The Miele G 5310 SC Active Plus is the best dishwasher on this list on outright performance: faultless cleaning, flawless drying, the quietest running and a build tested to last twenty years. Here's why it earns the premium — and who should actually pay it.
Miele occupies a place of its own in kitchen appliances: machines designed and tested to keep performing for two decades, not five years. The G 5310 SC Active Plus is the brand's accessible full-size dishwasher, and it shows exactly what you're paying for — cleaning and drying that simply outclass the mainstream, near-silent running, and the reassurance of a machine built to last. It's our premium pick, with the honest caveat that it costs roughly twice what a good mainstream machine does.
| Model | Price | Type | Place settings | Energy rating | Rating | Link | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ★ Top pick Miele G 5310 SC Active Plus Freestanding Dishwasher | £949.00 | Full-size freestanding (60 cm) | 14 | C | ★ 4.6 | View → |
£949.00
Full-size freestanding (60 cm) · 14 · C
The verdict from Aisha Rahman, home appliance tester
A polished premium alternative. The Miele G 5310 SC is the best machine here on outright performance: faultless cleaning, the quietest running at 44 dB, AutoOpen drying that leaves everything dry, and Miele's famous build that's tested to run for two decades. It costs roughly twice what a good mainstream machine does, so it only makes sense if you value longevity and the very best results — but if you do, nothing else on this list matches it.
Everything comes out perfectly clean and bone-dry, and the door pops open at the end to vent the steam.
The G 5310 SC is the right machine if you want the best possible results and longevity, and you're prepared to pay for them. It's the choice for a forever home, a kitchen you've invested in, or anyone who keeps appliances for the long haul and would rather buy once. With 14 place settings it has the capacity for a family, the 44 dB running is the quietest here, and Miele's two-decade test programme means that over its lifetime the high price can work out surprisingly reasonable on a per-year basis.
It's plainly the wrong machine if budget is tight or your needs are modest. A light household or a rented flat doesn't need to spend Miele money — the Bosch Series 4 cleans a normal load beautifully for far less, and the Hisense HS622E90WUK does the everyday job for a fraction of the price. The Miele is for people who specifically want the very best, not the sensible default.
The cleaning is the best on this list, full stop. Everyday loads come out flawless, and the machine handles the jobs that defeat cheaper dishwashers — dried-on, baked-on, greasy — without complaint or pre-rinsing. The programmes are thorough and the spray coverage is excellent, so even awkwardly shaped items in the corners come out clean. If you've only ever used mainstream machines, the consistency is genuinely noticeable.
Drying is the Miele's other party trick, thanks to AutoOpen: at the end of the cycle the door automatically pops ajar to let the steam escape and everything air-dry. The result is crockery, glass and even plastics that come out properly dry, with none of the hand-finishing that mainstream machines often need. It's the single feature that most justifies the price for anyone who's tired of damp Tupperware.
At 44 dB the G 5310 SC is the quietest machine here — close to silent in normal use, and entirely unobtrusive in an open-plan kitchen or run overnight. The only sign it's working is the little projected light some Miele trims cast on the floor to show the cycle is running. If quiet is your priority, this is the machine; the alternatives are ranked in our quietest dishwashers guide.
This is the heart of the Miele proposition. The machine feels engineered to a different standard — the door action, the racks, the cutlery tray all move with a precision the mainstream machines can't match — and Miele tests these dishwashers to the equivalent of twenty years of use. A machine that lasts two decades rather than one is, over its life, far better value than the sticker price implies.
There's really only one drawback, and it's the obvious one: the G 5310 SC costs roughly twice what an excellent mainstream machine does. For a light household that runs the dishwasher a few times a week, that's hard to justify — you'd be paying for performance and longevity you don't need. The Miele only makes financial and practical sense if you genuinely value the best cleaning, the best drying, the quietest running and the longest life, and intend to keep the machine for many years. If you do, nothing else here competes; if you don't, the Bosch Series 4 is the smarter spend.
Yes — in our testing the Miele G 5310 SC earns its place on our list. The full breakdown of where it shines and where it falls short is in the review above, and you can see how it compares with the alternatives on our best dishwasher ranking.
The capacity is listed in the specifications above. As a rule, a full-size (60 cm) machine holds 13 to 15 place settings and suits a family, while a slimline (45 cm) machine holds around 9 to 10 and suits a couple or a small kitchen.
Prices change often, so the price shown here is indicative. The current price is always the one on the retailer's own page — use the button above to check it on Amazon before you buy.
The Miele G 5310 SC is our premium pick because it's simply the best machine on this list: faultless cleaning, AutoOpen drying that leaves everything dry, the quietest 44 dB running and a build tested to last twenty years. The price is the only thing standing between it and an outright recommendation, so it's the right buy for people who want the best and will keep it for the long haul — and the wrong buy for anyone who just needs a sensible, capable machine. For most kitchens that's the Bosch Series 4; if value is the goal, the Beko DVN05C20W. As ever, read our buying guide and confirm the size before you commit.