Needs more energy

I bought this range because it was highly rated by Consumer Reports in spring of 2006. It was their highest rated gas stove with a convection fan.

I read the previous review and I will agree the range has a lot of good features. The self-cleaning feature is nice although it leaves charred residue you have to clean out manually. The stovetop grate is terrific to slide pans across the surface easily. The touch control panel is nice at least once you learn what button to push and when to control the functions. "Cancel" for example will not cancel the timer and if you push it during use of the oven or broiler, it will cancel that cooking process. I meant to cancel the timer so this caught me off guard a time or two.
I have been disappointed with this stove for the amount of heat it generates. I used a stove made in 1980 prior to this one and I sorely miss the power of my former stove. That previous had a convection oven and I firmly consider the fan in this oven a "wannabe" for convection heating. I have trouble getting meat to roast in this oven. I called the Maytag repair for warranty service. He changed nothing and told me he has the same stove and he found the heat was inconsistent inside the oven. Some areas are cool zones and do not cook adequately so he recommends moving large things like pizza around during the cooking time to cook evenly. I use the convection all the time if I am roasting or baking to enhance the weak heat the oven produces, but this is still barely adequate. I certainly never save any cooking time using the convection mode. My oven use takes at least the amount of time in the recipe and often another 25% of extended time.

I have similar problems with the stovetop elements. There is one large element and it is the only one that can boil a large pot of water like for spaghetti. I cannot even start a pot boiling there and move it to the smaller elements to maintain the boil while the pasta cooks.
Also the grill that forms a grid over the elements limits the size of pan that can be held. There is only one place for a pan with a diameter less than five to six inches. That is the tiny center burner that is intended for gentle heat like melting chocolate. But if you need high heat for a small pan, it is impossible.

Another minus about the grill covering the stovetop is that the paint will burn off. There is a disclaimer in the owners manual that you must keep the cookware covering the tips of the grill over the burner or the paint will be damaged. Even with a large pan or kettle sitting on the burner, the paint has burned off of any element we used with much frequency. Our stove color is black so this is not a major change in appearance. But any other color stove, the bare metal of the grill points will be very obvious and unattractive.