Verdict

The Neff N90 T66YYY4C0 is a stylish induction hob, with a choice of four colour trims. Not just a pretty face, the Twist Pad Flex control makes this the easiest hob to control that I’ve ever tested, while its flexible zones and precision temperature sensor make it ideal for cooks that demand the best.

Introduction

Built for those who like to have full control over their cooking but don’t want to sacrifice style, the Neff N90 T66YYY4C0 is a true powerhouse of an induction hob. From its fast heat-up times to its clever Twist Pad Flex operation and changeable trim panels, this hob screams quality.

Design and features

• Changeable trim
• Smart app control
• Clever TwistPad Flex control

Most hobs look pretty much the same: rectangular sheets of glass that sit in a cut-out in the worktop. The Neff T66YYY4C0 is different, as this model is part of the company’s Flex Design range which means it comes with a choice of four different trims: brushed bronze, deep black, metallic silver and anthracite grey. I went with the gorgeous brushed bronze.

Trims connect magnetically to the clips on the side of the hob, which is a useful method for two reasons. First, you can switch to a different colour if you change your kitchen at a later date. Secondly, you can remove the trims to clean underneath.

Other Neff Flex Design products, including a range of integrated ovens and coffee machines, have the same choice of trims and handles, so you can style up a kitchen with the look that you want.

As this is a Neff hob, it’s about more than looks and the T66YYY4C0 is built to give fine control for those who like to cook with precision.

Rather than use touch controls for everything, the hob utilises the Twist Pad Flex, which magnetically attaches to the centre of the hob; when it’s not in place, the hob can’t be used, giving a simple way to remove control.

Cleverly, removing the Pad also puts the hob into pause mode for up to ten minutes, giving you a chance to answer the door or pop upstairs; when you’re back, just put the Pad back in place and it picks up where you left off.

As well as controlling the hob, the Twist Pad Flex can be used on compatible integrated ovens. Just pull it off the hob, connect it to the Twist Pad zone on the oven and you’re good to go.

For the hob the Twist Pad Flex makes it quick to control. While a zone is automatically selected when a pan is placed down, the Pad can be clicked in four directions, quickly selecting one of the four nominal burners (top-left, bottom-left, top-right and bottom-right). A twist of the dial quickly moves up and down through the nine power settings.

Once setting 9 has been selected, a secondary twist puts a zone into its PowerBoost setting for quickly boiling water. Overall, I found this hob the fastest to adjust out of any model that I’ve reviewed. Usefully, the manual has a long section suggesting which power setting is best for different jobs.

Looking at the glass surface, the Neff N90 T66YYY4C0 doesn’t use traditional zone markings. Instead, the hob is split into half (left and right), and then each side is split into a front and back zone with lines marking the quarter- and half-way marks.

That may seem a little confusing compared to dedicated burner zones of different sizes, but it’s actually very clever and makes the Neff N90 T66YYY4C0 very powerful.

With this set-up, if you have small pans (under 13cm diameter) then you can fit four on each side of the hob, with two per controllable zone; larger pans should be placed in the middle of the top or bottom zones; and the biggest pans can stretch across the top and bottom zones.

With the latter, the hob automatically joins the top and bottom zones together in a FlexZone, so you can use larger cookware. In this mode, adjustments are made to two zones at the same time, indicated by a bracket icon as pictured below.

Neff’s choice of layout means that any pan can go on any side of the hob, and you’re not limited to, say, putting a small pan on the smaller burner zone.

Each side of the hob’s power is dependent on the mode and how much of the area a pan covers. Either side can run at a maximum of 3700W on PowerBoost, letting you run this setting on both sides which is handy if you quickly need to boil two pans of water. Otherwise, half a zone runs at 2200W maximum, three-quarters coverage gives you 2600W and full coverage is 3300W.

Flexibility goes further with the Neff N90 T66YYY4C0’s ability to tell when a pan has moved, automatically shifting the current power setting over to the new zone via the PowerTransfer mode. That’s quite brilliant. I could start searing in a pan at the front before shifting it to the back to let it simmer.

Each zone has a timer available, with a zone shutting down when the time runs out. Again, being able to set this via the Twist Pad makes the job faster and easier than on hobs that have touch controls only.

This hob also has a Frying Sensor, which lets me set a target temperature for a zone between 70°C (melting) and 220°C (frying). On the one hand, having to use temperatures isn’t quite as straightforward as the automatic melting, keep warm, slow cook and boil settings on the Hotpoint CleanProtect TS3560FCPNE; however, the Neff N90 T66YYY4C0’s temperature selection gives a wider range of options and greater control.

As I said before, this hob is all about taking power and putting it in the hands of those who want to delve into the finer details when cooking.

Compatible with the Home Connect app, this is a smart induction hob. Although the option to set power modes isn’t as easy or as fast as using the Twist Pad Flex, it still serves a useful purpose. That includes firmware updates (my hob updated as soon as I connected it), notifications about cooking activities, and control over the hob’s Favourites button, which you can program to do your two most common tasks.

With its Schott Ceran glass finish, the Neff N90 T66YYY4C0 is a hardwearing hob. It should be cleaned after each use, using a glass scraper for heavy soiling. This is standard for an induction hob and only the Hotpoint CleanProtect products that I’ve reviewed are easier to clean thanks to their special coating.

Performance

• Fast heating speeds
• Brilliant temperature control

Reaching a peak power output of 3700W on a single zone, the Neff N90 T66YYY4C0 proved fast in my water heating tests, where I measure how long it takes to bring water from 20C°C to 90°C. Starting out with my small pan with 500ml of water, the hob completed the test in 1m 24s, which was just a couple of seconds faster than the same test on the AEG IAE84851FB.

Moving to my mid-sized pan, filled with 1L of water, the Neff N90 T66YYY4C0 completed the test in 2m 26s, which is hugely impressive. With my large pan filled with 1.5L of water, the test was completed in 2m 26s, which is only a few seconds behind the Miele KM7201FR, which has a double-boost power setting.

Across the range of tests, the Neff N90 T66YYY4C0 can beat a standard kettle, and it can do this on two zones at once.

A good induction hob is about more than simply how fast it can bring water to the boil, and the Neff N90 T66YYY4C0 proves itself in a range of tasks. I set the temperature sensor to 70°C and placed butter in a pan. Leaving the hob alone, I found that it melted the butter without burning and without needing to be constantly monitored.

Temperature control is brilliant for precision jobs, such as getting the perfect sear or for reducing liquid in cooking sauces. The fine level of control makes the Neff N90 T66YYY4C0 more flexible than its rivals, even if it does take a little longer to learn how best to use the temperature sensor.

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