I have a confession to make: I have never really liked air fryers. As a concept, they always came across to me as “what if an oven, but smaller and worse”. I have reviewed a lot of air fryers over the years, and none of them fully disabused me of this notion. I reviewed them on their merits, of course, but then couldn’t wait to send them back and go back to using my oven. But after using the Instant Vortex Plus Versazone XXL Air Fryer, I get it now.
It’s more approachable and easier to use than an oven, it works extremely well, and now I essentially have fries on tap. Air fryers are for people who are newer to cooking, or who are daunted by the oven, or just have an oven that kinda sucks. There are absolutely a lot of people who will benefit from that, and it’s great that there are air fryers this good and large to satisfy them.
Whether you’re a long-time air fryer convert, or you’ve been curious about giving it a shot, the Instant Vortex Plus Versazone XXL Air Fryer is one that I wholeheartedly recommend.
Instant Vortex Plus Versazone XXL Air Fryer review
- Air Fry, Roast, Bake, Reheat, Grill and Dehydrate in one appliance, with SyncCook and SyncFinish functionality
- Uses up to 80% less energy than traditional electric ovens, saving on energy consumption and cost*
- VersaZone technology cooks in a single 8.5L zone or in two 4.25L zones, with separate controls for each, for the ultimate in cooking flexibility
- Removable basket divider allows you to cook up to 2.7kg of chicken or 1.8kg of chips at one time
- SyncCook programme automatically cooks in both baskets at the same time, mirroring the same programme and settings for both
First impressions
My first impression of the Instant Vortex Plus Versazone XXL Air Fryer was how easy it was to set up. I removed all the packaging, plugged it in, ran the initial empty cycle as recommended by the instruction manual to burn off any residual manufacturing chemicals, washed the basket, and then proceeded to make the most succulent roast chicken.
Aside from that, I was really impressed with the size of the basket, and how easy it is to partition it off so you can have chicken in one half, and chips in the other, creating the perfect meal. I also really liked how straightforward the controls were. Really, it was just solid.
Instant Vortex Plus Versazone XXL Air Fryer specifications
| Dimensions (cm) | 40.3 x 31.7 x 38.4 |
| Weight | 7 kg |
| Basket | 8.5 L and can be divided into two 4.25 L zones with separate cooking controls for each |
| Controls | Touchscreen |
| Smart programmes | Air fry, roast, bake, grill, dehydrate, reheat |
| Price (RRP) | $399 |
| Warranty | One year |
| Official website | Instant Brands Australia |
That 8.5L basket really makes the Instant Vortex Plus Versazone XXL Air Fryer live up to the XL name. It also means that this will take up a hell of a lot of bench space, so that’s a trade-off you’ll need to consider when purchasing.
Other than that, it’s exactly what you’d expect from a good air fryer.
Design and controls
Making home appliances pretty without employing bright colours or gimmicks is surprisingly difficult, so shiny black with a physical dial isn’t exactly ground-breaking, but it also looks fine. It looks like a nice air fryer, which is really what you’re after.
The cooking drawer is easy to pull out, and the divider is easily removable, so you can have two different things cooking at once.
I really enjoy the simplicity of the controls. There are six different cooking settings: air fryer, roast, bake, reheat, grill, and dehydrate, and then you can also have the two halves of the basket cook on different cooking settings. The controls are so straightforward, that they seem kinda welcoming. They encourage you to cook by making it seem easier, which I really appreciate.
Cooking performance
This is really the main thing. It doesn’t matter how inviting the controls are if it doesn’t do the important bit. Luckily, the Instant Vortex Plus Versazone XXL Air Fryer is great at the important bit.
Let me tell you about the chicken I roasted. I’ve always been a bit put off by roasting chickens because it’s so easy to mess up and get the skin the wrong texture, or make the breast dry. I don’t know why I have this fear – I confidentially roast turkey a few times a year, and I’ve roasted plenty of beef. But, when you’re reviewing an XXL air fryer, you need to roast a chicken and make some chips at the same time.
I followed the vibe of this recipe (I changed most of the ingredients and it ended up needing to cook longer, but that’s what cooking is like), with the chicken rubbed with leftover toum, some fresh garlic, and some herbs, then drizzled garlic and onion olive oil. It needed a little extra time, but what came out of the air fryer was one of the nicest roast chickens I have ever had. The breasts were so juicy, and the skin was gloriously crispy.
I don’t normally like chicken skin, and yet the Instant Vortex Plus Versazone XXL Air Fryer had cooked it so perfectly that I couldn’t stop snacking on it. Meanwhile, the chips in the other half of the basket took much longer to cook, but they still came out delicious.
I’ve since made a couple of batches of air-fried crinkle-cut chips, and every time I’ve been impressed by how good they are. My usual complaint with air fryers I’ve reviewed in the past has been that they just dry out the chips rather than cooking them. Every single batch of chips I’ve done in the Instant Vortex Plus Versazone XXL Air Fryer has come out perfectly, and faster than my oven would be able to do it. Witchcraft.
I haven’t yet tried baking in it, because I have no idea what I’d even try to bake in an air fryer basket. It would not hold a cake in any way that wouldn’t appear cursed, but I appreciate having the option.
Everything I have tried to cook in it, though, has been perfect every time, and that’s pretty great in my book.
Cleaning
Here’s where things get a little less fun. The good news is that the Instant Vortex Plus Versazone XXL Air Fryer basket is dishwasher safe. The bad news is that, because it’s absolutely massive, you’ll probably not want to dishwash it.
Its surface is very non-stick, so you can wipe it down pretty easily, but this is the one part of it that is more challenging than an oven. That said, as far as air fryers go, this isn’t too bad to clean, it just could be better if it didn’t have a basket design, which would then be a completely different device. The inner bits of the basket fit in the dishwasher pretty nicely, at least.
Who is the Instant Vortex Plus Versazone XXL Air Fryer for?
The Instant Vortex Plus Versazone XXL Air Fryer is for people who want a really good, really large air fryer. If your oven isn’t the best, or you don’t have an oven, or if you just find air fryers to be a bit more user-friendly, then this is the air fryer for you.
It’s not for you if you don’t have much bench or storage space. But this is the best air fryer I have ever used and I can’t speak highly enough of it.
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