Bosch Series 4 WAN28282GB Review: 16p a Wash, and a 3h26m Eco Cycle
An 8 kg, 1400 rpm Bosch that washes well and costs about 16p a cycle to run — but carries a C energy label, a 75 dB spin and an Eco 40-60 programme that runs for three and a half hours. The people who like it and the people who are irritated by it are describing the same machine.
Where the reviews line up
Nobody we could find has bench-tested this exact model number in public. So the evidence here comes from three different places: a full hands-on lab test at Expert Reviews of the WAN28201GB, the same Series 4 8 kg platform a generation earlier; a Mumsnet Talk thread where twenty replies from current Series 4 owners say what living with one is actually like; and Feefo's verified-buyer block at Currys, 4.8/5 from 1,088 ratings in a year on the 9 kg sister machine. We say which is which throughout, because none of them is the WAN28282GB itself.
Three things come up in all three. It washes properly. Expert Reviews ran industry-standard stained swatches through it and called the results excellent for the money, a Best Buy at £399. Feefo buyers repeat it in plainer words. The motor is a good one — the brushless EcoSilence Drive carries a ten-year warranty on Bosch's own product sheet, and the tone of the noise gets praised even by people who think it is loud. And the price has moved: the machine Expert Reviews tested at £399 has a successor listing at £449 with a £499 RRP.
Two honest problems. The programmes are long. Bosch's own fiche puts Eco 40-60 at 3 hours 26 minutes at a full 8 kg load, and Currys' spec block has the 60° cotton cycle at 206 minutes. On Mumsnet that is the single loudest complaint, with one owner calling the eco cycle ridiculously long and another describing a 45-minute quick wash that takes whatever time it likes. And it is a C. On the post-2021 label a C is mid-table, not good; 62 kWh per 100 cycles is roughly a third more electricity than an A-rated 8 kg machine.
The buying decision is about the label, not the brand. At today's capped 26.32p a unit an Eco 40-60 wash costs about 16.3p, or roughly £32 a year at four washes a week. An A-rated rival at around 45 kWh per 100 cycles would cost about 11.8p, saving you roughly £9 a year. If a Bosch at £449 is £60 more than the A-rated machine next to it, the label will not pay that back inside seven years. Buy this one because you want the wash quality and the motor warranty, not because you think it is cheap to run.
The three reviews this summary is built from
- Expert ReviewsFull lab test with stained test swatches — but of the WAN28201GB, the earlier Series 4 8 kg. Best Buy at £399.
- Mumsnet Talk20 replies from Series 4 owners. Door locks, bearings and cycle times, not marketing copy.
- Feefo at Currys4.8/5 from 1,088 verified-buyer ratings in a year — on the 9 kg WAN28259GB, not this model.
Before the review: which Bosch is this, and is it still on sale?
Bosch's Series 4 8 kg 1400 rpm line runs to at least seven UK model numbers that look identical — WAN28201GB, WAN28250GB, WAN28280GB, WAN28281GB, WAN28282GB, WAN282X1GB, WAN282X2GB — and they do not share specs. The WAN28281GB's own Bosch fiche says 63 kWh per 100 cycles, 48 litres and 74 dB; the WAN28282GB we are reviewing says 62 kWh, 47 litres and 75 dB. Check the last four characters on the listing in front of you.
Bosch's own UK product page for the WAN28282GB now says "Product is no longer available", and Currys Business, Currys, AO and Argos all showed it out of stock when we checked on 19 September 2026. Independents still list it. That matters for price: a discontinued line is where you find a genuine discount and also where you find a shop charging over the odds.
