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  • Design & Usability

  • Performance & Features

  • Warranty

  • A Unique Fridge

  • Related content

  • The Cold Hard Facts

  • Temperature Performance

  • Moisture Retention

  • Freezing

  • Storage Space & Energy Efficiency

  • Design & Usability
  • Performance & Features
  • Warranty
  • A Unique Fridge
  • Related content
  • The Cold Hard Facts
  • Temperature Performance
  • Moisture Retention
  • Freezing
  • Storage Space & Energy Efficiency

With its curved, partially recessed handles and silver-smooth finish, this appliance doesn't look like anything else you can buy. Even its depth—roughly 25” not including the handles—puts it in line with counter depth models for an extra touch of class. And with retail prices hovering around $720, it’s not a bad deal.

True, we’re not sold on certain aspects of this LG: The 69.5-inch height means it won't fit under cabinets, interior lighting is oddly dim, the crisper is pretty bad, and there are almost no options for customizing shelf layout. And that odd handle with its recesses and swoops certainly won't blend in.

With that said, if you’re looking for an affordable statement piece, the LTNS16121V has plenty of flash with just enough substance to back it up. But it still isn't good enough to make it onto our list of the best fridges under $1,000.

Design & Usability

{{ amazon name="You can actually buy a Han Solo fridge", asin="B0117G0G6S", align="right" }} If you thought the LTNS16121V was a stainless fridge, you’d be wrong. The finish on this top freezer is listed as stainless vinyl coated metal… which, based on what it actually looks like, is just a fancy way of saying silvery gray.

It is highly resistant to fingerprints, but it will rust and chip just like any other solid fridge finish. There aren't any other available color options, either.

The smooth, curved handles definitely polarized our office. Some folks loved them, calling them sexy—one guy was even reminded of a twin set of swords. However, we see three problems with this funky format: 1.) You can't swap the doors from right-hinge to left-hinge. 2.) A "unique" design may be appealing to you, but it can hurt resale value for your home down the line. 3.) It kind of reminds us of Han Solo frozen in carbonite... but is that necessarily a bad thing?

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Inside, the LED lighting in the fresh food section is visually appealing and easy on the eyes, but too dim to provide any substantial illumination. The bulbs are also in the back instead of the top, so a crowded fridge will block what little light there is.

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There’s also no light at all in the freezer. The moral of this story? Don’t get this fridge if you're big on midnight snacks.

None of the door shelves are deep enough to hold a gallon of milk

With four shelves taking up space above the crisper, there’s not a lot of vertical room available for larger items. Door storage is taller, but none of the shelves are deep enough to hold a gallon of milk.

The only thing noteworthy in the freezer is the ice bucket. There’s no ice maker in this fridge, but it does come with a bin that can slide from left to right, and that has two small ice cube trays inside. You empty it by twisting a handle in the front, and the trays slide out for refilling. It’s a common feature in fridges from countries where ice is made with bottled water, but it's rare to see in America.

Performance & Features

The LTNS16121V’s cooling is—if you’ll pardon the expression—rather lukewarm. On one hand, temperature output is good and steady across the board. On the other hand, the recommended thermostat setting leaves everything a bit warm.

Normally we’d suggest turning it down a few degrees, but the thermostat in the fridge only offers five vague settings from cold to colder. We’d suggest just one notch closer to colder, as going all the to the coldest setting could cause your yogurt to freeze.

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Surprisingly, you do get a separate control for the freezer. Like the fridge, it uses a 5-point scale, but the recommended setting is actually 2—just par for the course for this bizarre fridge. We suggest cranking it down to 4 at the very least—too much cold isn't possible in a freezer, unless you're worried about energy savings..

Speaking of which, energy efficiency was phenomenal. As far as pros go… well, that’s pretty much it. It took a bit longer than average to freeze room-temperature foods, and the crisper was downright shoddy. But then again, everything is relative, and as long as you adjust the thermostat per our recommendation, these are all flaws we could live with on a $700 fridge.

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

Warranty

In addition to conventional one year parts and labor coverage, LG throws in some extras for this fridge. Parts only for the evaporator, condenser, and rotary compressor are covered for seven years, while parts for the linear compressor is covered for a whopping 10 years. No extra labor, though.

A Unique Fridge

Low-cost fridges tend to look unimpressive at best, cheap and boring at the worst. The LG LTNS16121V bucks that trend, adding some originality with the conventional top freezer layout.

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Some of its innovations may be hit or miss—like the lack of interior lighting and adjustable storage—and not all of its performance attributes could be described as the best available. But compared to other fridges in its $720 retail price point, it may be worth shopping around.

The Cold Hard Facts

Our tests revealed that the LG LTNS16121V (MSRP $799) is not without its flaws, but on the whole it's not bad for a fridge in the roughly $700 price range. As long as you turn down the thermostat—a recommendation we've been making for years—you should be fine.

Temperature Performance

This LG definitely ran warm throughout, but that's an easy fix. Fortunately, temperatures were very stable in the fresh food section and moderately so in the freezer, with average shifts of about ±0.12°F and ±0.52°F respectively, so you can fix the worst parts just by turning the thermostats down in the fridge and freezer.

For best results, make sure you move the LG LTNS16121V's fridge controls one green dot closer to the colder setting.
Credit: Reviewed.com / Matthew Zahnzinger

For best results, make sure you move the fridge controls one green dot closer to the colder setting.

We had it set to the center dot, and our sensors recorded average temperatures in the fridge of 39.76°F at the top, 39.38°F in the middle, and 41.96°F down by the crispers. In the freezer, average temperatures clocked in at 0.86°F on the upper shelf, and 2.92°F on the lower shelf.

This small dial in the back of the LG LTNS16121V's freezer is a secondary thermostat; you'll want to turn it down to 3 or 4 for best results.
Credit: Reviewed.com / Matthew Zahnzinger

This small dial in the back of the freezer is a secondary thermostat; you'll want to turn it down to 3 or 4 for best results.

Moisture Retention

LG has a history of underwhelming crisper drawers, and this top freezer is no exception. Over the course of three days, we tracked an average moisture loss of 0.35 grams per hours—definitely more than average.

The LG LTNS16121V's lone crisper drawer is quite spacious, but not so great at retaining moisture.
Credit: Reviewed.com / Matthew Zahnzinger

The lone crisper drawer is quite spacious, but not so great at retaining moisture.

Freezing

Frozen food lovers, take note: This LG's freezer takes a bit longer than average to chill food. Our sensors indicate that going from room temperature in our labs down to 32°F took 1 hour and 41 minutes.

Storage Space & Energy Efficiency

Unsurprisingly, the LG's shorter exterior depth makes for shallower shelves, meaning larger families will want to avoid this model. However, it also means you don't have to worry about losing food in the back. Overall, the main fridge compartment offers about 9.82 usable cubic feet of space, while the freezer—taking into account the space taken up by the ice cube bucket—can hold just 3.3 usable cubic feet of frozen food.

While it may not be huge, the LG is definitely energy efficient. We calculated that it needs just 0.04 kWh to cool each usable cubic foot, which comes out to roughly $17.25 a year at $0.09 per kWh. That's less than the cost of a nice lunch to power your fridge for an entire year.

Meet the tester

Matthew Zahnzinger

Matthew Zahnzinger

Logistics Manager & Staff Writer

@ReviewedHome

Matthew is a native of Brockton, MA and a graduate of Northeastern, where he earned a degree in English and Theatre. He has also studied at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin and spends most of his free time pursuing a performance career in the greater Boston area.

See all of Matthew Zahnzinger's reviews

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