Ikea is coming! So, what’s good and what’s not?

We have to wait until late 2025 to step foot inside our very own blue and yellow megastore.

As the date gets closer, you’ll start seeing Ikea products in our test results. We often test products with Choice, our Aussie equivalent. Choice already includes Ikea products, given you can easily buy them in Australia – so let’s look at what gets a good score in the lab and what doesn’t.

The good   

Ovens and cooktops  

Who knows what the New Zealand store will stock, but if they have ovens, we think they’re worth considering. They aren’t among the best ovens tested, but they still did well given their low price.   

Choice’s testing found the most expensive one (AUD$1,399) did best out of the Ikea ovens tested but even the cheapest (AUD$699) was rated higher than some from brands like Smeg and Bosch.  

Cooktops also impressed, with some very cheap induction and gas cooktops getting high scores.

Check out our oven and cooktop test results to see how we rate the cheap models from brands we can already buy in NZ, such as Parmco, Omega, Inalto and Everdure.

High chairs  

We already publish the test results for Ikea’s Antilop high chair because it’s widely available from Ikea importers. It always holds one of the top spots in our high chairs test because it passes all safety tests and is light to carry and move around.    

The Antilop is good, but we've tested a similar, cheaper Kmart high chair that we think is even better. See our highchair test results.

Dishwashers  

Choice found the Rengora (AUD$1,079) to be pretty good and gave it the 13th spot in a list of 49 dishwashers.   

There are some models in our dishwasher test that are a similar price to the Ikea one and get our recommendation.

Speakers

Ikea’s Eneby (Gen 2) Bluetooth speake is a great buy at just $AUD99. The lab didn’t note any bad points, just good things. It deserves a spot in your big blue bag.   

Some of the speakers we’ve tested and recommend also cost under $100.

The ok  

Microwaves 

The Tillreda is a minimalist microwave that costs just $AUD119 in Aussie Ikea stores. It did an excellent job in the cooking test but was only OK for reheating food. It’s so basic that it doesn’t have a digital display and no stop button - you just open the door or wind back the timer.   

There’s a 20L Kmart microwave we recommend that’s cheaper than the Ikea one.

Change tables    

The pretty pink tone of the Myllra change table might have you picturing it in the nursery, but you’ll want to be or know someone who is super handy with an Allen key. The testing team reported back that there were nearly 300 pieces involved and, even with all their flat-pack experience, it took them two hours to build. It had no major failures but the height of the barriers on either side were less than 100mm, which is considered a minor failure.   

The Smagora was a bit easier, with nearly 100 pieces and taking just an hour – but again, the sides weren’t high enough, and it had to be anchored to a wall to stop it tipping over.   

The Gulliver scored fractionally better but still had the issue with the sides being too low.

The bad  

Fridges  

In 2019, Choice awarded an Ikea fridge one of its Shonky Awards and called it “one of the worst performing fridges we’ve ever tested”. Ikea discontinued it. Ikea’s Uppkalla fridge (AUD$999) has been through Choice’s testing program, and unfortunately there were no pros to list but lots of cons. The lab noted a range of temperature issues.  

A couple of fridges that cost less than $1,800 get our recommended tick. You can find them in our fridges test results.