Whirlpool URB551WNGZ review: Whirlpool's skinniest fridge looks great, but runs too warm

If you're living with a cramped kitchen, or if perhaps you're shopping for a second fridge for the garage or a back room, then you might consider a compact model like the Whirlpool URB551WNGZ. At less than 2 feet wide, it's designed to take up a small  footprint in your home while still offering enough storage space for your groceries (provided you don't have a full family to feed). The retail price? $1,400, though, as of writing this, you can get it on sale for about $1,260.

With a clean, minimalist design that seems to echo the industrial aesthetic of designer fridges that cost thousands more, there's a lot to like about the look of this fridge -- but the cooling power left me, well, cold. Specifically, the refrigerator didn't keep things cold enough in my tests, with the entirety of the fridge compartment averaging well above 40 degrees F at its default setting. That, coupled with the fact that you can get better performance from compact competitors that cost half as much, leads me to recommend that you keep shopping around.

Design done right

As compact refrigerators go, this one makes a great first impression. The clean, simple design of the exterior and the sturdy stainless steel handles help it feel fancier than it actually is, and the interior reinforces things with glass shelves, multiple drawers, a surprisingly large butter bin and even a built-in wine rack. Of course, at a retail price of $1,400 -- hundreds more than compact models from competitors like LG and GE -- you would expect more of a high-end feel, but kudos to Whirlpool for delivering.

	Whirlpool URB551WNGZ Compact Bottom Freezer	LG LTNC11121V Compact Top Freezer	GE GBE10ESJSB Compact Bottom Freezer
Fridge capacity	7.9 cubic feet	8.5 cubic feet	7.3 cubic feet
Freezer capacity	3.4 cubic feet	2.6 cubic feet	3.2 cubic feet
Total capacity	11.3 cubic feet	11.1 cubic feet	10.5 cubic feet
Height	74 1/2 inches	66 1/2 inches	60 3/8 inches
Width	23 1/2 inches	24 inches	24 inches
Depth	27 15/16 inches	26 inches	27 3/8 inches
Yearly Enery Consumption	396 kWh	339 kWh	387 kWh
Yearly energy cost ($0.12 per kWh)	$48	$41	$46
Yearly energy cost per cubic foot	$4.25	$3.69	$4.38
Energy Star qualified	Yes	No	Yes
CNET performance score	4.5 / 10	7 / 10	5.5 / 10
Warranty	1 year parts and labor	1 year parts and labor, 7 years sealed system	1 year parts and labor
Suggested retail price	$1,400	$700	$900
Lowest retail price as of 5/7/18	$1,260	$630	$900

In terms of storage space, that interior offers about 8 cubic feet in the fridge and 3.4 cubic feet in the freezer, both of which are right on par with the competition. It's several inches taller than the average refrigerator, though, coming in at 74 1/2 inches high. That's too tall to fit into a lot of standard-size fridge cutouts with cabinets overhead, so make sure to measure before you buy.

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Despite that extra height, things still feel somewhat cramped inside the fridge, which is to be expected with a compact model like this one. There's no good spot for a gallon-size jug of milk, for instance, and I doubt that you'd be able to fit a full-size frozen pizza in the freezer, either. Plan on downsizing your groceries accordingly.

Still, it's a workable refrigerator. I was able to squeeze a two-liter of soda into the bottom door shelf, and the pair of crisper bins offer plenty of space for fruits and veggies. At the top of the door, the surprisingly large butter bin runs the full width of the fridge. Relocate your spread of choice to the butter tray dangling down below (yep, the fridge includes both), and you'll be able to use that bin space for something else. Or you could just buy, like, five different kinds of butter and have room for all of them. To each their own, I say!