Hisense RQ563N4AI1 review: A cool, classy American-style fridge freezer

Quick Verdict: If you’re looking for a huge, stylish fridge freezer, the Hisense RQ563 is a sensibly-priced American-style option. It provides heaps of storage space, twin freezers with separate temperature controls, and the stainless steel finish looks great. Performance is good, too: it kept a consistent temperature throughout and performed well in all the key areas. If there were a couple more lights and the stainless steel finish was a bit less prone to picking up fingerprints, it would be sheer perfection.

Hisense RQ563N4AI1 review: What you need to know

• Its dimensions are 79 x 177.7 x 67.5cm (WDH)
• A+ Energy rating (Claimed yearly energy consumption: 373kWh)
• 507 litres total capacity
• Touch-sensitive controls and LED display
• Magnetic doors with recessed handles
• Twin freezer compartments with separate temperature control (Left compartment: -15°C to -25°C; Right compartment: -5°C to -18°C)
• 2 year warranty
• Fridge section storage: 3 glass shelves, 2 moisture control crispers, 6 door balconies
• Freezer section storage: 4 standard drawers, 2 easy-access drawers, Moveable Twist Ice Maker
  

What do we love about the Hisense RQ563N4AI1?

Attractive styling & design: The stainless steel exterior means that this is a really classy-looking fridge freezer. It’s a perfect fit for a stylish, modern kitchen, and the recessed handles make for a wonderfully clean, uncluttered look. For the money, we’ve seen few better.

Easy to use: This is a sublimely simple appliance to get to grips with: the internal touch-sensitive controls and LED display won’t send you searching for the user manual. It’s easy to adjust the temperature for the various zones and toggle key features such as Super Cool and Super Freeze which quickly get the compartments back to temperature after you’ve crammed in your food shopping. The coup de grace is the Total No Frost feature, which guarantees no water or ice build-up.

Generous amounts of storage: As you’d hope for such an imposing profile, the Hisense provides plenty of room for all of your food and drink. The adjustable shelves make it easy to make the space work for you, the door balconies accommodate big bottles with ease and the twin drawers glide in and out thanks to double rollers. It’s supremely easy to fill and empty this fridge.

Good performance: All of these plus points would be nothing if the Hisense didn’t perform well in our range of tests. Thankfully, though, it kept a consistent temperature in the fridge and both the freezer compartments, and the moisture fresh crispers also kept items at a very stable temperature. It also fared well in our four hour power cut simulation. It’s not silent in operation – there’s a gentle hum – but it’s not intrusive in the slightest.

Great value and cheap to run: This is a big fridge freezer at a sensible price. Given the looks, performance and the features on offer, it’s impressive to see the RQ563 retailing for well under £800 – we don’t expect it to hang around for long given the current shortages. The Hisense’s A+ energy efficiency rating bodes well for running costs, too.

What don’t we like about the Hisense RQ563N4AI1?

Picks up smudges and fingerprints: The Hisense’s stainless steel finish looks beautiful, but it’s an absolute magnet for fingerprint and smudges. If you’ve got smaller children, or particularly sticky-fingered family members, then you may want to keep a cloth and a bottle of polish close to hand.

Could do with more lights: The lights are nice and bright, but there aren’t quite enough of them in our opinion. Once the fridge is packed with food, you may wish for a little more light on the subject to help you find what you’re looking for, and particularly at the sides. It’s a similar story with the freezer, with the LED lights not managing to effectively illuminate the lower drawers.

Freezer drawers are basic: It’s a shame that Hisense has stuck with standard slide-out drawers rather than more premium ones with rollers underneath. They’re fine most of the time, but once you’ve stuffed them with heavy frozen goods you may curse Hisense’s decision.