Haier HRQ16N3BGS Counter-depth French Door Refrigerator Review

After spending a week testing it in our labs, we conclude that this energy-efficient refrigerator freezes brilliantly and cools fairly well. You can often buy this sleek refrigerator for under $900, a price that can work for many budgets.

Design and Features

With a stainless-look exterior, four sleek pocket handle doors, and a skinny digital control panel, this refrigerator is a stunner. Inside, it's bright, with blue LED lighting, and the blue edges of the glass shelves give it a pleasingly crisp look.

There are no gallon-size bins in the doors, and no icemaker in the freezer, but if you don't need them, you're in good shape with this model.

The two upper doors do exactly what you would expect: they open the refrigerator compartment. It's a little annoying that you can't use the right-hand crisper without opening both doors, but that's a minor issue.

On the bottom, the two freezer doors open to reveal a pair of separate, narrow compartments. Don't expect to store a large frozen pizza, but there's room for personal pizzas and a good deal more on both sides. Understand that with a counter-depth model you give up space because of it's less deep footprint. Keep your food well-organized, so you can make use of as much as possible.

Performance

The freezer did a very good job maintaining a consistent temperature, averaging a chilly -1°. Plus, it took the freezer only 20 minutes to reach to the 32° mark, which is much less time than most refrigerators take.

In the refrigerator compartment, the average temperature was 40°, even though the control panel was set at 37°. A 40° temperature is okay, but 37° is safer, so tap the control panel to turn down the temp a few degrees.

The refrigerator's "humidity control sensor" filter probably helped the crispers do a passable job keeping humidity in. That's good news for your fresh kale.

We project that it will cost under $25 a year to run this fridge, which speaks well for its efficiency.

What users say

Owners like this model, rating it an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars on three sites. People are dazzled by its good looks and counter-depth convenience, and say that the price point is just right.

The Bottom Line

This fridge has a unique look and is a great size for smaller kitchens. The refrigerator compartment runs a little warmer than we recommend, but you can fix that by turning the temperature down a few degrees on the control panel. The narrow freezer compartments are a bit of a challenge—there are no door bins, you have to bend deeply to access your food, and you can't fit in anything that's too tall or wide. Basically, you have to organize your frozen foods carefully to be able to grab what you need without removing everything else.

This shiny quad door fridge is very much on trend, and it's a good value for a polished-looking product at an under-$900 price point. If you decide to buy this refrigerator, you'll probably enjoy impressing your friends, because it's a good bet you'll be the only one in your circle who has one like it.