[pitaa]

I've been told the same thing about dishwashers; all the pumps are the same and you're just paying for more buttons. They did add that sometimes the top-of-the-line model will still actually clean better due to some added sensors that will extend the cycle if the water through the pump is still getting dirty, but it sounded like the improvement was negligible.

Unfortunately everything is getting more complex. Even my dirt cheap "buttons and knobs" washer no longer has a batch size knob, instead incorporating some sort of sensor that determines the "optimal" water level.

[maxerickson]

That's somewhat driven by regulation. The hot water is a big chunk of the energy use of a clothes washer.

[pitaa]

I've had a suspicion that was the reasoning behind it. Ironically it actually ends up using maybe 20% more water than on my old washer where I'd set the water level manually. I suppose it is possible that a large segment of users would always use a large batch no matter what, so overall having the sensors results in a net conservation. But I'm skeptical that this is really the case.