Hotpoint HA6IB16B2M6L0 (dishwasher designed for 16 place settings): our review

A Sunday roast can leave an impressive supporting cast: dinner plates, a serving bowl, glasses and the saucepan nobody remembered until pudding. With 16 place settings, the Hotpoint HA6IB16B2M6L0 offers a large capacity that leaves room for dishes and saucepans. That gives it a persuasive role in households where cooking generates as much washing-up as eating.

Place settings are a standardised loading measure covering plates, glasses and cutlery, rather than an exact headcount. Cookware still takes space, so a generous capacity should mean more breathing room rather than permission to invite the entire street.

Do your serving dishes usually end up waiting beside the sink? This capacity is a reason to consider it. We rate it well placed overall, with its appeal rooted in room for substantial loads and a particularly low declared noise level.

Someone has settled down for a film while the dinner plates are still being cleared. In a kitchen that opens into the living room, the dishwasher becomes part of that shared space. The declared eco programme noise level of 42 decibels is among the lowest, giving this model a meaningful advantage for that arrangement.

Keep your expectations sensible. The figure does not mean silence, and it applies to the eco programme rather than every possible cycle. It nevertheless gives you a useful reason to favour this dishwasher when the sofa is within earshot of the sink.

We like that emphasis on a less intrusive evening. For a household that starts the washing-up before heading upstairs, the low declared level is also appealing, without promising that nobody will hear it from another room.

The eco programme takes 240 min, a very long run best planned around starting in the evening and unloading in the morning. Need the supper plates again shortly afterwards? That is a different rhythm from the routine this programme suits. Its length is not a fault in itself: taking more time is how eco washing saves resources.

Electricity consumption is 66 kWh/100 cycles on eco, around the average. For everyday use, that means the generous capacity does not come with a particularly low electricity figure. Households that wait for a full load can make practical use of the available space without expecting an unusually frugal cycle.

The timing matters most when your kitchen has a busy turnaround. Let it work while the household winds down, with the next unloading session pencilled in for breakfast rather than dessert.

Eco water consumption is 9.9 L/cycle, around the average. This is our main reservation: a roomy dishwasher with a low declared noise level still needs a more convincing water figure to become an unqualified recommendation. If reducing water use leads your choice, there is an alternative worth considering.

The Bosch SMV4EVX02F uses less water, at 9 L/cycle on eco. The Bosch SMV4EVX02F has a lower place settings value, at 14 place settings, so that water comparison needs the capacity difference beside it. Lower consumption per cycle does not automatically mean lower consumption per plate.

Our preference depends on the washing-up you regularly generate. Choose this model for substantial loads and its low declared noise; give the Bosch SMV4EVX02F closer consideration when water consumption matters more than loading capacity.