Specification at a glance
| Spec | Figure | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Rated capacity | 8.0 kg (Eco 40-60, full load) | Bosch GB spec sheet for WAN28282GB |
| Energy class | C on the 2021 scale | Bosch; Currys and Harry Garlick agree |
| Energy use | 62 kWh per 100 cycles (Eco 40-60) | Bosch. Currys publishes 0.617 kWh per cycle — the same number rounded |
| Cost per wash | ≈16.3p at the capped 26.32p/kWh | Our arithmetic: 0.62 kWh × 26.32p. Ofgem cap, 1 Oct–31 Dec 2026 |
| Water use | 47 litres per cycle (Eco 40-60) | Bosch. The sister WAN28281GB is 48 l — print both |
| Spin speed & class | 1400 rpm · spin-drying class B | Bosch and Currys Business |
| Noise, spinning | 75 dB(A), noise class B | Bosch's declared label figure. Sister model WAN28281GB: 74 dB |
| Noise, washing | Not declared | The EU label only requires the spin figure. No source publishes a wash dB — see caveats |
| Eco 40-60 duration | 3 h 26 min at full load | Bosch. The WAN28281GB fiche says 3 h 35 min |
| Other cycle times | 60° cottons 206 min at 8 kg · 40° 164 min at 4 kg · quick wash 15 min at 2 kg | Currys Business spec block |
| Programmes | 18 (Currys) or 20 (Atlantic Electrics) — retailers count them differently | Both figures published; Bosch does not headline a count |
| Dimensions | 848 × 598 × 550 mm (H × W × D) | Bosch, Currys, Euronics and Harry Garlick all agree |
| Door | Hinged on the left, opens to 180° | Manual listing at manua.ls — allow the full door swing to the left of the aperture |
| Weight | Sources disagree: Bosch's fiche says 54.6 kg net; Currys says 67.6 kg net and 68.7 kg boxed; Harry Garlick says 68.7 kg | We would plan the lift around 68 kg |
| Electrical | 2300 W, 10 A, 220–240 V — a standard 13 A socket | Bosch spec sheet |
| Warranty | Sources disagree: Currys Business and Atlantic Electrics say 5 years (Atlantic adds: register within 3 months); Harry Garlick says 2 years parts and labour. Bosch's fiche separately warrants the EcoSilence Drive motor for 10 years | Get the warranty term in writing from your seller before you pay |
| RRP | £499 | Harry Garlick, 19 September 2026. Which? quotes a typical price of £529 |
| Live UK prices | £449 at Harry Garlick and Hughes; £447 Electrical Discount UK; £449 at Currys, AO and Euronics (all out of stock) | Checked 19 September 2026 — see the price section |
Expert Reviews
This is a proper test, and it is the reason we are comfortable saying the machine washes well. Expert Reviews ran industry-standard cotton swatches carrying nine set stains through 40° and 60° cotton cycles and the quick-wash programmes, then judged stain removal, cycle length, noise and build. The verdict was a Best Buy: superb washing performance that beat machines costing significantly more, at £399 against a £549 launch RRP. On noise they were careful — the sound-pressure figures made it only a tiny bit quieter than rivals, but the brushless motor's tone was markedly less annoying than a brushed motor's whine. That distinction matters more than a dB number when the machine is in a kitchen you sit in.
Two criticisms survive into the model we are reviewing, because they are design decisions rather than tuning. The tank is sealed, so the bearings cannot be replaced — when they go, the machine is scrap. And the filter cover detaches easily and is fiddly to put back. They also measured the long cycles that the owners complain about: 1 hour 44 minutes for 40° cottons, 2 hours 51 minutes for 60°. Read alongside Bosch's 3 hours 26 minutes for Eco 40-60, that is a consistent picture rather than a fault. The honest limit of this source: it is the WAN28201GB, an A+++ machine under the old label, not the C-rated WAN28282GB. Take the wash quality and the build notes from it; do not take the energy figures.
Watch: Bosch WAN28259GB Washing Machine An Engineers Review: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly Truth!
An appliance engineer going through a current Series 4 rather than a retailer demo. We confirmed the video exists and is titled this in two separate searches, but we could not open it or record its channel.
Watch on YouTube ↗Mumsnet Talk
This thread is the counterweight to the star ratings, and it is worth more than its size suggests because the people posting are answering a direct question about this range rather than rating a delivery. The complaints cluster tightly. Cycle length comes up hardest: standard cycles running close to three hours, an eco cycle one poster calls ridiculously long, and the unpredictability of the automatic load sensing — ask for a 45-minute quick wash on a mixed load, said one owner, "and then it takes whatever time it likes". That is the load-recognition system doing its job, but it is not what the dial implies.
