Getting Started

Flexibility is the biggest reason to trade the usual range for a cooktop and wall oven. But while you can get an electric cooktop and wall oven for as little as $1,300 or so, you'll find top-performing electric and gas ranges for less than half that amount. Some other shopping tips:

Electric elements tend to heat faster and maintain low heat better than gas burners. But a gas flame makes it easier to see the heat level. Either is capable of fine performance.

If you often cook for a crowd, look for at least one high-powered element or burner and a large oven. You'll find more cooktops with the ultrahigh heat once exclusive to professional-style stoves. High-heat burners can be useful for searing, stir-frying, or heating large quantities. Wall ovens that excelled at broiling produced well-seared, evenly cooked burgers in our tests.

Electric smoothtops are relatively easy to clean but require a special cleaner and can be damaged by dropped pots and sugary liquids. Coil tops are tougher, but they require more cleaning time.

Models with special baking modes might not outperform conventional models. While touchpad oven controls are more precise than knobs, front-mounted versions are easy to bump and reset by accident. Be sure that they're well placed and visible while cooking. And while induction cooktops take the cake for quick heating, most begin at nearly $2,000.

Types

If you choose a cooktop and wall oven combination, you can choose between two types of cooktops: electric or a gas. Some cooks prefer to see a visual confirmation of the heating element and choose gas. Electric wall ovens tend to be more popular but gas ovens are also available.

These can be electric coil, electric smoothtop, gas, or induction. Most are made of porcelain-coated steel or glass ceramic, with four elements or burners, though the 36-inch models we've tested generally have five burners, and more have a stainless-steel finish. Electric cooktops are typically 30 inches wide; gas models, 36 inches.

Cooktops allow more design freedom than a range.

You'll probably pay $1,300 or more for a separate cooktop and wall oven, while some top-performing electric and gas ranges sell for less than half that amount.

Most are electric and offer single or double ovens. Width is typically 24, 27, or 30 inches.

Mounted at waist or eye level, a wall oven eliminates bending. Or you can nest it under a countertop to save space.

A separate wall oven and cooktop are expensive compared with a range.

Features

Keep high-tech in perspective. Wall oven models with special baking modes don't necessarily outperform more basic models. Here are the cooktop and oven features to consider.

All but the least expensive electric models are smoothtops. Smoothtops are sleeker and offer more features. Most have expandable dual or triple elements that let you switch from a large, high-power element to a small, low-power element contained within it. Some include a low-wattage element for warming plates or keeping just-cooked food at the optimal temperature. And some have an elongated "bridge" element that spans two burners to accommodate rectangular or odd-shaped cookware. Smoothtops make it easy to clean up spills, but they require a special cleaner. And dropped pots and sugary liquids can damage them. Coils are tougher and easier to replace, but they require more cleaning time.

This lets you disable the oven controls. We recommend it for households with children.

This feature lets you select times for the oven to start and stop cooking. But you shouldn't leave an oven on unattended. And most foods shouldn't be left in a cold oven for long.

You'll find it on electric and gas models. It tells cooking temperatures at a glance.

These are common in electric ovens. Setting and monitoring the precise temperature is easier with a digital display than with a knob.

The heat produced by a burner is measured in British thermal units (Btu) per hour for gas models. Most 30-inch gas cooktops have four burners: one or two medium-power units (about 9,000 Btu.), a small unit (about 5,000 Btu, and one or two large ones (12,000 Btu or more). Whichever type of cooktop you buy, look for at least one high-powered element or burner, especially if you often cook for a crowd. High-heat burners excel at searing, stir-frying, and heating large quantities. Sealed burners keep crumbs from falling beneath the cooktop.

On gas cooktops, look for heavy porcelain-coated cast-iron or stainless-steel continuous grates. They'll stand up to abuse and let you slide cookware between burners.

Many smoothtops have at least one. Ideally, each element should have a separate warning light. It's a key safety feature, since the surface can remain hot long after an element has been turned off.

Some higher-priced electric cooktops use magnetic coils below the ceramic-glass surface to generate heat in the pan rather than the cooking surface. Most models begin at nearly $2,000, and they require special magnetic cookware. Where price is no object, induction cooktops take the cake for quick heating.

These come with or without a decorative grid. A window without a grid gives a clearer view, but it won't hide any pots and pans stored in the oven.

A high-heat cycle burns off spills and spatters in electric and gas wall ovens. An automatic safety lock on most self-cleaning models prevents the oven door from being opened until the oven has cooled. Some models have a countdown display that shows the time left in the cycle. The self-cleaning cycle eliminates the drudgery of cleaning the oven by hand.

Many higher-priced gas and electric wall ovens have a convection fan that circulates the hot air. And a few electric ovens have a low-power microwave feature that supplements the bake and broil elements. Some use a halogen heating bulb as well as microwaves. Trivection, an excellent but expensive feature, uses three technologies: thermal heating, convection, and microwaves. Those features can reduce cooking time with some foods, though they tend to be pricey.

Most electric ovens have it. It offers adjustable settings for foods that need slower or faster cooking.

Some of the manufacturers of cooktops and wall ovens are familiar but this category also includes some makers of pro-style cooking appliances. You can compare cooktops and wall ovens by brand.