Siemens iQ700 Washer Dryer WN54C2ATGB Review

Design and features

• 10.5kg wash, 6kg dry
• Light in drum
• Compatible with HomeConnect

Washer dryers are typically much heavier than standalone washing machines, as there’s a whole load of extra electronics inside for the drying part. Even so, the Siemens iQ700 Washer Dryer WN54C2ATGB is pretty heavy at 88.5kg. That’s because it’s so well built.

Part of the cost of this machine is down to this rugged build quality: this is a tough washing dryer that’s staying put while it’s in operation.

It’s 622mm deep, so once you’ve pushed this machine back as far as it will go, this washer-dryer will likely protrude a little from the front of your counter.

This one comes with a hose pre-attached, with aquaStop. Typically found in dishwashers, aquaStop lets the washer-dryer turn the water off if it detects a leak. This is a relatively rare sight on a washing machine, but one that I’d like to see more of.

While the machine may protrude slightly, to combat that, the door sits flush with the front of the machine and doesn’t have a handle; instead, it has a push mechanism. I like that detail, as it also avoids the issue of someone breaking a handle by pulling while the door is locked.

It’s nice to see the light inside, which makes it easy to see what you’re doing while loading or unloading the machine.

There’s a large 10.5kg drum inside for wet washing, putting this machine towards the larger side for a washer dryer, and making it suitable for larger items, such as duvets. 

Drying capacity is lower at 6kg (wet), but that’s standard for a washer dryer. Typically, a 5kg load will come out at around 6kg wet, but if you’re doing larger loads, you’ll need to think about splitting them for drying.

A touch button on the front turns the machine on and brings the control panel to life. At first, I found it all a bit overwhelming. Whereas a lot of washing machines now have a colour LCD and a selector dial to move through the wash options, the Siemens iQ700 Washer Dryer WN54C2ATGB has every wash and dry cycle up front.

That’s 12 buttons highlighted at once, which is a bit in-your-face. Once you get used to the layout, it does at least make it easy to see what the wash options are. Select any, and the display shows the maximum load in kg, the estimated wash time, and the default temperature and spin speed.

It’s possible to override temperature and spin speed, and some cycles have a varioSpeed option that reduces the wash time, but also the maximum load (the new options are shown on screen), while increasing running costs. It’s a useful feature if you need a cycle done fast. 

For example, the Cotton 40°C cycle takes 3h 50m, but with varioSpeed you can have your washing in 1h 33m instead, provided you’re happy with a smaller 5kg load.

Some cycles let you select a specific stain type to tackle, with a choice of blood, red wine or cooking fat.

And, there’s an Options+ button that lets you add some extra options including Prewash, Hygiene care (65° hot air is used before the cycle). Handily, there’s a Memory button, so you can save your favourite settings and recall them later.

This is all good, but the one thing the main screen lacks is any description of what a wash cycle does. I could guess for the main ones, such as Wool and Cottons, but not for some of the others, so I needed the manual. Auto Soft, for example, is for delicate items made from cotton or blended fabrics; smartFinish is a steam-only cycle to reduce creases and odours in suits or outdoor clothing.

Detergent is dosed automatically via the i-Dos system. There are two compartments, one for detergent and one for either fabric softener or additional detergent, depending on your needs. You can also use an alternative detergent or powder in the slot.

There’s no dedicated drying cycle, but drying can be layered on top of many of the wash cycles, with a choice of iron-dry, cupboard dry or extra-dry sensor cycles. And, you can cycle through the options to turn washing off, leaving drying-only.

If you need clothes in a hurry, there’s a 15-minute wash cycle for up to 1kg of clothes. If you’d like them all dry at the end, then you can add a drying cycle, bringing the total to speedy 45-minute total.

It’s well worth connecting the Siemens iQ700 Washer Dryer WN54C2ATGB to the HomeConnect app, which is home to the company’s other smart products, including those from Bosch and Neff.