Noise on the quick cycle is the second theme: the fast 40° programme's spin is loud even with a modest load, with one poster saying it sounded like it was going to take off. And there are two reliability reports we will not smooth over — an owner whose newer Bosch needed new bearings, and repeated trouble with the door lock, including one machine that failed at twenty months old and another owner opening and closing the door up to twenty times before it engages. Set against Expert Reviews' finding that the tank is sealed, a bearing failure is a replaced machine.
The useful constructive tip in the thread: several owners get sensible times out of these machines by ignoring the eco programme and running EasyCare with the speed and eco options, finishing in under an hour. If you buy one, that is the setting to learn first. Caveats on this source: it is self-selected, it is twenty posts rather than a survey, it is about the Series 4 range generally, and the posts are from 2023 and 2024.
Watch: Bosch WAN28282GB 1400 Spin Washing Machine
The only clip we found carrying this exact model number in its title. Confirmed present under that title in two separate searches; we did not open it.
Watch on YouTube ↗Feefo at Currys
We would rather give you a thousand verified buyers on the wrong capacity than a five-star average with no sample size on the right one. Feefo only collects from confirmed purchasers, and 1,088 ratings in a single year on one Currys SKU is a real distribution rather than a handful of happy owners. The model is the 9 kg WAN28259GB: same Series 4 cabinet, same 1400 rpm, one kilo more drum. Treat it as evidence about the range, not about the WAN28282GB.
The themes are consistent with everything else here. Cleaning performance and the spread of programmes draw the most praise; value for money is called exceptional repeatedly; and several buyers cite a previous Bosch lasting well, including one whose last machine ran thirteen years. A number say a Which? recommendation is what made them buy. The most useful single dissent is from an owner comparing directly against their own 2017 Bosch: the new one is not as quiet. That is a like-for-like judgement from someone with no reason to make it, and it is the closest thing to a noise measurement any buyer source gives.
What this source cannot tell you: we read the first ten of 222 displayed reviews, so we cannot give you a fault rate, and a retailer-hosted block at 4.8/5 collected largely in the weeks after delivery is not durability evidence. It says nothing about bearings or door locks at two years.
Watch: Bosch Serie 4 WAN28281GB 8 kg 1400 Spin Washing Machine - White | Product Overview | Currys PC World
A retailer product overview of the near-identical WAN28281GB, so promotional — but the clearest look at the fascia, the dial and the drawer. The channel is named in the video title itself.
Watch on YouTube ↗What it costs to run, and what it costs to buy
Bosch declares 62 kWh per 100 cycles on Eco 40-60, which is 0.62 kWh a wash. Ofgem's cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026 sets the direct-debit electricity unit rate at 26.32p per kWh, with a 54.83p daily standing charge that you pay whether you wash or not. So an Eco 40-60 cycle costs about 16.3p. Four washes a week is £33.92 a year; two a week is £16.96. Hot fill does not apply — this machine is cold-fill only, so the heating is on the electricity meter. Water on a meter adds roughly 20-25p a cycle in most of England and Wales on 47 litres, which is more than the electricity.
On price, checked 19 September 2026: the RRP is £499 at Harry Garlick, which was selling at £449 but out of stock. Which?'s entry for the near-identical WAN282X2GB quotes a typical price of £529. A price-comparison listing at price4.co.uk had Electrical Discount UK at £447 and Hughes at £449 in stock, with Currys at £449 plus £20 delivery, AO at £449, Argos at £404 plus £6.95 and Euronics at £449.99 all showing out of stock. John Lewis does not list this model — its Bosch Series 4 8 kg listing is the older WAN28201GB. Two outliers worth ignoring: Very at £769 and Appliance World at £631 for the same machine, and an Atlantic Electrics page showing £149.66, which we read as a finance instalment rather than a purchase price. We did not verify any of the aggregator's figures on the retailers' own pages, so treat them as a shortlist to check, not as quotes.
Strengths and weak points
What holds up
- Wash quality: a Best Buy in a proper swatch-and-stain lab test of the same platform.
