I am on my second HE front loader (our first one was first generation and had a fatal flaw that was too expensive to repair). I love it. I am on septic as well and that is one of the reasons that we purchased this type. I feel that clothes come out with less wrinkles and they are lasting and looking new longer than with the conventional type.
My regular cotton cycle is just under an hour but I do have a speed wash function that goes from 32 minutes up to 36 depending on the soil level it is on. There is also an extra heavy soil level that is an hour and a half. I love it. It also has a sanitizing setting which gets the water super hot. My water is already very hot, I think around 180 degrees so with the sanitizing setting it gets up probably around 212+. I don't use this setting often but once a month I do a load of tea towels, white bathroom towels and then cleaning rags. Or if someone gets a virus-y thing I'll do the towels and sheets on that cycle. Super clean!
The tub fills partially based on weight. So if I have something that I feel needs extra water I get it wet before I put it in and it sort of tricks the machine into thinking it has a larger, heavier load and fills with more water. Also, I have NEVER had any problems with a rancid smell or mold in my machine because when I am done I leave the door open. 100% of the time. No exceptions. Even when the machine is dry I leave the door open. By doing this I avoid the mildew and I don't have to purchase any tub cleaning products. Every once in awhile before I throw in a load of clean rags I take one and just wipe around the seal and that picks up any lint or dog hair (I have a German Shepherd) that may have collected there. My machine is in the basement and I don't have cats or small animals that could climb in but if I did I would still do the same thing and do a quick check before I put a load of laundry in.
I do miss being able to process raw wool. However, being on septic I wouldn't have been able to anyway. Also, I have not had any problem with felting wool for applique either. I throw in some tennis balls and a pair of jeans and everything works just fine.
I have an LG. My choices were somewhat limited because I wanted one that had the controls on the back of the machine like a conventional machine because it matched better with my dryer. A bonus for me is that my toddler can't reach any of the controls. I love my machine. I would and will buy another. If I ever get off of septic I would probably purchase a top loading machine. I really think that you'll like it and the difference in our water and electricity usage has been significant.