KitchenAid KRQC506MPS Refrigerator Review

About the KitchenAid KRQC506MPS Refrigerator

• Style: 4-door French-door
• Dimensions: 69 in. x 36 in. x 24 in. (H x W x D)
• Depth: Counter depth
• Measured capacity: 8.4 cubic-foot refrigerator, 4-cubic-foot freezer
• Finishes: Stainless steel
• Special features: Custom Freeze Zone, Sliding storage trays, ExtendFresh Temperature Management System
• Dispensers: Automatic ice maker
• ADA compliant: Yes
• Energy Star rated: Yes
• User manual: KitchenAid KRQC506MPS refrigerator manual

This 4-door refrigerator features a stainless-steel finish with what KitchenAid dubs PrintShield technology, designed to resist smudges and fingerprints.

Opening the fridge doors reveals three full-width glass shelves and 12 cubic feet worth of space for storage. The bottom shelf is accented with a wood-like finish and can easily slide in and out for easy access to food stored in the back, and the two crisper drawers are accented with metal handles.

The temperatures of each fridge quadrant can be adjusted on the sleek touch control panel, which is housed on the left-hand fridge door.

There's a Max Cool Rapid Cooling option for the refrigerator, which quickly cools the interior to the lowest level in just an hour, ensuring drinks and foods are cooled quickly and ready to serve. After two hours, it will automatically return to its original set temperature.

The bottom left quadrant offers a similar Max Freeze Quick Freeze setting to solidify its contents quickly, which automatically returns the interior to its previous setting after 30 hours. That quadrant also houses the automatic ice maker, which comes equipped with a scoop for easy serving.

What we like

It boasts a simple yet stunning aesthetic

The KRQC506MPS gives off a vibe of subtle luxury that's sleek and beautiful, without being over-the-top.

Unlike its competitors that tend to lean on ultra contemporary design (like Samsung Bespoke), flashy features (like LG Instaview), or shiny finishes (like Bosch), this KitchenAid fridge offers an alternative in refrigerator design.

The simple, smudge-resistant exterior paired with eye-catching interior elements—like the platinum-colored accents and wood-like details—gives this fridge a sophisticated look. It's simple but undoubtedly attractive, able to match with any kitchen's aesthetic.

Temperatures remain solid and steady

One of the most crucial components of a solid refrigerator is, unsurprisingly, accurate and consistent temperatures. This KitchenAid fridge knocked that out of the park during our testing.

The fridge temperature and consistency achieved a near-perfect score, maintaining a 37°F sweet-spot in the fridge and a just-below-zero temperature in the freezer. Importantly, these temperatures didn't budge over the week during which we monitored them. This means you can feel confident about storing your food at a safe temperature that will keep it lasting as long as possible.

The refrigerator’s control panel allows you to adjust temperatures in each section of the fridge and freezer; you can switch between temperatures ranging from -8°F to 5°F in the freezers and 36°F to 43°F in the fridge compartment, to appropriately store anything from compound butter to homemade gelato. However, for general storage purposes, you want to stay between 32°F and 40°F in the fridge to prevent food spoilage, and below 0°F in the freezer.

The KRQC506MPS also performed well in our ice cube freezing test (one of the many methods for how we test refrigerators in the Reviewed lab), proving to produce rock-solid cubes before the 120-minute mark.

A generous capacity means you can store more perishables than most

The KitchenAid KRQC506MPS claims to boast 19.4 cubic feet of space, but we measure the usable space to be closer to 12.5 cubic feet.

What does this mean? Imagine filling a fridge compartment with water, and then measuring that amount of water. This is the capacity KitchenAid advertises. Instead, we measure all the usable space in the drawers and shelves by hand—the space you can actually use to store food.

Nevertheless, a 12.5-cubic-foot capacity is still impressively large compared to similar counter-depth French-door fridges we've tested.

Additionally, refrigerator shelves are nicely proportioned with a liberal amount of space in between them to easily accommodate tall items. Plus, all the provided shelving and doors are deep enough to fit plenty of food and drinks without stuffing.

The variety of storage options can help you stay organized

Sure, having lots of space in a refrigerator is great—but that can quickly turn into piles of leftovers and unorganized produce if there's no help from the appliance's design.

Luckily, the KRQC506MPS can help you get organized. The refrigerator boasts three spacious and sturdy shelves to house anything from tall pitchers to long charcuterie boards, plus two spacious crisper drawers and three deep shelves on each door.

The freezer offers myriad organization options as well, thanks to the two slide-out drawers up top (one of which houses the ice maker, the other a flexible temp drawer), and four deep bins to keep ice cream pints separate from frozen veggies and vacuum-sealed meat.

What we don’t like

There's no water dispenser

We've gotten used to the convenience of most modern refrigerators—especially premium ones—having built-in water dispensers. [Some models can even brew your morning coffee for you!)

So, it's disappointing that this KitchenAid refrigerator doesn't feature a water dispenser, neither internally nor through the door. Also be aware that no dispenser means no water filter—so the ice that is produced by the machine won't be made with filtered water.

Anyone looking for a new fridge that has already gotten used to having filtered, cold water at the touch of a button may have to reconsider this KitchenAid fridge because of that downside or splurge for this KitchenAid upgrade.

Minor usability issue presented inconveniences

Although this model excelled at most performance and usability tests we threw at it, there were a few details we noticed along the way that we didn't love.

Firstly, although the metal handles on the fridge and freezer drawers are aesthetically pleasing, they become uncomfortably cold to the touch. The ones inside the freezer, particularly, started to hurt our fingertips after just opening and closing the drawers a single time.

We also noticed that the nooks designed as handles in the freezer doors often collected crumbs from the food we stored, and it wasn't easy to clean them out.

And although we love all the storage options offered in the freezer, they made it difficult to store wide items like larger frozen pizzas and sheet trays.

What owners are saying

The KitchenAid KRQC506MPS has an average user review of 4.3 stars out of 5, with most owners praising its sleek design and ample storage space. Most minor complaints are related to the lack of a water dispenser.

Warranty

KitchenAid offers a 1-year warranty that covers parts and labor for the KRQC506MPS, which is in line with the industry standard. It also offers an extended 5-year warranty to correct non-cosmetic defects in the fridge.

Should you buy the KitchenAid KRQC506MPS Refrigerator?

Yes, it has steady, stable temperatures and a sophisticated look

We love that this refrigerator reliably maintains steady temperatures in all four of its compartments. Its gorgeous design—with spacious bins and wood accents—is just icing on the cake.

The downsides we found with this refrigerator were minimal. Aside from a missing water dispenser and some less-than-perfect user experience details, this fridge impressed us.

If having filtered water at the touch of a button is a deal-breaker for you, instead consider one of the best refrigerators we've tested: the Frigidaire Gallery Quattro GRQC2255BF, another 4-door option we love for its supreme temperature consistency, excellent crisper drawers, and innovative storage design.