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  • Design & Features

  • Usability

  • Performance

  • Style & Substance

  • Temperature Performance

  • Freezing & Thawing

  • Storage Space

  • Design & Features
  • Usability
  • Performance
  • Style & Substance
  • Temperature Performance
  • Freezing & Thawing
  • Storage Space

Its chrome handle and dark finish help it stand out from the bland white rectangles on the market. We’ve seen less expensive models do just as well actually freezing food, but none have done it with quite so much style.

Design & Features

Could this freezer be a window to the soul?

To be clear, this Frigidaire is not a stainless appliance. The door has been covered in what the manufacturer has dubbed Classic Slate.

It's a glossy—and somewhat reflective—dark gray. If you put your face really close to the freezer, you actually could use it as a mirror. It’s dark enough, though, that fingerprints and other smudges are almost completely invisible.

In terms of features, this Frigidaire sticks to the basics. An internal light and an external door lock are standard fare for anything but the cheapest of uprights.

The biggest perk is easily the frost-free operation, which means you don’t have to hack away at ice every few months with food thawing on the floor beside you.

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Usability

An underwhelming interior

With such an attractive door, we assumed the interior would be just as stylish. However, we found it much less exciting. The main cavity has five shelves—four of which are wire—with five more on the door. None of them can be adjusted in any way, but they can be removed for cleaning.

Some similarly-priced freezers have a sliding bucket on the bottom. This model includes a raised shelf riddled with holes instead. Presumably, this would serve to keep any food on the bottom dry in case you needed to defrost the freezer, or if anything leaked… but since this model has auto-defrost and—as it’s not a fridge—dripping milk isn’t really a problem, we can’t really see how this will be overly helpful.

Controls are found inside the freezer, near the bottom and in the back. The basic knob uses a seven point scale, something we’d expect to see on a cheaper model. It’s not terrible, but since this model doesn’t include a quick chill feature, we’d have liked easier access to the thermostat.

Performance

Cool and collected

Despite a few minor imperfections in our test results, this Frigidaire proved that performance and style really can come together. Using the control's mid-line setting of 4 in our tests, we found that it got food cold exceptionally fast and kept it that way over time.

We’d have liked a tighter range of temperatures from top to bottom, but the variance wasn’t so wide as to be all that problematic. We’d also recommend turning the thermostat down a notch or two. If you do that, you’ll find yourselves with a nearly perfect freezer.

Style & Substance

Getting cold never looked so good

If you’re hiding your freezer in a cellar or garage, there’s very little reason to spend extra money on style. If your freezer is out in the open, it’s hard to beat the Frigidaire FFU17F2PT.

It's got a surprisingly elegant design for a standalone freezer, boasts exceptional performance, and features an automatic defrost. We'd prefer some extra bonuses like a rapid chill option or adjustable shelves, but are generally satisfied with what this Frigidaire offers. Sale prices put this 16.7-cubic-foot icebox at about $630, which means it's still affordable even next to models that are less design-oriented. Our tests prove that the Frigidaire FFU17F2PT (MSRP $799) serves up more than just good looks. Particularly impressive was its rapid freezing time, a boon to consumers who care about how their food tastes when it thaws.

Temperature Performance

Smooth and steady

Over the course of 72 hours, we found our test materials had an average internal temperature of 0.7ºF. That’s almost right on the money, an impressive feat for a product using a nebulous control scale. An average fluctuation of about ±0.9ºF means that nearly-perfect average temperature won’t be deviating all that much.

Spatial deviation could be better, with an average gap of about 2 degrees from top to bottom. It could be better, but as long as you keep the whole space cold enough, it shouldn’t be a problem. Turn the thermostat down a notch or two, and you’ll be just fine.

Freezing & Thawing

Fast as a speeding freezer

Perhaps the most impressive performance to come out of this Frigidaire was it rapid freezing time. Room-temperature test materials cooled down to 32ºF in a mere 80 minutes—definitely faster than average. It got down to 0ºF in just over half a day—only 13.5 hours. That's fantastic.

Unfortunately, this is not a freezer you’d want to rely on in a crisis. Most products we test can retain cold air for 36 hours without power, usually more than enough time for repair workers to resolve any outages. This Frigidaire had thawed up to 45.1ºF— well beyond the threshold for safe food preservation. If you live where hurricanes like to land, you might want to give this one a pass.

Storage Space

Immobile but roomy

The storage space inside this upright freezer may not be flexible, but it is pretty ample. Five shelves on both the door and in the main compartment give you plenty of easily organized storage options. The space between shelves gives you enough room to fit large, bulky items without being so tall as to create the leaning tower of frozen spinach. In total, you’ve got 14.9 usable cubic feet at your disposal.

Meet the tester

Matthew Zahnzinger

Matthew Zahnzinger

Logistics Manager & Staff Writer

@ReviewedHome

Matthew is a native of Brockton, MA and a graduate of Northeastern, where he earned a degree in English and Theatre. He has also studied at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin and spends most of his free time pursuing a performance career in the greater Boston area.

See all of Matthew Zahnzinger's reviews

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