Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

For the price, I expected this unit to last longer than my parents' bigger and less expensive cooker (can't remember the brand of their rice cooker--either Panasonic or National) which they've used EVERYDAY for more than five years now, and it's still going. My family didn't use this Zojirushi everyday--but we were pretty close! After about a year and a half, the rice doesn't keep as well as it used to. It dries out faster and doesn't cook as evenly as it did while it was under warranty. I noticed most (if not all) the positive reviews were posted after recent purchases. The handful of reviews from folks who have owned and used this item beyond warranty isn't as glowing. Please keep that in mind if you envision using this rice cooker for years to come.