LG 638L InstaView Multi Door Fridge Freezer GMG96CRAFT Review

Design and features

• InstaView window
• Craft ice maker
• Compatible with ThinQ

I’ve seen a few LG InstaView fridge freezers in the past, but the LG 638L InstaView Multi Door Fridge Freezer GMG96CRAFT is the first French door-style one that I’ve tested. 

Rather than having the fridge and freezer sit side-by-side, this model places the fridge at the top behind two doors. As I’ve said before about models with a similar layout, such as the Hisense RQ5P640SYSD, I much prefer this kind of design.

Putting the fridge at the top like this means everything you commonly need is within reach without bending down, and it’s also easier to fit wide items.

There’s a total of 364L of fridge space available, making this one of the biggest models that you can buy.

As the name says, this is an InstaView fridge freezer, with a clear glass panel on the front door. Knock twice, and the light turns on so that I can peer into the fridge without having to open the door. It’s definitely not a gimmick: InstaView makes it easier to see inside without having to open the door. The only thing I have to do is resist the urge to knock as I walk past.

This particular model lacks the smaller outer door that previous InstaView fridge freezers have had. With older models, the InstaView window would swing open to give access to the door pockets; here, you have to open the entire fridge door. I didn’t find that much of an issue.

Inside, the space is very flexible. There’s one fixed shelf at the bottom, and then four shelves above, each half-width. These can be placed at multiple heights, and two can be locked together to give a full-width storage option.

One of the shelves has a sliding portion, so you can open up space from below to store larger items, such as tall bottles of drink.

Door pockets on the right are well designed: tall enough sides to hold items securely, and deep enough to take large cartons of milk or multiple cans.

On the left-hand side, the door pockets are a bit smaller because of the ice dispenser on the side. Even so, the top two are a useful size.

The bottom door pocket is a little slim, but it’s handy for smaller items, such as sachets of condiments or smaller bottles.

This fridge freezer does have LG’s SpacePlus Ice System, which gives room for the door pockets. This can be opened using the handle on the side, should you need to empty out the ice container.

There’s another clever feature: the water plumbed-in ice dispenser fits into the base of the door, so I could change this without having to pull the fridge out.

Standard ice, crushed ice and water are all dispensed from the outside, via the dispenser on the left-hand door.

But, the LG 638L InstaView Multi Door Fridge Freezer GMG96CRAFT also has LG’s craft ice maker, which makes perfect spheres of ice, dropped into the holder in the bottom-left freezer section. They’re perfect for cocktails.

There are then two drawers at the bottom, with a humidity slider for selecting the type of food that you want to store.

Below the fridge are two 137L freezer compartments (274L in total). The one on the left, as mentioned, takes the craft ice, and has two slide-out trays, one drawer and three door pockets. 

On the right, you get the same layout, but without an ice dispenser. Overall, there’s plenty of well-organised space for even large families.

Physical controls are in the fridge, but the LG 638L InstaView Multi Door Fridge Freezer GMG96CRAFT can also be controlled using the LG ThinQ app. This gives you temperature control, plus warnings, such as if the power goes or a door has been left over.

ThinQ also has some downloadable extras, including an option to adjust the fridge’s lighting to make it dimmer during the night; customisable error tones; and SmartFill, which lets you press and hold buttons on the water dispenser to automatically dispense 250ml or 500ml in one go.

Performance

• Incredible temperature control
• Decent running costs

To test the LG 638L InstaView Multi Door Fridge Freezer GMG96CRAFT, I loaded it with ice blocks to simulate food, and then loaded it with temperature sensors to see how well the fridge freezer maintained the internal environment.

I was impressed with the fridge section. Overall, the fridge averaged 3.87°C, which is just 0.13°C colder than the target of 4°C. Standard deviation showed that most temperatures fluctuated +/-0.82°C, which is brilliant and anything below 1°C is good to see.

Impressively, the warmest part of the fridge (the lower shelf) was just 4.77°C on average, and the top was just 3.95°C. That shows little variation in temperature throughout the fridge.

Measuring the drawer, the average temperature was a cold 1.72°C, making this ideal for foods that prefer a colder temperature.

Freezer performance was just as good. Overall, the top, middle and bottom sections were similar, with a total average temperature of -18.07°C or 0.07°C off my target temperature of -18°C. And, temperatures mostly fluctuated by +/-0.4°C.

I estimated that it would cost around £87.59 a year to run, which works out to 14p per litre of space. That’s not bad, but the Liebherr MBsddi 9024 plus BioFresh NoFrost was cheaper still.

Should you buy it?