Our verdict: The KitchenAid Classic 4.3L Tilt-Head 5K45SS ranks 2nd of the 10 stand mixers we compare, with 9.0 out of 10. It takes our Best Premium badge.
KitchenAid Classic 4.3L Tilt-Head 5K45SS
9.0/10Best Premium
The KitchenAid Classic 5K45SS is a 4.3-litre tilt-head stand mixer with a metal body and 10 speeds. It suits a small household that mostly bakes cakes and biscuits and wants KitchenAid attachments.
Same attachment hub as the Artisan, so the add-ons carry over
Compact for a metal-bodied mixer
Reliable for cakes, buttercream and meringue
Easy to find spares and accessories
Keep in mind
Smaller 4.3L bowl and a lower-powered motor than the Artisan
Only two years of guarantee, against five on the Artisan
Colour choice is narrower than the Artisan range
Why the KitchenAid 5K45SS scores 9.0
Each bar shows where it places among the 10 stand mixers in this guide, so a full bar is 1st of 10. How happy owners are counts for most of the score.
How happy owners are1st of 10
How many rated it1st of 10
How new it is9th of 10
Why it sits behind the Kenwood kMix Calm KMX751ACR
The Kenwood kMix Calm KMX751ACR (9.1) beats the KitchenAid Classic 4.3L Tilt-Head 5K45SS (9.0) because it is a much newer design. The KitchenAid Classic 4.3L Tilt-Head 5K45SS leaves owners a little happier, but not by enough to close the gap. It takes our Best Premium badge instead.
About the KitchenAid 5K45SS
The 5K45SS is KitchenAid's Classic tilt-head mixer. It has a die-cast metal body with an enamel coating and a 4.3-litre stainless steel bowl. The head tilts back to give access to the bowl, and the beater moves in a planetary action, so it turns on its own axis while travelling round the bowl.
A slide lever sets one of 10 speeds. The brand puts speed 1 at gentle stirring, 6 at beating and creaming, and 10 at fast whisking. The motor is rated at 275W. Stated capacities on a Swiss retailer's page include 1.7kg of bread dough, 2.5kg of cake dough, 12 eggs and 80 biscuits.
The box holds the mixer, the bowl, a wire whisk, a dough hook and a flat beater. The hub at the front takes KitchenAid's optional attachments, and the brand says there are more than 15. The mixer stands 36cm tall by the brand's figure, and a UK retailer gives it as 35.8cm wide and 22.1cm deep. It weighs 10.45kg, so most people will leave it on the worktop.
What owners report about the KitchenAid 5K45SS
We could not find usable owner reviews or forum threads about this exact model, so we can't report a pattern from owners.
The independent material we did read comes from a German magazine test (chip.de) summarised on a Swiss price site. It praises the results with dough, egg whites and cream, and the sturdy, compact build. It marks the mixer down because the head drops without a brake or safety lock, the lowest speed is noticeably loud, and adding ingredients while it runs is awkward. That is a test result, not an owner report.
Who the KitchenAid 5K45SS suits
The 5K45SS suits a small household that makes cakes, buttercream, biscuits and the odd loaf, and wants a metal mixer that fits the attachments KitchenAid sells. Its compact size helps in a small kitchen, though at 10.45kg it is not a mixer you will lift on and off a shelf daily.
Look elsewhere if you bake bread every week or make large batches. The 4.3-litre bowl and 275W motor are the limits, and the KitchenAid Artisan 4.8L Tilt-Head 5KSM125 gives you a bigger bowl and more power. For a larger bowl at a lower outlay, the Aucma Stand Mixer 6.2L 1400W is the budget route. If you want to weigh ingredients straight into the bowl, the Kenwood Titanium Chef Baker KVC65.001WH has built-in scales.
Questions about the KitchenAid 5K45SS
How powerful is the KitchenAid 5K45SS?
The motor is rated at 275W, according to the UK retailer Catering Appliance and a Swiss retailer's listing. KitchenAid's own page does not list the wattage.
What comes with the KitchenAid Classic 5K45SS?
The mixer comes with a 4.3-litre stainless steel bowl, a wire whisk, a dough hook and a flat beater. The front hub takes KitchenAid's optional attachments.
How much dough can the KitchenAid 5K45SS handle?
A Swiss retailer's page gives 1.7kg of bread dough and 2.5kg of cake dough. The magazine test it summarises rates dough kneading as very good.
How heavy is the KitchenAid 5K45SS?
It weighs 10.45kg, according to Catering Appliance. It stands 36cm tall by KitchenAid's figure.
How long is the guarantee on the KitchenAid 5K45SS?
KitchenAid gives a 2 years guarantee on this model, and says it covers you if you run into any issues.
Other stand mixer picks
The other badge winners in our stand mixers ranking.
Every score here comes from our ranking model; no editor sets the order. Too few review sites cover stand mixers for their verdicts to lead, so this ranking is led by owners. It ranks products by how happy owners are, holding back any product few owners have rated until more agree. How many rated it and how new it is only settle close calls, and value for money earns its own badge rather than a higher place. We compared 20 models for this guide before settling on these ten.
Brands can't pay to be included or to move up. We last checked these picks in October 2026.
