I have top load, no agitator and love it. We live in an area where water is quite expensive so really like the water saver aspect of the washer. Clothes come out clean. I use cold water for everything and not that much detergent. I don't like how the sheets twist but that is minor. You can open the lid if you pause the cycle so if you forget something that is an option but you have to wait for it to stop and hear the click of the lid unlocking. I would buy it again.

i have used both types, I like to soak.

I have a top load without an agitator and I really like it for washing large quilts. Yes, it will twist the quilts kind of like a doughnut with the top stretched out and curled under (dare I say it but like a condom) but, it cleans great. My old machine would twist them around like they were being wringed out. The only thing I have noticed is that I do need to use "Refresh" about once every 3 months or it gets a musty smell. I guess it holds water somewhere. Ours made a terrible grinding noise and we called the repair man who showed us a little "nut" that unscrewed off the bolt and fell on the floor. It made it off balance. He found the nut in the bottom of the washer and told DH how to fix it in case it happens again.

If you do any felting, non-agitator machines won't work. If you don't felt, the non-agitators are great.

It sounds like everyone loves their top loader without agitator. I HAtE mine. Yes the clothes come out clean. Whites take 79 minutes. The bulky setting does add lots more water but doesn't clean well at all. I cannot soak, not enough water. My husband is tall so when I remove a load of jeans, it is a long twisted mess. I have never had so much lint, I think it beats up my clothes. I thought I would get used to it but I mourn my front loader every time I use it. It's the Maytag Bravo and not the bottom model.

How dirty are your clothes?? If you work where you get really dirty the low water machines do not work as well. If you clothes are not really dirty, just need to be freshened up, then they are fine. I HATE the low water machines as my husband works on antique cars and gets really greasy. NO low water machines here and I like the agitator as always.

No agitator not for me
 

I have a newer non agitating washer and it my save water but my detergent does not rinse out leaving streaks on my cloths.

I have a top load no agitator water-conserving machine. It cleans fine, but I don't feel like things are rinsed really well, and you can't do things I used to do with the old machine like fill it and soak clothing . It won't let you do that because of the water saving feature. I can't say I've noticed a difference in our water usage, but if I were to have to replace it, I'd go back to the the kind you that you can control the water level. As far as the agitator, I have like not having that as straps and things don't get caught and wrapped around it.

i have one without the agitator and don't care for it, either.
the lack of agitator is not the issue.
it's the lack of water.
it flat does not wash as well.
i don't often need to soak, but - dagnabit! - that ought to be up to me ... not the machine.

i am sick of machines that make all our decisions for us. :mad:

that said, it's good to read that there are modern makes and models that do work well.
should i ever decide to upgrade i now have hope it wouldn't be a total waste of time as long as i do the research before i choose what to get. i relied on my satisfaction with the make of my previous machine. so much for that concept. LOL

Need to add----- DH bought me a small stool to stand on after I nearly fell in.������