Hotpoint have always been known for good quality, middle of the road appliances, both built-in and, especially, free standing. They're trying to change all that, though (in their 100th year) by introducing the upmarket Luce range of built-in appliances (pronounced loo-chay). Parent company Indesit is Italian (previously part of Merloni) ... hence the Italian influence on the design of the new products ... and no prizes for guessing what luce means in Italian.

Luce appliances will only be available from kitchen specialist showrooms to start with  - and the initial marketing initiative is being carried out in partnership with Crown Imperial kitchens. The idea is to get Luce appliances into a showroom kitchen display near you, so that you can try out the doors, feel the quality and see how smart they look (there are 20 Hotpoint field trainers, who will make sure the retailers know all about the new products too).

I was introduced to the range by Hotpoint's Janine Henry (below) at a recent Waterline roadshow in Daventry ... Waterline are distributors to kitchen specialists. (Sorry Janine - about the closed eyes - but my other picture cut the top of your head off!  Note to self: about photography lessons).

Luce appliances come in black glass and fingerprint resistant stainless steel and are designed to co-ordinate with each other. The compact appliances, for instance, have control fascias and handles that line up (see below).

 There are also some innovative features. One of the single ovens can be divided in two (see Janine's picture above - and the picture below) ... so you could grill in the top compartment, whilst baking in the lower one ... or, you could cook at two different temperatures. Janine is pointing out the divider, below (the beige stone is for cooking your pizza).

The gas hobs use a new, patented "Direct Flame" technology. The flattened burners (shown in the top picture and below) have lots of tiny holes which produce a more upright flame than a standard gas burner, saving 20% in time and energy. Not only that - but all the burners and the pan supports can simply be popped into the dishwasher, making the hob very easy to keep clean. Janine was very enthusiastic about how practical the new appliances are. There was, apparently, a lot of consultation before they came up with the final versions. I suggested that some of the designers might have been women (men often seem not to care, about how easy their appliances are to clean) and Janine thought that might be true - but she wasn't sure.

The final picture (below) shows an induction hob (which has two rings and one Flexizone) ... with a black tube, touch control cooker hood (also available in an island version).

There is a £5 million media campaign planned, to bring Luce to your attention - on tv, in adverts and online. If Luce appliances aren't going to appear in the lists of the online appliance retailers, then Indesit/Hotpoint need to bring them to your attention some other way (in addition to the recommendations of the kitchen specialists). They're hoping that Luce will compete directly with the upmarket German brands such as AEG, Bosch, Neff and Siemens (whilst the recently re-launched Scholtes brand is aimed at the very top end of the market, alongside brands such as Miele, Gaggenau, V-Zug and Kuppersbusch).

It'll be interesting to see how Luce fares. The quality and design, and the innovative ideas, look good ... but the AEG, Neff, Bosch and Siemens brands of this world are popular not just because of the quality of their products but also the quality and efficiency of their servicing, when things go wrong. I hope Hotpoint have beefed up their after sales service too.