so badly warped it could not sit on the counter. We had to repeat the tedious month-long process. The third blender broke as the first after just two weeks. The customer service process did not improve this time. I did not want another of these blenders, so asked for a credit to obtain a Cuisinart non-appliance. At least this was granted. I won't be purchasing another Cuisinart appliance based on their poor service alone.

The latest Consumer Reports review of blenders appears to be the one it conducted in 1997. That review found Cuisinart's CB-4 to be no. 2. The CB-4 is now discontinued but, according to Cuisinart, the SPB-3 is the same "from the container down" as the CB-4. (same base, motor, blades, etc. - just a redesigned container) It lists for $80.00. FYI - In that same Consumer Reports review the blender it rated no. 1 was the Waring Touchblend TB701, but it is no longer available and Waring didn't advise me that there was any blender it currently makes that would be considered a"replacement" for it when I talked to them.