- Brushless EcoSilence Drive motor, separately warranted by Bosch for 10 years.
- 1400 rpm with a B spin class — clothes come out drier than a 1200 rpm machine's.
- 47 litres a cycle is genuinely frugal; ActiveWater Plus scales the fill to the load.
- Standard 600 mm width and 550 mm depth, so it drops into a normal kitchen run.
- Door opens to 180° on a left hinge — easy loading if the aperture allows the swing.
- 1,088 verified buyers at 4.8/5 on the sister model is a large, purchase-verified sample.
What people complain about
- C energy class. 62 kWh per 100 cycles is about a third more than an A-rated 8 kg machine.
- Eco 40-60 runs 3 hours 26 minutes at full load; 60° cottons 206 minutes.
- Load sensing overrides the time you asked for — the quick wash is not reliably quick.
- 75 dB(A) spin, class B. One owner directly says a newer one is louder than their 2017 Bosch.
- Sealed tank: the bearings cannot be replaced, and one owner has already had bearings fail.
- Repeated door-lock complaints in the Mumsnet thread, one at twenty months old.
- Retailers quote 2 years or 5 years of warranty on the same machine — you must check.
- Discontinued by Bosch and out of stock at the big four, so stock is thinning.
Who it actually suits
Buy it if wash quality and a long-warranted motor matter more to you than the energy label, you can find it near £449 or below from a shop whose warranty terms you have in writing, and you have a household that plans washes rather than needing one done in the next hour. Two adults or a couple with one child will fill an 8 kg drum comfortably; the 550 mm depth suits a tight galley kitchen.
Look elsewhere if the machine lives in an open-plan room you sit in, if you need a genuinely quick wash on demand, or if you are buying on running cost — at these prices an A-rated 8 kg machine is the cheaper long-term proposition even before you count the quieter spin. And if you are a family of four or five, buy 9 kg instead: it is the same cabinet.
What we could not check
- The videos. YouTube would not open for us, so all three clips were confirmed by search listing only — each exact watch URL and title appeared in two differently-worded searches. We did not watch them, and for two of the three the uploading channel was not shown in the listings, so we cannot name it. Only the Currys PC World clip names its channel, and it does so in its own title.
- Wash noise in dB. The EU label only requires the spinning figure, and nobody — Bosch, retailers or buyers — publishes a washing dB for this machine. If quiet washing is the deciding factor, that number does not exist in public.
- Any test of this exact model number. The Expert Reviews test is the WAN28201GB, the Mumsnet thread is the Series 4 range, and the Feefo block is the 9 kg WAN28259GB. Nothing on this page is a lab test of a WAN28282GB.
- The Which? verdict. Which? has an entry for the near-identical WAN282X2GB, first reviewed August 2023 and last checked February 2026, but the score, the Best Buy or Don't Buy status, the measured noise and the cost-to-run are all behind the paywall. We have quoted only its public typical price of £529.
- Net weight. Bosch's own fiche says 54.6 kg; Currys and Harry Garlick say 67.6-68.7 kg. That is a 14 kg gap on one machine and we cannot reconcile it. Plan the lift around the higher figure.
- Warranty length. Two years at one retailer, five at two others, with a three-month registration window mentioned by only one. Bosch's own UK page for the model is now a discontinued-product stub, so we could not confirm the standard term from the manufacturer.
- Installation clearances. We could not retrieve the clearance figures from the installation manual, so we cannot tell you how much space to leave behind the machine for the hoses. Bosch publishes this in the installation instructions supplied with the unit.
- Live prices on the retailers' own pages. All but Harry Garlick and Currys Business came from a price-comparison listing. Currys' consumer page and AO's page for this model would not give us a price or a review count.
- Programme count. Currys says 18, Atlantic Electrics says 20. Bosch does not publish a number, and we have printed both rather than pick.
- Fault rate. We read the first ten of 222 displayed Feefo reviews and twenty Mumsnet posts. Neither supports a claim about how often anything fails.
Sources last checked 19 September 2026. Prices, stock and the energy price cap all change — check the listing in front of you, and get the warranty term in writing before you pay.