Of the many blenders I've had over the years, this, in the category of affordable appliances, is the easiest to clean (including "keyboard") and the most powerful at handling ice without jamming or bending blades. It also looks sleeker and less clunky on the counter than traditional models, if that is an important feature to you. Finally, if you serve blended drinks and smoothies to your guests, this is not as "tippy" as older models. A child is less likely to grab it and end up with a major spill.

This blender is great for making smoothies. The blades on my old blender were bent by the frozen fruit, but this Kitchenaid Blender is strong enough to blend hard frozen fruit. I use my blender almost everyday to make my kids smoothies after school. I love the color too!

I have owned this machine for 7 yrs and have bought 2 as gifts. They are heavy duty, powerful, quality machines.