I needed a cheap sturdy back-up kettle while I figured out exactly how I wanted the accessories in my kitchen to look. At the time of purchase, this was one of the most affordable ones with reasonable reviews. It absolutely did the trick. The plastic is a matte finish which is nice in that it doesn't show water stains quite as aggressively as a glossy finish. It lights up when it's heating, making it extremely easy to see if heating is occurring. I really like this particular design feature as in the past, when my kettles have started to break down, it is always the on/off switch and my inability to see if the thing was still on and using electricity that has been a real problem. It's a great buy and if you happen to love purple or any of the other colors this comes in, I'd get it. I would say the key positive design feature which has me giving it 5 stars is that it lights up on the bottom when it is on. As most of these kettles break due to the on-off switch (i.e. the Kalorick, which I had for 2 years), and when it breaks you can't tell if it's on or off, this lighting feature is a real possible energy saver. (my old pot broke and would continue to heat for hours). It's glass so it's not the most heat saving once heated, but it's so very to quick to heat up that I wouldn't let that stop you.