Frigidaire built its reputation on refrigerators that ran for twenty years without complaint, but the current lineup trades that legacy for a lower price tag and cheaper guts. The fridge compartment routinely fails to cool below 43-49°F while the freezer works fine, a defrost system flaw that leaves food in the danger zone, and plastic drawer wheels crack within a few years of normal use. If you need a side-by-side on a tight budget and can live with mediocre build quality, this will cool your groceries most days. If you're counting on a decade of reliable service, spend the extra few hundred on a Whirlpool or wait for a sale on something better built.
Hisense's French door lineup delivers legitimately good cooling at a startling price, hitting temperature targets as consistently as refrigerators costing twice as much. The HRF266N6CSE model was recalled after door hinges failed on 139 units, causing doors to detach and fall during normal use and injuring five owners; if you're considering that model, verify the hinge repair was completed before buying. For shoppers who care more about keeping food cold than keeping up with the Joneses, and who can live without app control or a sprawling service network, these are a genuine value play, just know you're placing a bet on a budget brand without decades of owner history behind it.