LG LFX32945ST Door-in-Door Refrigerator Review

Since then, the market has spoken, and the design is apparently a hit. LG responded with a slew of new door-in-door fridges, a lineup that's topped by the LFX32945ST (MSRP $3,699.99). Compared to the similar LFX29945ST (MSRP $3,199.99) and the original LFX31945ST (MSRP $3,499.99), it's the best of the bunch... and also the most expensive.

At 33 cubic feet, the LFX32945ST has one of the largest advertised interiors on the market, but it the was impressive results in our lab tests that secured our recommendation. If you can swing the high price, we think this fridge is a perfect fit for a big family.

Design & Usability

A stainless steel Swiss Army fridge

When it comes to high-end fridge design, this LG checks off almost every traditional box. There's a through-the-door ice and water dispenser that's tall enough for pitchers and vases, and controls that blend in with the stainless exterior.

On the inside, bright LEDs illuminate glass shelves with silver trim. Two spacious crispers and a slim middle drawer sit below a bevy of adjustable shelves. At the bottom, a fridge-wide Glide N’ Serve drawer offers three preset independent temperature settings. Two “hidden” compartments are built into the bottom wall of the fridge called the Slide N' Glide bins—LG must have gotten a discount on apostrophes—and they make for great child-height snack storage.

There's a slim icemaker on the left door, while the right plays host to this fridge’s main selling point: door-in-door storage. The six shelves on the right-hand door exist in an almost completely enclosed plastic casing. You can get at shelves normally by popping open a plastic flap on the inner portion of the unit with the main fridge door open normally, or you can open a thin secondary door triggered by pushing a button on the fridge’s handle. (Sound complicated? It's really not—just check out the little video for a demonstration.)

That same plastic casing I mentioned earlier? It serves as a buffer to keep more cold air inside the fridge compared to opening the regular doors. It means the fridge doesn't have to work as hard to cool down after it's been opened, which improves efficiency.

The drawback is that the six door-mounted shelves are completely fixed. Yes, they're carefully positioned so that you can fit anything from cups of yogurt and sticks of butter to gallons of juice and cans of soda. If you want to chill a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, though, it’ll have to go into the fridge proper.

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Performance & Features

It tested well, too.

When it comes to food preservation, our lab tests indicated no major flaws with the LFX32945ST. The crispers did a great job retaining moisture for fresh fruits and veggies. Freezer temperatures proved both cold and consistent, which should minimize the risk of freezer burn. It's good to know that a fridge this pricey holds up when it comes to food preservation as well as storage.

No fridge is perfect, but the LFX32945ST's downsides were minimal. For instance, we noticed some warm spots at the top of the fridge cavity, so be sure to store the most sensitive food items (like soft cheeses and defrosting meat) in the middle. It's really hard to keep temperatures even across a fridge cavity as large as this one, so we're willing to overlook this mild flaw.

Even if you're sold on style alone, there are two numbers you should know when buying a fridge: 0ºF and 41ºF. A freezer that fluctuates above 0ºF puts food at risk of nasty freezer burn, and bacterial growth might start when a fridge goes above 41ºF. Neither compartment in this LG got warm enough to put food at risk.

For in-depth performance information, please visit the Science Page.

Big Perks in a Big Fridge

Specialized perfection

We’ve tested lots of fridges that boast of open space, great performance, and innovative niche features. But few combine all those traits quite as effectively as the LG LFX32945ST. It’s capable of preserving lots of food—and doing it well, for that matter—all with an innovative new door.

That said, it’s not cheap. Even sale prices hover a bit over $3,300, which is scraping the upper edge of the price bracket as far as standalone refrigerators go. If the similarly-priced Samsung four-door is too big and too complex, or the Whirlpool WRF989SDAM is too small and too basic, this LG may be just right.

The Cold Hard Facts

The LG LFX32945ST (MSRP $3,699.99) isn’t just a roomy, attractive appliance—it’s also pretty darn effective at preserving food. Numbers don’t lie, and our tests wound up painting a very positive picture of this door-in-door fridge.

Temperature Performance

Consistency, consistency, consistency

A real high point in this fridge’s performance was its impressive consistency over time. Average temperatures in the fresh food zone clocked in at 39.01ºF, 37.39ºF, and 39.79ºF—top, middle, and bottom, respectively. For the middle and bottom (it’s better for the crispers to be a bit warmer), that’s right on the money. The extra warmth at the top isn’t ideal, but shouldn’t have a huge impact on the quality of your food. Similarly, an average temperature fluctuation of ±0.44ºF over time isn't the absolute best we've seen, but it is effectively consistent.

The freezer is where this LG really shines. Average temperatures of -2.01ºF at the top and -0.69ºF at the bottom are very chilly. Combine that with an average shift of ±0.16ºF, and you’ve got a frozen food compartment that will keep your food safe from freezer burn. Fantastic!

Moisture Retention

Crispety crispers

Not only are the crisper drawers in this LG some of the smoothest we’ve handled, they’re also quite good at retaining moisture. Over the course of 72 hours, our test materials lost an average of 0.16 grams of moisture per hour. That’s not going to blow the best crispers out of the water, but the drawers are effective enough to keep veggies crisp and fresh for a reasonable amount of time.

Freezing & Thawing

By-the-numbers freezing

The LG’s freezing time was probably the least impressive element of its performance. To freeze room-temperature items in one hour and 25 minutes is quite average. This should be good enough for folks who like to bulk buy chicken breasts or salmon filet on sale, but you may want to think twice before freezing filet mignon.

Fortunately, this LG did prove that it could weather a storm… literally. After 36 hours without power, its freezer had thawed to just 27.54ºF. That’s plenty cold to keep food from thawing out and spoiling.

Storage Space & Energy Efficiency

A shelf for every member of the family

This LG has more storage compartments than the cargo pants you wore in the 90’s. Movable shelves, wide drawers with temperature controls, crispers that slide like they’ve been greased with butter: you pick a food, and this fridge has a designated storage slot for it.

The biggest draw for this fridge is its door-in-door compartment. A collection of six shelves of varying sizes provide storage options for frequently used items. The catch? None of the shelves are adjustable.

The freezer is much less exciting, with a standard set of three sliding drawers of various heights at your disposal. Respectively, all of these storage spaces serve up 14.93 usable cubic feet in the fridge and 6.55 usable cubic feet in the freezer. That’s definitely above average in both areas, and means this fridge has plenty of room to accommodate large families with a variety of food preferences.

This LG is very efficient for a fridge of its size. Using a fixed rate of $0.09 per kWh, this fridge will run you about $59.28 per year. Keep in mind, that’s with the icemaker running; no ice means a lower bill. This all translates to 0.08 kWh per usable cubic foot, making this an exceptionally efficient fridge compared to others in its size class.