What we found

We tested the grills' versatility with a mixed grill, meat patties and hamburger buns, and a cheese and tomato toasted sandwich.

Cooking performance

All the grills rated very good or good. The Breville BGR400 (pictured) and the Kambrook KCG50 were top-equal for overall cooking performance.

The Breville BGR400 was one of the more expensive grills. But it had the most features: changeable bottom grill-plate (smooth or ribbed), adjustable bottom plate, and variable temperature control.

The Kambrook was the cheapest and smallest grill - perfect for small households.

Mixed grill

A mixed grill shows how well they perform in cooking various foods at once. The George Foreman GR36S and the Sunbeam GC7800 did an excellent job here. The others achieved very good or good results (although the Breville BGR400 and George Foreman GR30S slightly overcooked the bacon and tomato, and the Breville TG870 slightly overcooked the sausages and tomato).

Meat patties

All the grills did an excellent job of grilling meat patties but there were mixed results for the toasted hamburger buns. The Breville BGR400 was the best at this simple task - evenly toasting and browning the bun. The rest produced slightly uneven results apart from the Sunbeam GC8900, which hardly toasted the bun at all.

Toasted sandwiches

There was a noticeable difference when it came to toasting a sandwich. The Breville BGR400 scored full marks with its perfectly browned sandwich. But the Sunbeams struggled.

The Sunbeam GC7800 produced a poor result, barely toasting the bread (although it heated the filling well enough). The Sunbeam GC8900 gave us a top that was well toasted and a bottom barely browned. Experimenting with temperature settings and toasting times may produce better results on the Sunbeam grills.

Ease of use

All the grills rated very good or good for ease of use. But you have to be careful with the handle on the Kambrook KCG50 and the two George Foreman grills (pictured) - the "handle" is simply a jutting-out lip on the top plate.

You need to wear an oven glove when lifting the lid, otherwise you could easily burn your fingers (the George Foreman user manuals warn you about this).

All except the Kambrook KCG50 have a generous cooking area that can fit at least four sandwiches at once. The Sunbeam GC8900 opens flat so you can grill barbecue-style, which doubles its cooking area.

On two grills (the Sunbeam GC8900 and the Breville BGR400) the bottom plate can be adjusted to sit flat - and because they have smooth bottom grill-plates they can double as a hotplate for frying eggs and cooking pancakes.

The grills were all good to clean. But remember that smooth cooking surfaces are easier to clean than ribbed ones and painted exteriors don't show fingerprints as much as stainless steel.