When it was launched in 2000, the Mercury RC1090 was a real design statement in cookers. It was produced by the Lincat Group and designed in collaboration with Seymourpowell to be modern and innovative whilst blending with any style of kitchen furniture. The brand was bought by Aga Rangemaster last year (see my blog "The New Aga is a Mercury") and they have just launched their new version of the Mercury cooker (at the KBB trade show at the NEC).

So - is the new version as good? Well, as long as you didn't want the large (76 litre) oven that the old RC 1090 version had ... I'd say yes. The new ovens are 62 litres (multi-function) and 67 litres (fan) ... so they're not small (and not the same size - as I initially thought) ... in fact the second oven is considerably larger than on the old version (which was only 46 litres).

The new version has a re-designed stainless steel hob top with cast iron pan supports but the steel is still in one piece - and the old "cattle grid" style of pan support, whilst being very distinctive to look at, wasn't to my mind all that practical to keep clean. A huge 5kW wok burner retains pride of place in the centre. The new design is more conventional in looks but (I suspect) a darn site easier to keep clean:

Looking at the front of the cooker, the style changes are relatively minor. The characteristic "hi-fi" style controls are still there, as are the clean lines.

The colour shown at the top is the lovely pure white Snowdrop and you can also choose from Ash Black, Ocean, Truffle, Purple Haze, Blueberry, Oyster, Liquorice and Stainless Steel.

Sizes currently available are 1100 or 1200 - the latter having steel side posts, as did the original Mercury. A nicer look, I think, than the 1100 which doesn't have them. Some smaller sizes are also planned for the future.

For more details - visit the Mercury website. Here's the 1200 version in the colour Ocean: