Hisense RQ5P640SYSD Review

Design and Features

• Gorgeous finish
• Integrated ice and water
• Compatible with ConnectLife

With its stainless steel finish (remarkably good at avoiding fingerprints), the Hisense RQ5P640SYSD is a gorgeous-looking fridge freezer that will suit many kitchens. At 725mm deep, this model will stick out past a typical counter, but as there are no handles that shouldn’t be an issue in most kitchens.

If you are short on space and want a fridge freezer that will sit flush with your countertops, then the Hisense RQ768N4GVE might be for you, as this model is just 60cm deep.

Hisense calls the RQ5P640SYSD a Cross Door refrigerator, which I’d normally refer to as a French Door model. Regardless of terminology, the important thing to note is that the Hisense RQ5P640SYSD has double doors at the top that open up to reveal the 390-litre fridge space.

This kind of fridge is my favourite: the wider cavity makes it easier to store larger items, and everything you commonly need is at head height.

There’s plenty of flexibility in this large cavity, and everything is made to a high degree. There are dual drawers (one fruit and vegetable crisper, one cool drawer), which are mounted on runners, rather than just sliding plastic-on-plastic.

Runners give a more premium feel, and make the drawers easier to use. I’ve not seen runners on a fridge freezer since I reviewed the Liebherr CBNsda 575i.

Between the drawers is the water tank, which holds five litres of water to feed both the automatic ice dispenser and the water dispenser on the outside of the left-hand door. This tank doesn’t filter water, but you can fill it with filtered water if you prefer, either from a jug with the tank pulled out slightly, or the entire tank can be removed.

I really like the water dispenser on the front, which sits almost flush in the door. The water spout is angled, so when a glass is pushed against the release button, water flows into the middle of it.

This design is clever, as the inside of the door doesn’t lose any space, so you get the same amount of storage space on the inside of the left-hand door as you do on the inside of the right-hand door.

Door pockets are very flexible: they’re deep and have high sides to prevent items from falling over. The lower pockets can take practically anything, from large milk containers to 2-litre bottles of drink or more; the middle ones are perfect for condiments; and the top pockets are great for eggs, cheese and smaller items.

The main cavity is well designed. The top shelf can be placed in one of two positions, and can take beer cans on top. 

The middle shelf is well spaced, too, and the right-hand side has a split, so you can stand up taller items below. I don’t think you’ll need to, as the door pockets are so generous, but it’s a handy option to have.

The two compartments below are both the same size, with a total capacity of 250-litres (125-litres each). They’re both nominally freezer compartments, but the right-hand side compartment is flexible can has its own temperature control, so you can add more fridge space if needed, such as for a party.

The layout for both compartments is very similar, with door pockets good enough for thinner items, such as ice lollies or fish fingers, two drawers and a tray at the top.

All of the drawers and trays are mounted on runners, which makes them smooth to use.

The tray on the left-hand compartment holds two ice holders: one for cubes and one for smaller ice nuggets. These are filled automatically, and give plenty of ice, good enough for parties.

Handily, Hisense provides an ice scoop, so you can quickly get lots of ice or dispense to an ice bucket for making drinks at a party.

Control of the fridge is via the panel on the front, with dedicated controls for the fridge and separate cooling compartments. 

Compatible with the ConnectLife app, the Hisense RQ5P640SYSD connects to your home network via Wi-Fi. The app gives you temperature control, plus access to the special features, which are available via the control panel.

The advantage of using the app is that it explains what each mode does. The modes are: Super Cool (rapid cooling for loading up the fridge); Super Freezer (the same but for the freezer compartments); Eco (the fridge is set to 6°C and the freezer -17°C); Ice Maker (on or off); and UV Tech (UV lighting kills bacteria in the waterway).

The app also pings notifications about errors, such as if a door is left open, which is very useful.

Performance

• Good running costs
• Stable temperatures
• Fridge is a little warmer than set

I set the Hisense RQ5P640SYSD to 4°C in the fridge and set the freezer compartments to -18°C. I then loaded the fridge freezer up with ice blocks to simulate food, and monitored temperatures over a two-week period.

Overall, the fridge compartment averaged 5.15°C, which is a touch warmer than the target temperature, and perhaps a good reason to drop the target down by 1°C. I was pleased to see that temperatures mostly varied by +/-0.45°C, showing stable temperature control, without big spikes. This should lead to food being maintained for longer.

In the freezer compartments, the average temperature was -20.28°C, which is a couple of degrees colder than set. Temperatures fluctuated by +/- 1.28°C, which is a little higher than I’d like (anything below 1°C is good). That said, at this level, food remained below the -18°C that I’d set, so I wouldn’t adjust the target temperature here.

A D-rated appliance (good for something of this size), I measured power usage for two weeks, and calculated that this model will cost around £35 a year to run, or 5p per litre of space. That’s very competitive.

Should you buy it?