Breville BTA720XL A Bit More 2-Slice Toaster

Overview

The Breville BTA720XL is a 2-slice toaster with two features that actually matter: Lift and Look, which raises the bread mid-cycle so you can check it without canceling, and A Bit More, which adds 30 seconds of toasting with one button press when your bread isn't quite done. These sound like small things. After using a toaster without them, you'll wonder why every toaster doesn't work this way.

Consumer Reports rated it Excellent in every category: color range, batch consistency, single-slice performance, ease of use, and ease of cleaning. CNN's product review team named it the best overall toaster, saying "none of them packed as many useful features into an attractive package at a compelling price." Taste of Home tested it against 13 competitors and called it "worthy of the splurge."

It costs roughly five times what a basic toaster costs. Whether that's worth it depends on how much you care about even browning, thoughtful controls, and not burning your sourdough.

Key Features

The extra-wide slots fit thick slices of artisan bread, sourdough rounds, and fat bagels. A 5-position browning dial controls the shade from barely warm to dark. Dedicated buttons handle Frozen (adds defrost time), Bagel (toasts the cut side more than the crust), and Cancel.

An LED countdown shows how much time remains in the cycle. The high-lift carriage adds about half an inch of extra rise when the toast pops up, so you can grab small items like English muffin halves without burning your fingers.

The body is brushed stainless steel. It resists fingerprints better than most stainless appliances. A slide-out crumb tray pulls from the back, and the cord stores underneath. The Breville Assist plug has a pull ring for easier unplugging from tight outlets.

The toaster draws 900 to 1,000 watts and weighs 4 lbs. It's 11.3 inches long, which is longer than most 2-slice toasters because the slots run lengthwise (parallel to the counter edge rather than perpendicular). Multiple Amazon reviewers specifically praise this orientation for saving counter depth.

Performance

TechGearLab ran heat tests and found the BTA720XL "successfully achieving that elusive gently toasted result, crispy with light gold coloring, that many toasters struggle to deliver on their lowest settings." It was a top performer with frozen waffles, maintaining even browning from frozen without pre-defrosting.

Amazon reviewers (4.0 stars, 7,641 ratings) confirm the toasting is consistent. One reviewer tested Eggo waffles, English muffins, white bread, bagels, and artisan bread and reported all were "toasted evenly and perfectly on both sides." Another replaced a 10-year-old toaster and called the BTA720XL "literally the only toaster that makes actual toast."

The one performance flaw: TechGearLab found one corner of each slice browns slightly lighter than the rest. They called it "a design characteristic rather than a one-off defect." It's minor and most users won't notice unless they're looking for it.

Speed is average. Each cycle takes about 2 minutes depending on the browning level. The Zwilling Enfinigy takes over 4 minutes but produces more even results. Most cheap toasters are about the same speed as the Breville.

Build Quality & Design

The stainless steel body looks good and holds up well. Multiple Amazon reviewers with 1-2+ years of daily use report no cosmetic issues. The lengthwise slot orientation is polarizing: some love it for the counter space it saves, others find it unusual.

The main reliability concern is the heating elements. Several 1-star Amazon reviews describe one side of the toaster stopping heating within 6-18 months. One reviewer found the inner elements only worked in bagel mode. Another reported the lever mechanism failing after 14 months: toast pops up immediately and won't stay down. These reports are a minority, but with a 1-year warranty, you'd be out of luck if a failure happens at month 13.

Long-term owners on r/BuyItForLife say the BTA720XL is built to last about 5 years with daily use, which outlasts most cheap toasters. For true buy-it-for-life durability, the community points to the Dualit Classic, which has user-replaceable heating elements. The Breville doesn't.

Value for Money

The BTA720XL sits between budget toasters and the premium Zwilling Enfinigy, which costs a good deal more. The KitchenAid KMT2116 costs a bit less but has mixed toasting results and only a 3-month warranty. The Cuisinart CPT-620 (now discontinued) tested poorly with uneven browning.

The Zwilling is the upgrade pick if you want the absolute best evenness and a cool-touch exterior (good with kids around). But it's the slowest toaster in its class at 4+ minutes per cycle.

For most people, the Breville hits the sweet spot. Lift and Look and A Bit More are not gimmicks. They solve real annoyances. No other toaster at this price combines those features with Consumer Reports' top ratings.

Who Should Buy This

Anyone who eats toast, bagels, or English muffins regularly and is tired of burning one side or running the toaster twice. The Lift and Look feature alone is worth the upgrade from a basic toaster.

People with thick or unusual bread. The extra-wide slots and lengthwise orientation handle sourdough rounds and artisan loaves that jam in standard toasters.

Counter-space-conscious kitchens. The lengthwise orientation sits flat against the backsplash while keeping the controls accessible from the front.

Who Should Skip This

If you toast once a week or less, a basic GE 2-slice toaster (America's Test Kitchen budget pick) will do the job. The Breville's features shine with daily use.

If you need 4 slices at once for a family, the Breville BTA830XL (4-slice long-slot version) or the BTA820XL (die-cast 2-slice) are better picks. The BTA720XL is a 2-slice toaster, period.

If the 1-year warranty concerns you, the Zwilling Enfinigy has a 2-year warranty. It costs more, but the extra coverage and even better toasting may be worth it for peace of mind.