I like the app. It’s useful to find out a bit more about what a specific wash cycle does, and there are some extra cycles, such as one for sports shoes.

Smart Start is included, which lets you set when you have off-peak energy (if you’re on a time-of-use tariff), and then the Siemens iQ700 Washer Dryer WN54C2ATGB will start a wash at the most price-efficient time. I’ve seen a similar option on the Hoover H-Wash 500 HW49AMC/1-80 washing machine, but it’s nice to see other companies get in on the act.

Peformance

• Good wash costs
• Not much variance in tumble dryer modes

To see how well the Siemens iQ700 Washer Dryer WN54C2ATGB performed, I ran it through a series of tests, starting with the standard Eco 40-60 wash, which should be the most efficient. 

I estimated that this cycle would cost a reasonable 28p to run, which is a bit cheaper than the same wash in the similarly-sized Indesit BDE 107436 WV UK, although a touch more expensive than the Hisense WD5I1045BWQ managed.

Cleaning performance is mostly good. My regular stains are, left to right, red wine, cooking oil, ketchup, orange juice and gravy. The bulk of the stains were gone and the red wine stain faded a lot. However, the large ketchup stain was spread around the stain strip, which twisted in the wash, as can happen. Pre-rinse anything too dirty and this wash will work well.

Spin cycle performance was very good, and my clothes came out 38.49% heavier due to water retention. Anything under 40% is a good result.

Next, I moved to the Cottom 30° wash. Here, running costs increased to 35p per cycle, which isn’t bad, and is cheaper for the cycle than the Indesit washer-dryer. Cleaning performance was exceptional, all the stains had gone completely, bar the very-faded red wine stain.

My clothes were just 38.08% heavier, which is an excellent result.

Next, I upped the temperature 60°C and added steam. This cycle cost 73p to run, which is expensive, but the cleaning performance is exceptional, with everything gone, bar a bit of red wine stain, which is hard to remove.

My clothes were 32.64% heavier than they were when they went in, which is excellent, reducing drying time, whether that’s natural or on a tumble dryer cycle.

Running a 20°C wash, the cost per cycle dropped to 24p. This cycle coped very well with most stains, and the cold wash is good for red wine, which had faded to a slightly darker-coloured patch. However, the strip twisted and so ketchup remained quite visible.

My clothes came out 27.71% heavier than they went in, which shows how good the spin cycle is on this mode.

I also tried the Auto cycle, which I wasn’t that impressed with. It cost 29p to run and my clothes came out 45.38% heavier than they went in. My stain strip was badly twisted in the wash cycle and so the ketchup stain was barely touched.

For fast washing, I ran the fast full-load option, which cost 26p to run and left my clothes just 38.08% heavier. This wash would be good if you just need to turn around lightly soiled items fast.

For items that just need a refresh, there is a steam refresh option, which costs just 7p to run. That’s very handy for anything that’s got a bit musty or crumpled.

I then moved on to the drying tests, completing them after performing an Eco 40-60 wash cycle. For cupboard dry, which is likely to be your standard, the Siemens iQ700 Washer Dryer WN54C2ATGB cost 59p to run. That’s expensive compared to a tumble dryer, but very good for a washer-dryer. My clothes had 98.35% of the excess water removed, which is a very good result, and they’d be ready to put away.

Dropping down to the next setting, iron dry, I wasn’t that impressed. The cycle cost 59p to run again, and this time 97.55% of the water had been removed. I’d expect a bigger difference in the cycle.

I tried the extra-dry setting, which cost 69p to run and removed 99.58% of water. If you really need your clothes that little bit dryer, this is good, but the standard hanging dry setting should be the one you normally choose.

Finally, I ran the 45-minute wash and dry cycle on 1kg of clothes. This is relatively expensive to run at 38p for the cycle, and my clothes were a touch over-dried, with 102.04% of excess water removed, so some fibres were gone, too. If you need clothes in a hurry, then this is an option, but full wash and dry cycles work out better.

Should you buy it?