Kenmore 27132 review – CNET

The Good The $950 Kenmore 27132 top-load washing machine is extremely gentle on clothes and you can find it on sale at Sears for $700.

The Bad This washer’s instrument panel looks nice enough, but its small digital screen isn’t very easy to read. Competing models perform better.

The Bottom Line Kenmore’s 27132 doesn’t distinguish itself in any significant way. Consider other top-loaders before you buy this model.

Order from Sears.

Everything about Kenmore’s $950 27132 top-load washing machine is middle-of-the-road.

• The 27132 looks fine, but the digital screen on its display is small and difficult to read
• This washer has a steam function, but fewer advanced options than GE’s $900 GTW810SSJWS
• It performs decently well, but not as well as Kenmore’s $720 22352 or GE’s $650 GTW485ASJWS

The 27132 is ultimately tough to recommend given its average performance and lack of features.

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Gettin’ to know the 27132

While this $950 Kenmore top-loader has a standard white design finish, its LED status lights, transparent top lid and curved display panel give it a slightly more luxury look. The 27132 also features a high-efficiency impeller cleaning mechanism in its 4.8-cubic-foot bin. That’s something you won’t find on Kenmore’s 22352 or GE’s GTW485ASJWS, both of which rely on traditional agitators to wash clothes.

Want more details on the difference between impellers and agitators? Check out my washing machine buying guide.

Take a look at this chart for an overview of the 27132’s specs versus other sub-$1,000 washers:

Comparing washing machines

Kenmore 27132	Kenmore 22352	GE GTW485ASJWS	GE GTW810SSJWS
$950	$720	$650	$900
White	White	White	White, Metallic (for $1,000)
4.8 cubic feet	4.2 cubic feet	4.2 cubic feet	5.1 cubic feet
11	12	13	13
169 kWh/year	238 kWh/year	152 kWh/year	152 kWh/year
27.5x37x27.9 inches	27.5x37x28 inches	27x44x27 inches	28×44.5×29 inches
1 year, limited	1 year, limited	1 year, limited	1 year, limited
120V; 60Hz	120V; 60Hz	120V; 60Hz	120V; 60Hz
No	No	No	Yes, Android and iPhone

As far as side-by-side comparisons go, Kenmore’s 27132 holds its own pretty well. It may have one or two less cleaning cycles than the competition, but it has a larger cleaning capacity than Kenmore’s 22352 and GE’s GTW485ASJWS (due to its space-saving impeller).

But when you compare it directly to its closest competition — GE’s GTW810SSJWS, the 27132 loses appeal. GE’s GTW810 has a larger cubic-foot capacity, two additional cleaning cycles and a related app for advanced automation. The GTW810 also has a larger digital display on its control panel, making it easier to read how much time is remaining on a cleaning cycle.

Related links:

• This affordable washer is tougher on clothes than stains
• Wi-Fi smarts can’t save this underperforming washer from itself
• How we test washing machines
• There’s a speed demon hidden behind this dryer’s stodgy looks

Cleaning power

To test a washer’s ability to remove stains from clothes, we run fabric strips stained with skin oil, mineral oil, pig’s blood, cocoa and aged red wine through three identical cleaning cycles. Then we calculate how much of the original stains remain. The lower the stain remaining score, the better the washer removed stains.