Daewoo KOC9Q1T Combination Microwave Oven review

Daewoo used to be a massive conglomerate making everything from ships to cars, but the original Daewoo has since fractured into many independent successor companies all bearing the Daewoo name. One of them, Daewoo Electronics, makes the KOC9Q1T. It’s cheap for a combi microwave at £79 from Amazon and is available in white or stainless steel finishes. Build quality is merely okay with the top panel flexing under pressure easily, but I can forgive this small flaw given the low price.

Amusingly, there’s a QR code printed on the flaps of the microwave’s box. Scanning it with your smartphone takes you to a YouTube video showing you how to unpack and set up your microwave. The video isn’t really necessary as there’s very little effort involved in setting up the KOC9Q1T, but it’s the thought that counts. The maximum timer setting of 60 minutes is shorter than other microwaves, but it should still be enough for the vast majority of microwave recipes.

Although the KOC9Q1T’s buttons are labelled in plain English, some have two separate functions depending on the program you’ve chosen which can lead to momentary befuddlement. It’s not too difficult to figure out, especially with the help of the reasonably well written and laid out manual (which sadly isn’t as charming as the separate manga-style set up and safety leaflet), but we’ve seen better-conceived microwave controls.

The KOC9Q1T’s weight-based auto defrost program oddly has a minimum weight of 200g, so I had to manually set the timer to defrost a 125g chicken breast. It did a good job, evenly defrosting the fillet with only modest overcooking at the thinnest edges. It maintained a very even power output with an average figure of 407W, so it was no surprise that the jacket potato showed very little variation in temperature across the board.

This microwave isn’t the fastest we’ve seen at combi cooking, taking a lengthy 16 minutes to cook through a chicken breast. The results were generally moist though, with only minor dryness and overcooking around the edges.

The KOC9Q1T took a leisurely nine minutes to brown a slice of bread, but even then it only managed a very light level of browning. I suspect the surprisingly short and stubby metal grill is at fault – a taller one may have resulted in shorter cooking times and a deeper, more attractive level of browning.

I had no complaints about noise though. Starting out at 55dB and reaching a high of 61dB, the KOC9Q1T isn’t any noisier than average.

Overall, the Daewoo KOC9Q1T is a good microwave. Its controls and accessories could be better designed, while cooking times could be shorter. In every other respect though, it performed very well and doesn’t cost a lot of money either, making it a good choice if you’re on a tight budget. Buy Now from Amazon