If you’re planning to use microwave ovens regularly to cook your food, you’ll want one that’s sporting excellent cooking power, plenty of features, and perhaps even compact in size. The Panasonic NN-SN966S Countertop Built-in Microwave easily fits the bill. It goes without saying: you can never go wrong with a Panasonic microwave. There’s a reason it’s one of the best microwaves on our list.
Related: We also recommend the Panasonic NN SN736B review
Why We Like It – Panasonic NN-SN966S
A compact workhorse that can serve you well, and more, the Panasonic NN-SN966S is a monster when it comes to cooking food, keeping it warm, defrosting, and dozens of presets to boot.
- Performance matches the price
- Compact size
- Sleek design
- Defrosting is occasionally inaccurate
Related: You may also have a look at the Panasonic NN SU696S review roundup
Performance
The Panasonic NN-SN966S is a powerhouse when it comes to even cooking, heating your food, or when you just need to keep your food warm. It’s thanks to inverter technology and a 1250 Watt power level, which is adjustable. The Genius sensor cooking button can automatically cook your food based on the amount of steam being produced.
With the Keep Warm feature, it’s easy to keep soup, gravies, or even desserts warm until your guests arrive. However, the Turbo Defrost is inaccurate every now and then, but still reduces the overall defrosting time.
Design
You’d expect such a powerful microwave would be a big, hulking piece of technology, but the Panasonic NN-SN966S is actually quite small—only being slightly bigger than the Toshiba EM925A5A-SS and AmazonBasics Microwave. If you’re in a small apartment, and plan on using microwaves often, this will easily fit on your counter.
Naturally, the stainless steel finish is rather nice. On the right-hand side are the controls, which also include 14 auto-cook options such as: oatmeal, omelet, soup, quinoa, potatoes, frozen pizza (single), rice, past, and more. There’s also a child safety lock to prevent adventurous kids from being too curious.
Value
To paint a picture of the value behind the Panasonic NN-SN966S, it’s best to compare it to a much more expensive product: the GE JNM3163RJSS. The GE microwave is asking for $310, but is only 1000W, compared to the NN-SN966S’ 1250W power level. The GE JNM3163RJSS is also much bigger, making it that much harder to place in a small dorm or apartment. The GE JNM3163RJSS doesn’t have nearly as many presets as the Panasonic NN-SN966S. Lastly, the Panasonic NN-SN966S is $80 cheaper.
GE isn’t a slouch with technology, nor is Panasonic. But it’s hard to argue with results like that. The Panasonic NN-SN966S is clearly the better deal.
Panasonic NN-SN966S Wrap Up
The Panasonic NN-SN966S is a superb workhorse that can handle just about any meal you throw at it, and it’s even ready with over a dozen presets for the right occasion. It’s compact in size, has a sleek design, and is appropriately priced. On a bad day, its defrosting is inaccurate; otherwise, the Panasonic NN-SN966S excels.
