Here was what Which? Dec 2007 said:

M&S 800 watt solo microwave

BEST BUY

This outstanding solo microwave from Marks & Spencer is short on special features but great at all standard microwave standard tasks including heating, cooking and defrosting.

You won’t find any automatic re-heating or cooking programs on the Marks & Spencer and this is in marked contrast to all of the other solo and combination microwaves tested.

However, it’s excellent at cooking food quickly and well – it’s very good at producing Jacket Potatoes using manual programming and won’t dry your food or burn it. Food produced during our heating tests was at the correct temperature throughout – we used 39 sensors to check the temperature of the food.

The Marks & Spencer model also cooks at a more even temperature than all of the other solos tested, essential for well cooked food that’s hot throughout.

It’s great at defrosting mince using when it’s programmed manually although not so good when relying on it’s automatic defrost setting, the only pre-set program you’ll find on the Marks & Spencer.

The control panel is easy to clean but the controls aren’t as easy to use as some of our other best buys. You’ll find it at Marks & Spencer.

Pros: Produces well cooked food quickly and at the correct temperature.

Cons: Setting the machine manually isn’t straight forward, no pre-set programs.