Tech reviews

Hisense HV651D60UK Review: Fully Integrated Dishwasher


Hisense is perhaps best-known for its TVs, but the company also has a big range of kitchen appliances including dishwashers.

The HV651D60UK sits near the bottom of the fully-integrated range but despite this still has a decent selection of features – and an attractive price.

Design & build

  • 13 place settings
  • Fully integrated
  • Adjustable top basket

Dishwashers are some of the lightest large appliances and fully integrated models even more so as they dispense with things like outer metalwork.

That means the HV651D60UK is relatively easy to move around, but it does feel a bit flimsy. That’s because its rigidity comes from the cabinets it screws to, and the door panel that attaches to the front.

Since it’s entirely hidden, there’s nothing to say about its appearance except that it doesn’t have any external indicators to tell you whether it’s on or off. Some integrated models, including from Bosch, project a light onto your kitchen floor to tell you it’s washing.

Hisense HV651D60UK review

There’s no cutlery tray, but the top basket is height-adjustable and has a hinged shelf on the left which has slots of five wine glasses, but is also useful for long utensils that won’t fit in the cutlery basket.

Hisense says you can fit plates up to 310mm in diameter in the lower basket and 270mm in the upper one, and both measurements checked out when I tested them.

Hisense HV651D60UK review

A clever feature is that the cutlery basket is actually two separate baskets clipped together. You can unclip them and the hooks on their rear go over the side of the lower basket (as shown above), allowing you to put them both wherever is most useful.

They both have ‘grilles’ on top which hold cutlery apart. Some of their slots are a bit too narrow, so you may find your cutlery handles don’t fit through them, but there’s a decent variety of slot sizes for wider knife blades. Also, you can remove the grills entirely if you need to.

Hisense sells a slightly different model, the HV661D60UK, which does have a cutlery tray if you prefer that setup (and also claims to have capacity for 16 place settings).

Note that the HV651D60UK reviewed here doesn’t have any folding tines, so you can’t create any flat areas for larger items: you’ll just have to try and fit them in over the tines.

Also, despite what you see in Hisense’s photos, there’s no internal light. 

Installation

  • DIY installation possible
  • Velcro pads aid door fitting

If you plan to install the dishwasher yourself, there’s an installation leaflet that’s separate to the user manual. It’s not the easiest to understand, but it does the job.

Also, note that the water hose connector – where it joins to the supply in your kitchen – is quite bulky as it houses the flood sensor. This shouldn’t be an issue in most cases unless there’s restricted space, which could make it difficult if there’s no space to get your hand in to tighten the nut.

Hisense HV651D60UK review

Adjusting the height of the single rear foot is done using a screw on the front (you’ll need a Torx T20 bit for this). It’s worth testing this works before you push the unit into place. Initially it was very stiff but loosened up when the foot began to extend downwards.

Usefully, adhesive Velcro pads are supplied along with screws to mount a cabinet door. The pads do a surprisingly good job of holding the door in place while you insert the screws and mean you don’t need to enlist a helper for this process.

Cleaning power & modes

  • Five main programmes
  • Auto open for better drying
  • 45dB

The control panel is a basic affair with physical buttons unlike the HV672C60UK which has touch-sensitive controls instead. I prefer buttons because they work even when your fingers are wet.

Hisense HV651D60UK review

You can toggle through five programmes, though, including one-hour (this becomes 15 minutes when the ‘Speed Wash’ button is pressed, and a 70° intensive wash. There’s no pre-rinse cycle, nor the option of a half-load. Auto-wash senses how dirty your dishes are and adjusts the amount of water and water temperature accordingly – but you need to run it five times for it to ‘adapt and provide the best results’.

Most of the time Eco does a fine job and this is the default mode. That’s handy as it means all you need to do is pop a dishwasher tablet into the compartment, press the power button and close the door – the cycle starts automatically.

Glasses, mugs, cutlery and dishes come out lovely and clean with only the occasional reject, which tends to be a bowl originally encrusted with Weetabix or some other cereal that had been sat there in the lower tray since the previous day. When using the Eco cycle on the same day everything was loaded, you’ll have no trouble as long as you’re not expecting pans with burned-on food to be sparkling and clean.

Hisense HV651D60UK review

The release mechanism makes a few clicking noises in the minute or so before the door actually pops open, which can cause a few raised eyebrows until you know what you’re hearing. It makes a massive difference to how dry items are, though you do need to leave them in there until the programme has officially finished and not take the door opening as a sign that time has come.

Mugs and bowls with indents are supposed to be loaded at an angle to allow the rinse water to run off, but that’s not always possible, so expect to have to dry a few things which hold water. Other than those, all cutlery, glassware and crockery was bone dry. The only exception was plastic tubs and lids which don’t retain heat from the water and therefore don’t dry as effectively.

It’s possible to delay the start for 1-24 hours and a display shows the amount of time the chosen programme will take. It also shows the remaining time, but you can only see that if you open the door mid-cycle and interrupt the wash.

When you select a programme, you’ll notice the time varies from when you last selected it. That’s because it displays the time the programme took last time you used it. It’s an interesting feature, if a bit confusing.

There are two other features: auto open, which pops the door and allows the heat and moisture to escape before the programme has finished and Extra hygiene which increases the temperature of the selected programme and is useful for cleaning chopping boards that have had raw meat on them, as well as baby bottles.

Hisense HV651D60UK review

At 45dB, the HV651D60UK is very quiet in use. So much so that you won’t necessarily know whether it’s running or not. Only when there’s no background noise at all can you hear water being sprayed around, but even then it’s not intrusive at all, and there’s no audible sound from the pump.

Energy efficiency

  • ‘D’ on the EU and UK’s new energy rating system
  • ‘A+++’ on the old scale

The HV651D60UK’s Eco programme takes a little over three hours and uses 0.77kWh of electricity and 9.9L of water, which is more economical than a lot of more expensive rivals.

Per year, that’s 220kWh and 2,772L of water.

The D rating might not seem overly impressive, but that’s because of the new energy rating system for the UK and EU. It would have been A+++ on the old scale, making it one of the most efficient you can buy at the moment.

Price & availability

You can buy the HV651D60UK from AO.com for £299 and Appliances Direct where it was £311.98 at the time of review.

If you need a slimline dishwasher, read our Neff N50 review.

Verdict

At this price, it’s hard to criticise the Hisense HV651D60UK. It cleans well and generally leaves things dry thanks to the Auto open feature. It’s also economical, so won’t cost too much in water and electricity.

The lack of smart features isn’t a problem, but it’s a shame there’s nothing to tell you whether a programme is running or not.  However, the fact it’s so quiet is the reason you’d need that information, and that’s a trade-off we’d be happy to make.

The last niggle is the lack of fold-down tines, but that’s another reason why the price is so low and Hisense’s more expensive models do have them.

Specs

Hisense HV651D60UK: Specs

  • 600mm integrated dishwasher
  • 13 place settings
  • Cutlery tray: No
  • 5 core washing modes
  • 15-minute Quick Wash
  • Delay start
  • Energy Efficiency Class D
  • Eco mode: 0.77kWh, 9.9 litres per cycle
  • Drying Efficiency Class A
  • Noise Level: 45dB(A)
  • Dimensions (W x H x D): 596 x 817 x 556mm
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